Dana Kato

June 25, 2008

Selected essays/poem presentation to review prior to writing.

(6-8 p.m.-Approx 1.5 hours writing time- 30 minutes editing)

(All the highlighted selections are from the works of three writers I am reviewing.) (I've been influenced too much lately by all those brain-based learning strategies that say use color!

Web Review:      

• Katherine Rearick’s Midterm Essay  http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/4333/models/20065731/midterm/mt06ess/mt06essrearick.htm

·         Kim Pritchard’s Midterm Essay: The Immigrant Narrative – A Piece of the American Literary Puzzle http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/4333/models/20065731/midterm/mt06ess/mt06esspritchard.htm

• Kaylee Daniels’ Poetry Presentation of Maxine Wong’s “When I Was Growing Up” http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/4333/models/20065731/prsn/poprsn06su/poprsn06sudaniel.htm

 A century ago, being a tanned female usually announced your status as a farm girl or as someone who had to work in the fields for a living. A woman of class wore a hat and gloves in the sun to protect her ivory complexion. The fairer the better said the dominant culture of the times. Dominant culture with its color code has long been a bastion of American society.  Before the United States and its Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights even existed, color code was the law (sometimes written, sometimes unwritten) of the land.  Color was even used to determine whether a person was human or property. Color code exists in our literature, in the works of many American writers, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, who used white to symbolize purity, innocence and holiness, while the color black conveyed evil.  In the more recent literature that we’ve read in class, it is sadly apparent that the color code is still in effect, despite inroads by immigrant and minority groups in their quest to acquire a stake in “the American Dream.”

The color code issue may be one of the most noticeable points of separation between the minority and immigrant narrative.  It appears that an immigrant coming to the United States who could pass into “white” culture may have had fewer obstacles than someone who of an Asian or African background (who were “marked” by a racial stamp). In terms of the minority narrative which often views (in the words of Dr. White) the American dream as the American “nightmare,” American culture has been “white” culture. One of the effects of this attitude is that minorities who experience success in American society are often treated with contempt by those of their own background. In Katherine Rearick’s mid-term essay she asserts that “minorities who achieve academic or financial success are often considered traitors to their race---‘acting white’ or ‘trying to be white.’ In ‘The Lesson’ by Toni Cade Bambara, the black Miss Moore is painted as a pariah within the black community because of her education and knowledge of culture. The narrator points out that ‘…the grown-ups…talked behind her back like a dog’ because ‘she’d been to college’ (145).”  This would seem a contrast to the typical immigrant narrative where education is looked upon as a more positive sign of status. In the minority narrative, even those who manage to overcome the social and economic hurdles before them may still end up suffering from survivor’s guilt. Rearick writes that “this is a struggle that many second- and third-generation children of immigrants also face, but it seems to evoke even more emotion in minority literature. In ‘No Name in the Street,’ James Baldwin speaks extensively of this guilt: ‘[it] meant that I had betrayed the people who had produced me. Nothing could be more unutterably paradoxical: to have thrown in your lap what you dreamed of getting, and, in sober, bitter truth, could never have dreamed of having, and that at the price of an assumed betrayal of your brothers and sisters.’ ” To complicate the differences between the immigrant and minority narratives is the narrative of the ”New World Immigrant” who must deal with the common problems faced by an immigrant to the US in addition to being perceived by many as a member of a minority group.  Rearick notes that in “The Making of a Writer, “Paule Marshall … exhibits this New World dualism. In almost a single breath, she establishes a connection and loyalty to the home country (Barbados), a strong immigrant work ethic and the concept of the American Dream, and a minority experience that stems from racism.”

In Kim Pritchard’s essay, she points out that “although some similarities exist between the immigrant and minority narratives, the minority narrative deviates from the stages of the immigrant on several fronts. Unlike immigrants, who can be told to ‘play by the rules of the American Dream (Obj. 3),’ the minorities often voice words such as exploitation, oppression, discrimination, and marginalization.” Minority groups, particularly African-Americans and Native-Americans, have historically not been signed to the same social contract as that of other immigrants.  It has been harder for them to see that relationship between work ethic and success, possibly due to a history being shut out of certain careers and educational opportunities (no matter how hard they worked). It has also been more difficult for them to become a part of the dominant culture, due to its color code.  And while the dominant culture has opened up a little more to accept the Tiger Woods and Barack Obamas, it still influences how others see minorities and even how minorities see themselves. According to Pritchard,                       “‘They,’ the oppressive dominant culture, provide their social contract for the minorities, and should the minority choose not to follow, the alternative leaves much to be desired.”  I would like to believe that is no longer the case, but I am not so sure. Lastly, Pritchard gives an example from Cisneros’ “Barbie-Q” and argues that “the ‘tall, blonde, white woman’ with impossible measurements symbolizes the American Dream of every young American girl including members of the immigrant and minority cultures.” In several of the stories we have covered, product placement has been evident.  In this case, it’s just a doll, but not just any doll; it’s the icon of dolls. Over the years, Barbie has probably led many young girls into bouts of bulimia, but her early status as a blonde blue-blued beauty has also affirmed the color code which subliminally suggests that to truly be beautiful (and wanted) and popular, you must be a fair-skinned blonde. I’m not sure Pritchard is wrong, but her assertion seems a little broad. 

In Kaylee Daniel’s poetry presentation, she discusses “When I Was Growing Up” by Maxine Wong, a second-generation Chinese American who grows up experiencing the pain of the color code, not only from the dominant culture she lives in socially, but from within her own family.  “She was not only darker than the white women around her; she was also darker than her sisters who were lighter skinned Asian girls.  Wong felt dirty and ugly and felt that her life would be better if her skin were lighter.” While Asians are sometimes referred to as the “model minority” in that they assimilate well in terms of economics and education, they still may share an assimilation issue closer to that of the African-American.  Like the African-American, they are “marked” by their race despite all the other successes achieved in terms of attaining the American dream.  Daniels quotes Wong: “‘There is a traditional phase in Chinese, ‘A white covers three uglies,’ which says that whiteness can cover any imperfection on face. Chinese women are always believing in this.’”  In addition, despite the fact that the cultures of Japan and China and Vietnam are uniquely different, the dominant culture attitude in America has been to lump them into one group and label them all “Chinese people.”   Daniels ends with this thought provoking point:  “Wong writes, ‘When I was growing up, people would ask if I were Filipino, Polynesian, Portuguese.  They named all colors except white, the shell of my soul but not my rough dark skin.’  What do you think she was focused on here, the idea that she could not pass for white, or the idea that her actual heritage or ethnicity was so invaluable that the majority culture could not differentiate it from other immigrant cultures?”

While all three pieces were interesting and helped lead me to the connecting theme of color code, I was most attracted to Rearick’s well written and articulate essay because I connected personally  with it both in terms of what she had learned, and in terms of how the experiences explored in a class like this can change one’s perspective. I especially like her conclusion, because I could have written it myself (only not as well):  “The value, then, in the study of immigrant and minority literature is apparent in my very own character, and my perception of the United States as a multicultural nation has been deepened by my ability to understand and empathize with people I never thought I would identify with.”