Tuesday, 28 February: Other Hispanic Americans: Immigrant / American Dream story, or Minority?
Junot Diaz, "How to Date a Browngirl . . . “ (IA 276-279); Oscar Hijuelos, “Visitors, 1965” (IA 310-325) Judith Ortiz Cofer, "Silent Dancing"

Text-Objective Discussion-  Shlena Freeman

Objective 3-  To compare and contrast the immigrant narrative with the minority narrative-or American Dream vs. American Nightmare

Differences between immigrants and minorities

Silent Dancing- Judith Ortiz Cofer

1.  Immigrants voluntarily choose to come to America:

This family is basically forced to come to America for financial reason.  Therefore, coming to America was not exactly choice but more of a necessity.

2.  Immigrants typically assimilate and lose ethnic identity.  Minorities remain distinct communities.

The line is blurred in this story.  There are cases in which they want to assimilate, cases in which they hold back, and some that they do both

Assimilation-  pg 181 “Father preferred that we do our grocery shopping at the supermarket…”

The cousin who has grown up in America wants to be seen as American.

pg. 185 “Not me, I’m an American woman, and I will do as I please…  I never speak Spanish in public…My life is going to be different.  I have an American boyfriend…If I marry him, even my name will be American.”

Holding on to both- pg 182 “We were the only ones in El Building that I knew of who got presents on both Christmas and dia de Reyes.”

Resist Assimilation- pg 181 “Yet El Building was a comfort to my mother, who never got over yearning for la isla.”

The family makes fun of the cousin who wants to be seen as American.  She is sent back to Puerto Rico and they call her La gringa and say… pg 186 “La gringa is what she always wanted to be…”

Visitors, 1965-Oscar Hijuelos

Objective 3-  American Dream vs. American Nightmare

When Aunt Luisa and the other members of the family come from Cuba, they achieve the American Dream while Mercedes’ family is in somewhat of an American Nightmare.  Aunt Luisa’s family is able to find the American Dream when Pedro gets a job that is better than Alejo’s. 

pg 324 “A few months later, they were ready to rent a house in a nice neighborhood in Jersey…Everyone but Luisa was bringing home money.  They used the money to buy furniture and send Virgina to night computer school…Pedro even started a candy and cigarette business…”

While Mercedes complains…pg 325  “They’re going to have everything, and we…what will we have?”…”What about the pennies I saved?  What about us?”

Questions

1. What do you think is meant by the line “I’ve had dreams in the form of this home movie.”  in Silent Dancing?  Is she longing to hold onto the old world while living in the new one?

2. Why do you think Alejo keeps refusing to take money from Pedro when he offers it?

3. In Visitors, 1965, why do you think these families have such different experiences in America?