. . . The American Immigrant narrative encompasses three specific multicultural identities: the immigrant, who had a desire to come to America in the hopes of securing the “American Dream,” who often completely assimilates to the dominant culture. The minority, whose presences in America is attributed to coercion, rarely assimilates to the dominant culture and often times maintains distinct lines of separation within their own communities. Those caught in between, such as Latinos and Afro-Caribbean’s, who refuse to completely assimilate or linger in the process, thus, end up creating their own identities.

America is often referred to as the “Land of Opportunity.” Given the premise behind these words is it understandable why people would leave their homeland and reinvent themselves in America. The pursuit of that American dream motivates people to leave their familiar traditions and fosters their assimilation into the dominant culture.  Within the confines of the American Dream we find that some families assimilate better than others. A prime example can be found in Gish Jen’s, “In the American Society”(IA158), this story provides the reader with a perfect example of an immigrant family whose desire to achieve the American Dream became a reality. In the statement, “My mother bought a station wagon with air conditioning, my father an oversized, red vinyl recliner,” we have the impression that the Chinese family has completely assimilated to the dominant culture as their purchases reflect those types of things that model Americans would have in their homes. Not only has the family assimilated through its behaviors, they have also been accepted by the dominant culture. “Why I’d be honored and delighted to write you people a letter” (162): The neighbors’ statement shows that the dominant culture, the Caucasians, believe the Chinese family has exemplified the expectations of good Americans and are therefore worthy of entrance into the dominant culture.  This story depicts what is also referred to as the “Model Minority,” those who have made use of the educational and economic opportunities offered in America.

However, regardless of how much a person wants to achieve the American dream, and is willing to assimilate, the welcome mat is not always rolled out to those who desire to become part of the dominant culture.  Unlike those who have good experiences in their quest for the American dream, there are many who have bad experiences and incur rejection and discrimination. This can be observed in the story by Anzia Yezierska’s, “Soap and Water,” (IA, 105-110). The young lady has made grave sacrifices in order to get an education. Despite her rigorous efforts at trying to obtain the American dream, and her having labored extensively at getting her education, she finds out that her acceptance into the dominant culture was not contingent upon her being educated, as she  had  thought, but more so on her appearance and how well she fit the standards of the dominant culture. She suffers rejection from her own people for wanting to better her life and discrimination from her peers for not fitting the mold of American society. This signifies that not only must you be educated, but you must also look a certain way in order to fully be accepted into the circle of the dominant culture.

While viewing the minority narrative we gather a completely different perspective as compared to the immigrant narrative. Since minorities endured inhumane treatment, their story is one often seasoned with exploitation, self rejection and resistance and the need to maintain separate communities. In the poem, by Patricia Smith, “Blonde White Women,”(UA77) we are introduced to a young girl who is comparing her beauty to that of the dominant culture. Since the dominant culture is portrayed with blonde hair and white skin, the young girl, being black does not see herself as beautiful. Therefore she rejects herself, “…with a dull gray mophead covering my nappy hair, wishing myself golden” (UA77), and wishes her   hair color and skin color were like white woman with blonde hair.  I could really relate to her self-discrimination. Having grown up in Mississippi and dealing with not fitting in with the norm, typical African Americans, I began to reject who I was, and began to tell everyone I was Puerto Rican. This little lie helped me escape the rejection and avoid all the questions about my complexion and hair that I, as a young girl of seven, didn’t have the knowledge to answer.  Just as with the girl in the poem who  later in life  learns to embrace her differences and acknowledge that she too is beautiful, it wasn’t until I was in my late teens that I stopped rejecting myself and began to embrace my uniqueness. Another observation of the difference between the immigrant narrative and the minority narrative can be seen in the story by Louise Erdrich’s, “American Horse” (IA210). This story provides a perfect example of resistance among the Native Americans to assimilate into the dominant culture and the separatism that exists in minority narratives. In the story the Native American family resides on a reservation which clearly indicates their resistance to assimilate into the dominant culture, and their preference to maintain their own identity. Since they are being coerced into giving up their child there is very little likelihood that assimilation will ever occur. The only thing that can be  guaranteed is that the American Nightmare will continue because they, the dominant culture, has again taken that which does not belong to them—their child, thus the Native Americans view of the dominant culture will continue. These stories fit nowhere in the realm of the American Dream and are often classified as the American Nightmare, because of the characteristics of exploitation, discrimination and resistance that exists in these narratives.

The last group, those caught in between, also referred to as the New World Immigrants, encompass Latinos and Afro-Caribbean’s. These people experience the problems of both the immigrant and the minority narrative. For example, Mexican Americans may assimilate or may not. This is often contingent on their view of America. If they feel they have been exploited by America, as minorities have, they tend to remain tied to their roots, thus marrying within their own social status.  A main example can be observed in the story by Gary Soto’s, “Like Mexicans” (HO). In the story we see the mother constantly telling her son that he should marry a Mexican girl. The synopsis behind this is, in marrying someone from your own social class there is less likelihood of rejection. In addition to for going rejection, the possibility of assimilation occurring is nil to none. The story ends with the young man marrying someone who is not Mexican, but does have a similar socioeconomic background.  Now assimilation may occur at a faster rate, because both are attending college and will be exposed and more accepted into the dominant culture. Whereas, had the young man married a Mexican girl, assimilation would be very unlikely, as the standards of living would have remained the same and exposure to the outside world would have been limited. The problem with being caught in-between is that you seem to be torn between two worlds; one that you have been raised in and the other that your parents or grandparents come from.

In the poem by Martin Espada, “Coca Cola and Coca Frio” (UA124), we get a glimpse of a young boy who is from America taking a trip to his ancestors homeland in Puerto Rico. Upon his arrival he is greeted by his tia’s who are offering him Coca-Cola, however being that he is from America and is familiar with the beverage, his  thirst is not quenched. It is as though he is longing for something else, something different. He then finds the Coco-Frio, and upon consumption, his desire for something different is quenched. This scenario gives the reader the impression that although the young boy is from America, part of him longs for a piece of the old country, a piece of his heritage. As the poem ends we are reminded that the young boy grows into a man whose thoughts continue to linger in Puerto Rico, he is somewhere in between the two worlds. . .  .

[Christina]