Larry Stanley

06-27-08

Web Reviews

The first review I read was by A. Noblitt. A fairly well written review, the author thoroughly covered the course with attention toward the ability of the immigrant to assimilate themselves to the new country they came to. I didn’t agree with their stating that in Baldwin’s novel the minority becomes an outsider who is ashamed of what he’s become. The man in the story who owned the suit had little to be ashamed of, except by the way his friend acted toward him. The friend was the one who couldn’t adjust to living in a more dominant world. Minorities do try to keep their traditions alive, but I don’t feel they are forced to give them up just to conform to the dominant party. Noblitt also stated the media has a lot to do with how the minority is treated, which I don’t agree with. The media tries to be as biased as they can when reporting the news, the people watching the news being the interpreters. Noblitt’s essay was very good, and I saw some good points. There seemed like a little too much prejudice feeling, and the author’s feeling that the dominant society is taking over is not the feeling I get today.

The second essay by M. Gorman said a lot toward what the American people are made up of. She said in order to achieve the American Dream people have to give up some of their traditions in order to survive and succeed in today’s society. I agree with the author; some traditions need to be given up in order to accept the life they’ve come over here to live. The author states that the minority looked with fear and anger at the American people, but he must realize the conditions these people lived in for such a long time. I like the way the author has learned to see what the immigrant has gone through and what they have given up for the opportunity to live in this country.

The third essay was by K. Bird, and told of the reasons most immigrants come to America. The author also gave a graphic description of what one black man encountered on his journey. The author states that the minority refuses to assimilate when given the opportunity, but doesn’t realize their people weren’t given that opportunity until they were freed, and by that time aggression for the American people had already set in. The author does recognize that America is made up of a diverse set of cultures and that this is what makes America the land of opportunity. A very good essay, it shows the author has learned to accept the old and new ways of the immigrant people and that they bring more to America than a lot of people think.

60 min.