American Immigrant Literature is a necessary part of the education of Americans.  America is a “melting pot” of numerous ethnic groups, and in order for all of us to better understand each other and for the successful assimilation of immigrants, we must learn all that we can about each other.  Much of this learning takes place from the “Immigrant Narrative.”  We can learn a great deal from the writings of people from other places and cultures.  In order to reinforce this idea, we can take a look at the Native Americans and what has happened to some of these groups of people because of the immigrants’ refusal to assimilate to their culture and their refusal to assimilate to the invaders’ culture.  There cannot be any particular group’s literature ignored; however, hopefully one would be encouraged to look outside the classroom for the stories of different cultures not covered in their required education.

     There are three main multicultural categories to be compared and contrasted:  immigrants, minorities, and those that fall somewhere in between.  Immigrants typically come to America in search of the “American Dream” or to escape religious or political prosecution.  They come for a better life for themselves and their families.  Immigrants will usually follow a pattern of shock, resistance, exploitation, and/or discrimination.  Assimilation to the dominant American culture is almost always necessary for a successful transition from the old world to the new, and, unlike minorities, they usually do assimilate and lose their ethnic identity in one to three generations.  Immigrants voluntarily choose to come to America, therefore, are expected to assimilate to the American culture. 

     In Joseph Papaleo’s “American Dream: First Report” (UA 88), we are given a view of both the initial discrimination and eventual assimilation of an Italian family.  At first, they “… smelled and looked too short and dark.”  They are, however, able to assimilate to the American culture through the use of the television, which conveys all of the “important” values of American culture.  There is no resistance to this assimilation and this family plays by the rules of the social contract.  Conversely, Anzia Yezierska’s “Soap and Water” (IA 105-10) presents us with a young woman who does everything that she can to willingly assimilate to the American culture and is discriminated against because of her appearance.  She goes to school to become a teacher and is denied her diploma because of her unkempt appearance that is caused by working so hard to attain her goals.  She is beaten down unmercifully until she encountered “... one from the clean world human enough to be friendly (110).”   She was continuously discriminated against because her differences were visible, until she found someone that could see beyond her outer appearance.

     Unlike immigrants, minority groups did not choose to come to America, but were forced here.  They had a choice to assimilate to the culture forced upon them or to remain a distinct group.  Examples of these minority groups are Native Americans who were already here, and African Americans that were forced to come here and put into bondage.  Both groups found the American Nightmare instead of the American Dream.  Both of these groups are still discriminated against and exploited to a certain extent because their cultural differences are visible which makes it harder for them to assimilate into the mainstream culture.

     In Patricia Smith’s “Blonde White Women” (UA 77), we are given a spectacular view of a young black girl who yearns more than anything to be white so that she can be beautiful and fit into society.  She finally learns as she grows older that she is beautiful as a black woman.  She refuses to be denied the American Dream because of the color of her skin.  I am certain that many minorities with outward appearances unlike the “blonde white women” go through this experience, and hopefully realize, like Patricia Ann, that they are beautiful just the way they are.  An example of the American Indian trying to assimilate to the “new” American culture is represented in Leslie Marmon Silko’s “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” (IA 205-9).  The American Indians depicted in her story are assimilated to some degree – they wear Levi jackets and blue jeans and want holy water for the old man’s burial, but they are completely oblivious to the meanings attached to the things that they do.  They perform a half Indian and half Christian burial.  Their cultural differences are so great that they are still in the learning process of assimilation.  Whether they will become fully assimilated is doubtful.  They live the American Nightmare.

     There is also a group in between the minority group and the immigrant group.  These peoples would include the Mexican American, Hispanic, and Afro-Caribbean groups.  These groups face obstacles that both immigrants and minorities face.  The Mexican Americans were already here to some extent before America took over their land and they became “American”.  In addition, the Afro-Caribbean groups must face both the obstacles of assimilation and being mistaken for African American, a minority group. 

     One example of a resistance to complete assimilation is portrayed in Nash Candelaria’s “El Patron” (IA 221-8) through Tito.  Tito’s refusal to sign up for the draft, breaking American law, upsets his father, who believes that he should show loyalty to his country.  Tito believes that he must fight for what is right.  Another example of this in between status is presented in Paule Marshall’s “To Da-Duh, In Memoriam” (IA 368-77).  In this account, white or light skinned children were preferred and treated differently, even though they were all from the same culture.  The author, though, was as black as the grandmother.  The color code comes into play here, where light-skinned blacks are preferred over the darker blacks within the same culture. 

     This course and these texts have only reinforced my knowledge and beliefs about people’s differences and the racial and cultural discrimination that go along with them.  Any time someone is different in any way, whether it be the color of their skin, their accent, their culture, or even social or financial standing, there will always be those who believe that they do not “fit in”.  I believe that because we live in a country where there is such a diverse group of people, we should all learn to be more tolerant of differences in people. [TC]