LITR 4333: American Immigrant Literature

Sample Student Final Exam Answers 2001

Assignment for "Large" question / answer--Option Z:

Time: at least one hour.

Student Choices and Responsibilities:

• The student will choose Option X or Z and plan an essay accordingly
• You are responsible for developing the organization and choosing the texts for the Large question / answer.

• Discuss the course topic that you’re most prepared and eager to examine. The "default" is to choose an objective, part of an objective (large or small), or a combination of objectives. Subjects rising repeatedly in class included the immigrant narrative, the family, gender, generations, or combinations.
• You may choose a subject that was tangential to the objectives, or one suggested by the objectives, readings, or lectures but only glanced at or overlooked altogether. (For instance, for future courses I’m considering an objective on public education and more emphasis on Cultural Objective 2f. What do immigrants see about America that the native-born cannot?)
• Another way to consider this subject: If you were preparing to lead some classes or discussions related to American Immigrant Literature, what aspect of it would you be most comfortable and confident discussing?

Texts: Four or more texts from the entire course’s readings. At least one of these should be a book from beyond the anthologies. You may use a poem as one of your texts.

One warning regarding Option Z: Don't simply rehash your research project, but feel free to refer to your research project, even to use it as a launching pad for further investigations of a related subject.

Assimilation is often a difficult process for the immigrant and this complexity is often reflected in their narrative. When the immigrant begins to adapt, there is often a fear or resistance to losing the native culture. In the narrative, this is often depicted with imagery of the immigrant being "washed" or "cleansed" of the Old World before emerging as an assimilated, "clean" American. Furthermore, when the immigrant is purified of their old culture, the American culture is often depicted as colorless or white. It is often implied that the process of washing oneself of their culture waters down or makes the dominant culture actually seem colorless and without character. However, this cleansing process is often complicated and is typically represented in the narrative as negative.

Throughout immigrant poetry, the image of a dirty immigrant needing to be sanitized or assimilated is often seen. In "When I Was Growing Up," by Nellie Wong, she states "when I was growing up, I felt / dirty. . . . / and no matter how much I bathed, / I could not change" (UA 57). In this poem, Wong is discussing how hard she tried to assimilate, to no avail. She could not wash off her culture or her skin color. This imagery is seen again in "American Dream: First Report, " by Joseph Papaleo with a different slant. He is speaking of the evolution of assimilation for the immigrant. While discussing the role of commercials in assimilation he states, "we were married in the palaces of soap" (UA 88) He goes on to say that this worship culminated in them becoming "well-dressed citizens / devoted to the disinfection of our carpets" (UA 88). Once again the immigrant must be disinfected from there old culture for assimilation to take place. Resistance to this adaptation comes in to play with this topic as well. In "I Have Not Signed a Treaty with the United States Government," Chrystos rejects the allure of the culturally clean American when he states, "We revoke your immigration papers / your assimilation soap suds" (UA 305). He is resisting becoming a washed out, assimilated American.

This running theme is also seen in immigrant fiction and nonfiction. In Bread Givers, by Anzia Yezeirska, when Sara goes away to college, she was in awe of "the spick-and-span cleanliness of these people! It smelled from them, the soap and the bathing (212). These people were "fresh, clean" and totally unlike her (213). Only when she is able to project this image is she able to assimilate. When she is finally able to go shopping, she chooses a suit that has "more style in its plainness that the richest velvet," and then goes to celebrate her new success in her "first clean room" (239 & 241). Not only does Sara reflect the plain style, she is also finally cleansed (or so she thinks at this time) of the old, dirty world that she came from.

Yezeirska fully explores the "clean" theme in her essay "Soap and Water." In vivid language she describes how she toils:

Eventually she does find her way, however, it is only after being cleansed. And that cleansing requires a degree of assimilation. In "Barbie-Q," by Sandra Cisneros, only the dirty Barbies are for the Mexican-American children. After the factory burns down, their "Barbies smell like smoke . . . even after [they] wash and wash and wash them" (252). While this is not a direct reference to assimilation, it does imply that dirty items are only good for their unwashed culture.

Along with the immigrant needing to be cleansed before assimilation to take place is the idea that American dominant culture is colorless, empty canvas. Therefore, when the immigrants culture is lost, American culture becomes that much more watered down. This concept is alluded to in "from Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez. He is "cursed with guilt" because he cannot speak Spanish (VA 229). While the loss of language is an integral facet of assimilation, Rodriguez notes that their "English sounding house was never to be as noisy as [their] Spanish-speaking house" (VA 231). In other words, English lacked the luster and color of the Spanish language/culture. Furthermore, when the "ghetto black teenagers board the bus" they appear "glamorous" to him (VA 232). The vivacity of the young boys language is contrasted by the washed out English one. Perhaps most poignantly Rodriguez states that when an idiom becomes "public," it becomes "increasingly lifeless" (VA 234). Therefore, along with the assimilation/cleansing of the immigrant culture, it is suggested that something is also lost for the dominant culture, as well.

Overall, within the immigrant narrative, cleansing imagery is often used when the topic of assimilation is alluded to. The feelings evoked from these images are made apparent in the narrative. The fear of losing ones Old World culture does play a large role in the cleansing theme, and is further exemplified in the representations of American culture as virtually colorless. [SK 2001]

Over the course of the semester I have become increasingly aware of the multiple perspectives that continue to define America both symbolically and realistically in the eyes of immigrants. In exploring the images and assumptions immigrants form of America, it becomes possible to understand the aspects of American life that the native born take for granted, and the immigrants strive to achieve.

Ingrained in the consciousness of the immigrant and possibly the world is the image of America as the land of plenty. Conspicuous consumerism in the form of soft drinks, statues of Lady Liberty, and movies invade distant shores hinting at the wealth and opportunity available in America. More than this, though, America beckons with promises of freedom whether it is religious and economic as in Breadgivers, political asylum as in the Garcia Girls, or personal ambition as in becoming a writer in Mukherjee’s Love Me, or Leave Me. Essentially and ironically, America offers the ideals of democracy and autonomy through the good old-fashioned system of imperialistic colonization, albeit the cults of personality and mass media.

Inherently, from almost every perspective the American experience offers a multitude of choices that can sometimes overwhelm. Yet for the Palestinian in Amerka the experience of selecting a shirt seems trivial compared to a history of political strife where people are told what to do and how to think. The point is, of course, that the shirt is symbolic of democracy, and the Palestinian must learn to make choices. He quickly perceives the possibility of becoming lost in America’s vastness, yet safe from political interference. Here, he can in fact celebrate his heritage and re-establish an identity, even a homeland. This idea also surfaces in The Joy Luck Club as Lindo Jong sees the advantages of "American circumstances ‘’ combined with "Chinese character" (289). As Jong reveals, America allows for changes in circumstances. Social and economic mobility function irrespective of class, and the sense of re-inventing oneself endures. This, in tandem with the Chinese Confucian ethic, produces the best of both worlds.

Beyond the awareness of possibilities, the immigrant perspective also depicts a sense of the inherent ambiguities in American life. While Doris Day projects an inspiring larger than life persona of female empowerment in Love me, or Leave Me, Marty symbolizes the corrupt, dog eat dog Social Darwinism of a capitalistic culture. As Murkerjee’s narrator relates, winning at all costs counts, so that invariably the end justifies the means even if the means is somewhat corrupt and morally questionable. However, Murkerjee realizes the simultaneous potential in America to live beyond patriarchal dominance, to embrace one’s cultural traditions, and to relish the personal expression of self and sexuality.

Elsewhere, Americans are often perceived as intrusive and overbearing. In The Joy Luck Club, Rich blunders through dinner with Waverly’s parents giving offence, albeit unintentionally, at every turn. Similarly, in A Wife’s Story, the writer becomes subject to the flirtatious overtures of the agent at the bus company. All of this is in the spirit of good fun and, even if sarcasm and insults are involved--Mamet’s play for example—the intent is far from serious and, as noted in the Garcia Girls, not to be taken personally.

Yet this sense of not taking matters personally evolves into a perceived superficiality and, as noted in Lost in Translation, tolerance becomes a mask for indifference. In essence, the protagonist in LIT perceives American tolerance and sense of laissez-faire as divisive, creating as it does, a tendency to repress natural emotions and suppress individual thought by subscribing to collective intellectualism. In effect, people no longer connect on a personal, individual level, but rather through a system of shared ideologies. Despite the negative connotations, the writer sees this trend as part of America’s evolution. As a young, enterprising nation, America constantly seeks to re-define itself.

The ideas of insularity and separateness re-surface in Raban’s writings about air people. Here, collective ideology expands to create a division between the elite hierarchy of New York and the remaining inhabitants of the city. Raban’s perspective involves the creation of a new cosmopolitan class that paradoxically forms a dominant minority elite. Raban’s view of America is one where the gaps between people especially the rich and the poor is widening both economically and socially. The new elite occupies the surreal landscape of the high-rise far above the pulsating realism of life in the street. Raban projects a world of pristine cleanliness, more sanitary and clinical than the view of the dominant culture expressed in Soap and Water. Within this vacuum of sterile detachment, the elite creates a new, portable homeland, replete with guards and servants. More insidious though is the sense of callous indifference to the street people, and the story begs the question: Is this the culmination of the American Dream?

Resoundingly, the immigrant perspective offers a kaleidoscope of images and viewpoints on what America represents to many peoples. This category could also be expanded to include other aspects of the immigrant narrative including gender and generational conflicts. However, I feel confident that approaching Immigrant Literature from the standpoint of the immigrant or the outsider opens a realm of possibilities for this challenging and fascinating area of literature. [YH 2001]

American women have a hard time trying to fit into the ideal woman mold, and it only gets worse when a foreign woman tries to fit in. Almost every story we read had some immigrant trying to fit into the "American ideal mold". Take " Barbie-Q" for instance, this which portrays the young girl wanting the ideal barbie doll and basing her idea of a great woman on this doll. Media teaches us at a young age to want to be that woman. When we hear this at a young age, how are we to really be ourselves if we are so busy trying to be the ideal image for others? Also, when an older girl comes to America she is bombarded with this image, and she wants to be able to fit in so she succumbs to trying to be that image. We see in "Blonde White Women" how the woman on the bus wants and longs to be white and fit in. She describes the straight hair and pink fingers. In, "The Making Of A Writer: From The Poets In The Kitchen," we see another young girl ashamed of herself, and she even feels shame to ask the librarian for help to find black authors. Also in Bread Givers, we see that Sara wants to fit in so badly that she spends her hard earned money on make-up to try to look like the other girls. In most of these stories that were mentioned the women grew up and got on with their lives and felt proud of who they were. But why should women have to endure this harsh ideal image in a world already filled with so many other more important issues with which to deal? We have discussed gender and assimilation in class; almost always the man has an easier time assimilating than the woman. This is because women have a totally different role to play here.

They also have to worry about the ideal image of American women, and they have to deal with the scrutiny of other women. It is harder for women to assimilate because women are harsh judges of themselves and other women . . . . [ao 2001]

The first generation however, was not as quick to embrace the American education system as the second and successive generations. In Nash Candelaria’s "El Patron", the father, a first generation immigrant, is distraught that his son has not registered for the draft, and he blames the education system. "I should have never let him go to college…that’s where he gets such crazy radical ideas. From those rich college boys whose parents can buy them out of all kinds of trouble." The father sees college as a place where his son does not fit in and as something evil, instead of a way for him to improve his social status through social immigration. He is not willing to let go of the old world ways and traditions.

The father in Bread Givers, also a first generation immigrant, was unable to see an education as a positive experience for his daughter. When his daughter, Sara, refused to marry Max Goldstein, her father blamed it on her education. "Pfui on your education! You think you can make over the world…woe to America where women are let free like men." Sara saw her education as opportunity to change her circumstances. She wanted a better life for herself, and with an education she could obtain it. But she also realized that she could not change her father, "I saw there was no use talking. He could never understand. He was the Old World. I was the new." While education did provide a means to improve social status, it also acted as a bridge that further separated the second and third generation further from the Old World. [av 2001]

An objective that I am eager to examine is Literary Objective 2a. Narrator or viewpoint: Who writes the immigrant narrative? This objective caught my attention while I was doing my research paper. I touched lightly on this topic when I quoted Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II referring to how little Irish American immigrants have written themselves and when Pete Hamill says that the second-generation pretty much wrote or told the stories of the first generations.

I thought briefly about this topic while doing the readings for this class. For example, Amy Tan was born in California and the characters in her books tell the story of the first generation. Gary Soto was born in California, June Jordan in New York, and Richard Rodriguez also in California. I always assumed that when you talked about an immigrant or immigrant literature, you were talking about the person who actually took the journey. So I was surprised to hear the terms "second and third generation immigrants." I was also surprised when we started the readings and I saw the little biography captions saying someone was born in California.

But these second-generation immigrants have the unique perspective of relating the Old World from their parents to the New World that they grew up in. They have the advantage of being familiar with both worlds, whereas a first generation immigrant may be more familiar with the Old World and not care for the New World’s customs. A third-generation immigrant may never know a lot about the Old World and is completely assimilated to the New World. . . . However, these stories that we read by first-generation immigrants were especially moving because we can see more clearly the stages of the immigrant narrative. . . .

Bharati Mukherjee illustrates this wonderfully in her stories. In "A Wife’s Story" we see how she must retain her customs when her husband comes to visit. In the theater, she is offended and did not pay to be insulted. She says, "It’s the tyranny of the American Dream that scares me." The reader is able to feel how an immigrant may feel and what things they enjoy and are afraid of.

What I am trying to say is that first-generation writers offer an insight that their children do not offer because, try as they might, they did not make the transition that their parents made. Even if their parents told them about it, the second generation writers still add something to the literature that does not make it a first generation immigrant story. . . . . [AR 2001]

Throughout the course, works such as Bread Givers, Garcia Girls, "Soap and Water," "The Making of a Writer . . . ," "The Lesson," and "In the Elementary School Choir" have helped me to understand the role that formal education serves in assimilation. Though assimilation might be achieved without some type of an education, the odds are very slim. It seems that the mysterious ability or education to aid in immigrant assimilation can be understood when examining how it teaches the America way of life, how it prepares immigrants for individualization, and how it is intertwined with the American Dream.

From our course readings, it can be concluded that formal education is usually the fundamental factor in learning the American way of life. . . .

Education also prepares immigrants for the necessary individualization of the American culture. This characteristic of education can be seen when examining Sara Smolinsky in Bread Givers. The double-edged sword of education is that it isolates the participant, which is truly evident in Sara’s situation. Sara recognizes that, in order to become a person, you must get out of your family space and get your own. Education adheres to this idea, forcing students to be self-sufficient and pulls them away from others with such things as homework, projects, etc. . . . [MG 2001]

An objective or emphasis on public education would fit in this course so nicely and would be a wonderful objective to bridge the minority and immigrant components of the course. For those students that end up taking both LITR 4332: American Minority Literature and LITR 4333: American Immigrant Literature, it adds even more to the continuity. Think back to all the references to school, teachers (both inside and outside the classroom) that occur in Black Girl Lost, The House on Mango Street, Bless Me Ultima, and Baby of the Family and to those that we find in the books from this term. You have a gold mine of information for discussion.

As someone planning on being in a High School English or Speech classroom in the fall, the writings from this semester give me ready-made resources for many topics that will come up in the curriculum. I feel these readings will lend to discussion and not to many of those "This has nothing to do with me" statements. I plan on teaching in an ethnically and culturally diverse classroom and how wonderful to have anthologies at the ready that can speak from differing voices. [PK-A 2001]