Text-Objectives

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

Differences between the immigrants and minorities:

Since immigrants voluntarily chose to come to America, they can be told to play by the rules of the American Dream. Minorities may have been denied the opportunity for the American Dream, and minorities may speak of exploitation instead of opportunity.

No Name in the Street by James Baldwin

p. 285

"The guilt of the survivor is a real guilt--as I was now to discover. In a way that I may never be able to make real for my countrymen or myself that I had 'made it'...by the use of a name which had not been mine when I was born and which love had compelled me to make my own--meant that I had betrayed the people who had produced me."

Presenter's comment: He felt guilty for having “made it” because he felt as if he had betrayed his own people.  He felt that “his people” made him the person that he was, but yet, he was still misunderstood and not accepted because of his accomplishments.

Oppression within a culture

The immigrants were proud of their accomplishments.

p. 287

The American situation being what it is, and American taxi drivers being what they are, I have, in effect been forbidden to expose myself to the quite tremendous hazards of getting a cab to stop for me in New York, and have been forced to hire cars.

Oppression from society

This story took place in the sixties, I believe, when all of the civil rights movements were in full effect and being a well known, successful black man made it twice as hard for him. Not only did he face hatred from whites, but he also faced hatred from his own.

The immigrants stuck together.

P. 287

I was no longer the person my friend and his family had known and loved-I was a stranger now, and keenly aware of it, and trying hard to act, as it were, normal. But nothing can be normal in such a situation. They had known me, and they had loved me; but now they couldn’t be blamed for feeling He thinks he’s too good for us now.

"The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara

This story had so many issues to point out so I will briefly address some of them.

P. 145: The way Sylvia and the others viewed Ms. Moore because of her appearance and intelligence.

P. 146-147: The trip to the toy store

Ms. Moore’s dedication to her job and to the children of the community despite their behavior

The way the other children treat Mercedes

Sylvia’s attitude towards Sugar when she responds to Ms. Moore

Questions

Why do you think that the man in No Name in the Street is so down on himself because of his accomplishments?  Would you feel this way if you were coming up in his situation? Do you think that “his people” view him as he views himself?

Ms. Moore seems to try really hard to teach the children even though she is aware of the fact that they don’t really like her and they seem to care nothing about her lessons. Why do you suppose Ms. Moore is so determined?

Questions:

What do you think Ms. Moore meant by, where we are is who we are (p. 151)?

What is Sylvia’s attitude at the end of the story? How has it changed?