Mallory Rogers

The American Reality

            The two terms traditional and national migrations are two very different ideals.  For traditional migrations there are different expectations, these people come to America wanting and more importantly willing to change, hoping for a new life with new chances of prosperity and growth.  As stated in objective four though national migrations, such as the Jews, the first Pilgrims, and the characters in the Exodus story, never had an intention to assimilate any, or at all for that matter.   During this semester, the focus has been on immigrant narratives and how they relate to the model American culture.  In order to further understand the process and stipulations to which immigrants adhere to or chose not to, we must first establish the groundwork for what is referred to as the dominant society.  The prevailing characteristics that form the foundation for the dominant society include being European or white in race, fair or light skinned according to the “color code”, Protestant or Christianity as far as religious beliefs, and lastly exclusiveness or even a lack of visibility for behavioral issues.  WASPs (white-Anglo-Saxon Protestants) created this dominant culture and accordingly their styles, values, principals.  Therefore, when these immigrants arrive they have the choice whether to assimilate or remain distinct and different from the dominant culture.

            The first historical model group that chose to go against the dominant culture is the group of Jews that traveled from Egypt to Canaan from the Exodus story.  Instead of a few deciding to leave, this group journeyed together as one, cohesive group with similar values and beliefs to the promised land of Canaan, a land “flowing with milk and honey” from the doomed Egypt.  They looked to Moses as their guide from God, and those unwilling to follow the Ten Commandments were struck with catastrophe through the workings of God.  This weeded out the weak and the defiant and left the united and grateful remaining.  Astoundingly, the Jews in this story remained faithful to their heritage and did not assimilate by resisting intermarriage with the Canaanites. 

Following in the same path of resistance according to assimilating through intermarriage is the Jewish Americans.  An example of this is the story Bread Givers. This family didn’t come to America with intentions of assimilating but rather for hope of economic growth and prosperity.  The father remains devoted to his religion and moreover, the Torah, while the kids are meant to work to support the family and marry only inside their religions. The main protagonist, Sara, experiences multiple altercations because she does not fit the dominant culture’s mold. She’s Jewish, an immigrant, and a woman.  But she refuses to let this bring her down.  Instead she leaves the immigrant role and instead takes on characteristics of the dominant culture.  She finishes her education and eventually becomes a successful teacher with a decent salary.  Even after deviating from the immigrant narrative though, Sara returns to her roots in the end marrying a fellow Jew, returning to the expectations of a national migration immigrant.

The American Pilgrims and Puritans were like the American Jews in the fact that after they made their “Great Migration” to the new world, they refused to intermarry or even so much as to assimilate with the Indians.  This not only mimicked the American Jews but also the Canaanites of the Exodus story.  When the Pilgrims first journeyed to Holland, they underwent something along the lines of traditional immigrant narratives.  They were expected to assimilate and even intermarry.  Realizing this is not what they had expected or wanted, they made the voyage to America instead.  Here, the Pilgrims and Puritans came in contact with the Indians.  Realizing that the Indians were making do with their way of life though, the Pilgrims decided that teaming up with the Indians would be their only way to survive.  In Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation the story of the first Thanksgiving is depicted.  “With ten men and Squanto for their guide and interpreter, they set out to discover and view that Bay and to trade with the natives.”  Without the natives help, the Puritans would have perished and either been forced back to where they came from or would have eventually died off.  Instead though, they chose to assimilate with the Indians and make life possible for one group and essentially better for the both. . . .

Tami Gilley

Dominance: The Mainstream and Our Cultural Institutions

Although most everyone has a different basis and foundation, we have become a fairly cohesive American culture.  I believe this is derived by our interpretation of the dominant culture.  The dominant culture can be classified as a mainstream.  In America I believe our cultural institutions such as our churches, media, government, and education constitute what we might consider to be our mainstream.  To be part of the dominant culture you must assimilate to the monotheistic, white, middle-class, English speaking majority. One must be “unmarked,” or not stand out in any way as “different” (JLS) . . .

Christina Holmes

 . . . One issue that I felt was elusive at the onset of the class was the reasons as to why the dominant culture seemed to have no remorse for taking possession of the lands in America which were inhabited by the Native Americans. After reading William Bradford’s, “Of Plymouth Plantation,” I came to understand how the Pilgrims, who were in search of a life built on Biblical principles, felt that the land they inhabited was endowed to them from God, much like the people in Exodus. If they believed that God had told them the land was theirs and they were to go forth and cease it, being true followers living by his gospel, it stands to reason that they would do so. Their story also helped me see that it was no picnic starting life in America and although they wanted to come, they suffered much hardship. . . .