Tuesday, 7 February: African American Minority vs. the immigrant narrative.

·        Web highlight (midterms): Amy Breazeale

Introduction: Explore the use of course objectives and selected readings to define American Immigrant Literature.

The Immigrant Narrative is an easy way to evaluate the vast cultures in America without having to tiptoe around the idea of cultural difference and deference.  Studying the narrative also shows how many American ideals were created which also helps us observe and better understand the dominant and minority cultures.  The goal of early immigrants is very similar to the goal of immigrants crossing over today.  In fact, the immigrant narrative has become the “American Dream” – the thing every American wants to reach for (objective 1: story of immigration as a fundamental narrative of American lit. and culture).  Splashed across billboards and t.v. screens we are told to “be the best we can be”, “reach for the stars”, and be a little more “like Mike” – the idea being to better our station in life, make it rich, be known, on top of the world, and thus be free of worry.  By looking at the Immigrant Narrative it can be seen where many of these ideas were developed and how the idea of separation from the “old world” and assimilation of the “new” was seen as the way to reaching this better station.  Reading the immigrant narrative and the minority narrative makes it easier for us to step back from the rush of our culture and see how we became and understand the struggle of those we see as “others”. [GH 2003]

(good example of a student introducing the idea of the immigrant narrative while defining our course objectives in their beginning paragraph)

The immigrant and minority experience intertwine, never being clearly defined or strongly muddled.  While some parts of the journey for one group are voluntary, others experience a completely different American dream.  Each immigrant narrative follows stages, but not all immigrant cultures assimilate into the dominant culture.  Those that most resemble the dominant culture find the easiest assimilation, although not necessarily the acceptance they expected.

“Soap and Water” tells of a quest for the American dream with a focus on class and power distinction. IN (Immigrant Narrative) Stage 3 is represented as the narrator talks of her experience being viewed as a dirty person because of her immigrant status, unable to pass for what dominant culture believes to be “clean”.  As her personal appearance is questioned, she realizes that she is seen as a dirty immigrant who does not fit the ideals of the culture she felt a part of.  Members of the dominant culture never “…perceived that I had a soul”.  Stage 3 turns into the longing for Stage 4, as the narrator recounts how Mrs. Whiteside “did not see how I longed for beauty and cleanliness”.  The narrator is willing to sacrifice her own ethnic identity in order to succeed in this New World.  She experiences discrimination when she realizes that “Mrs. Whiteside had no particular reason for…persecuting me.” CO (Cultural Objective) 1a is evident as the narrator suffers problems due to visible physical differences, like a minority would.  Her migration to America has only exposed her to further religious persecution that Jewish immigrants traditionally came to America to escape.  (IN) Stage 2 and 3 are shown when she meets with resistance as she tries to fit into the dominant culture by becoming educated.  She is exploited for her labor and then discriminated against because she wants to escape it.  The blood and tears in America stain her American dream.  (IN) 2 is shown as the narrator remembers an incident when she arrived in America.  The policeman telling her to get off the grass foreshadows the problems she will have finding a place to enjoy the freedom she expected to find here.  She doesn’t look right and becomes classified as a threat. In a previous mid-term exam, one student wrote, “the immigrant concept of the American Dream is displayed through the narrator’s longing to attend college and become one of the dominant culture.”  The dream of America is what inspires her to come, the “golden country”.  “So-called America” makes a connection to the minority experience as shown in African American narratives, during the time that the narrator struggles but “visions of America rose over me…like songs of freedom of an oppressed people”. She is not willing to give in, despite the issues she faces.  (IN) Stage 4 as she eventually assimilates into the American culture, and is glad to be accepted.  “I was changed and the world was changed”.  Not quite, but she no longer is the same person she was at the beginning of the story. In assimilating she has lost her ethnic identity. [CP 2003]

 (this students passage is a good example how to incorporate other student’s ideas from previous classes with your own ideas)

Within the context of multicultural literature, studying the immigrant narrative and its many facets provides an adequate criterion for investigation, though additional input regarding minority culture adds greater understanding to viewing minority texts.  In purely immigrant texts, such as “Soap and Water” by Anzia Yezierska, the immigrant concept of the American Dream is displayed through the narrator’s longing to attend college and become one of the dominant culture.  The narrator is in the beginning of Stage 4 of the Immigrant Narrative, assimilation to dominant American culture, though her discriminatory treatment by Miss Whiteside includes elements of exploitation and discrimination, Stage 3.  Her extreme desire to become a teacher, part of the national social structure, also shows that the narrator has no resistance to becoming one of the dominant culture and does not care to retain part of her cultural origin by resisting total assimilation.  “The English Lesson” by Nicholasa Mohr, also encompasses the American Dream aspect of immigration to the United States with Lali’s husband owning his own business and working hard to become part of the dominant culture, beginning Stage 4 emotions.  The text states that “they had migrated here in search of a better future” (IA 24), and learning English helps everyone (except Diego Torres) assimilate a bit faster.  The only true contrast between these two works of immigrant narrative is the discrimination felt directly by the narrator in “Soap and Water” and the distance Lali and William feel from the discrimination witnessed through the Polish music professor, who is reduced to being a porter.  William even casually remarks that part of the American Dream of equality means that “everybody [gets] a chance to clean toilets!” (IA 29).  The lack of surprise and indignation from William to this injustice shows to what extent he is becoming a part of the dominant culture and shows the almost desensitization that many immigrants undergo in assimilating to the dominant culture.  The celebration of the American Dream, despite the hardships in “Soap and Water,” marks these two texts as purely immigrant narratives. [CR 2002]

(developing the characteristics of immigrant literature with the use of course objectives)

Conclusion: Although each student uses a different method to explain the importance of American Immigrant Literature today we see the same general idea of thoughts expressed in each student’s mid terms. Students are able to prove their thoughts and ideas based on textual evidence.