Rhonda Fisher

A Definition of American Culture

A discussion of the issue of immigration in modern America frequently leads to the assertion that America is a land of immigrants. This statement is, no doubt, true. The U.S. is a country founded on immigration and the practice continues ever increasingly today. Because America is composed completely of individuals of various ethnicities and nationalities who are either immigrants themselves or descended from immigrants, one might assume that there exists no standard in identifying the base culture of the United States. After all, if every person migrated to this country at one time or another, it should follow that America possess no defined culture and that all U.S. citizens celebrate and embrace difference and multiculturalism. Despite the fact that America is a multicultural nation born of the labors of various immigrant groups throughout history, she does indeed have a dominant culture that all immigrants must assimilate to. It is, perhaps, fitting that the dominant culture of today’s America is primarily derived from the cultural foundation created and preserved by the body of immigrants we generally consider to be the first settlers of America: the Pilgrims. Today’s dominant culture mirrors that culture initially promulgated by the Pilgrims as it is characterized and identified by many of the same measures and traits as their culture was, including a sense of superiority, emphasis on religion, plain style, impersonality and capitalism.  

In addition to simply determining those elements that exemplify what our dominant culture is, we must also analyze why it is – i.e., why our dominant culture is derivative of Pilgrim customs. While the Pilgrims are usually recognized as the first American settlers, the mere fact that they were here first is not the most notable circumstance when examining them as a model for America’s dominant culture. What is most substantial concerning the Pilgrims in this regard is the manner in which they migrate to America. Rather than undertaking the journey to America individually or as a nuclear family, the Pilgrims arrive in America as a group, or, community. The fact that the Pilgrims immigrate as a colony sets them apart from any other category of American immigrants and seems to be the sole reason they successfully establish that dominant culture to which later immigrants would assimilate. The “group migration” of the Pilgrims is also referred to as “national migration” and occurs when, “unlike the normal immigration pattern of individuals and families immigrating with intentions or expectations that they will assimilate to their new home, […] groups immigrate as communities with the intention of not assimilating” (Course Objective 4). Unlike later immigrants who journey to America and eventually lose the distinctive qualities that had originally distinguished them from others as they assimilate, the Pilgrims come with no intention of assimilating, but rather the sole intent of maintaining their culture and beliefs as a group. By migrating collectively, the Pilgrims are able to effectively dominate, rather than assimilate to the customs of the Native Americans and thus create basis of America’s dominant culture.

While the Pilgrims are the major American example of “national migration” the practice is not exclusive to them. An historical example of “national migration,” and likely the model by which the Pilgrims migrated, comes from the Bible when the ancient Jews migrate from Egypt to Canaan. Striking similarities exist between the migrations of the Pilgrims and the ancient Jews, including how both groups migrate for religious reasons and how they both believe they are following God’s will. The Bible sets forth how the Jews were justified in driving out the Canaanites as the Lord tells Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you […] Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess’” (Numbers 33.51-3). Because the Jews are given the lands formerly belonging to the Canaanites by God they are entitled to them. Similarly, the Pilgrims seem to view themselves as entitled to the lands of America, despite the fact that Native Americans inhabited them first. Bradford, in Of Plymouth Plantation, refers to Squanto as “a special instrument sent of God for their good beyond their expectation” (89). The Pilgrims view Squanto and the other Natives as mere tools provided by God. They intend to use these “tools” to plant and harvest the land that they have overtaken, but aside from this generally do not feel the Indians should be afforded any consideration or acknowledgment as the native inhabitants of America. In comparing the Pilgrim migration with the Exodus story, we begin to encounter some of those components of our dominant culture. Just as the ancient Jews and the Pilgrims hold complete disregard for the Canaanites and the Native Americans, members of American dominant culture often display a sense of superiority and exclusiveness. Additionally, the fact that both groups feel they are “entitled” by God further illustrates their exclusory attitude, and at the same time denotes their strong religious ties.

The elements of dominant culture modeled in Of Plymouth Plantation (and the Bible) serve to further locate the roots of today’s dominant culture with the Pilgrims. Features of the dominant culture are numerous and appear time after time with later generations once they have been established by the Pilgrims. Examples of these traits can first be found with Anzia Yezierska’s Bread Givers. Similar to the elitist manner in which the Pilgrims regard themselves in their interactions with the American Indians, so do Sara’s classmates classify her as inferior. Sara explains, “I looked at these children of joy with a million eyes […] By all their differences from me, their youth, their shiny freshness, their carefreeness, they pulled me out of my senses to them. And they didn’t even know I was there” (213). Sara is wholly fascinated by and envious of her classmates. Acutely aware of her differences from them, Sara longs to be more like her classmates, who are obvious members of the dominant culture. She typifies the traditional immigrant model in her desire for assimilation while her classmates represent the dominant culture’s selectiveness.

Another feature of the dominant culture found in Bread Givers is its tendency to be simple and plain in appearance. Describing her female classmates, Sara tells us, “I had seen cheap, fancy style, Five-and Ten-Cent Store finery. But never had I seen such plain beautifulness. The simple skirts and sweaters, the stockings and shoes to match” (212). Sara’s use of the words “plain” and “simple” to describe the beautiful appearance of members of the dominant culture is in accordance with the style of America’s dominant culture is meant to go unnoticed. The dominant culture wears “plain” and “simple” clothes, just as the Pilgrims led plain and simple lives and desired to get back to the simple ways of the church. Members of the dominant culture blend in with each other in their bland style and only immigrants or outsiders wear clothes of “fancy style.” Because she is attracted to the idea of assimilation, Sara wants to be just like the girls of the dominant culture and desires to dress in those same plain, simple, yet beautiful styles that epitomize our dominant culture.

Like Bread Givers, Yezierska’s “Soap and Water” touches on the exclusivity and superiority associated with the dominant culture. Dean Whiteside is the dominant culture figure in “Soap and Water,” and in remembering her, the narrator explains, “She never looked into my eyes. She never perceived that I had a soul. She did not see how I longed for beauty and cleanliness. How I strained and struggled to lift myself from the dead toil and exhaustion that weighed me down. She could see nothing in people like me, except the dirt and stains on the outside” (106). The narrator knows that Dean Whiteside could never see anything in “people like her,” which explains how Ms. Whiteside deems herself above those who do not meet the standards of the dominant culture and she practices to exclude these people from the dominant culture. The previous passage also displays the disconnectedness often associated with the dominant culture as the Dean “never looked into her eyes.” The dominant culture is characterized by avoiding personal contact and looking out for oneself. This impersonality can be traced back to the Pilgrims in their “to each his own” attitude in only growing the crops necessary for their immediate family’s survival and their eventual progression toward capitalism.

This same feeling of detachment is apparent in Raban’s “Hunting Mister Heartbreak: A Discovery of America.” The “street people” in Raban’s story replace the immigrants as outsiders and the “air people” serve as the dominant culture. It is now the rich vs. the poor rather than dominant society vs. the immigrants. The vertical immigration identified in Course Objective 6 has replaced the traditional immigrant model and is characterized by upward social mobility. Nevertheless, the dominant culture holds to those qualities of coldness and impersonality. Upon stopping to sit on a fire hydrant in the street and watch people walk by, the narrator relates that, “As they approached my fire hydrant, they accelerated slightly from the waist down, locked their eyes into the horizontal position, and swept by, giving me an exaggeratedly wide berth. I tried making eye contact, and managed to catch a few pairs of pupils offguard: they swerved away in their sockets, as quick as fish” (350). Just like Dean Whiteside, the dominant culture of Raban’s story is completely disconnected from outsiders. Likewise, BF points out how “the markedness [of the street people] makes the unmarked air people uncomfortable. They instruct [the narrator] to focus on a point somewhere ahead so that he won’t have to look at the street people. He shouldn’t even answer their questions.” The street people are regarded as inferior, and thus, do not even warrant answers to their questions. The “air people” have the same feeling of superiority that is associated with the dominant culture in Of Plymouth Plantation, Bread Givers and in “Soap and Water” is apparent here, as well. Lastly, “Hunting Mister Heartbreak” identifies capitalism as an integral part of the dominant culture because it makes wealth a requirement for being accepted. This identification with capitalism further links the story to the Pilgrims since they were the first American capitalists.