Text–Objective Discussion:  Asian American Immigrant Literature

Objective 1c (focuses on forth bullet): The casual inclusiveness of most multi-cultural surveys generates potential problems or questions. American society compromises so many ethnic groups that no survey can cover them all.

  ● Can different ethnic groups share common cause? (This raises a sensitive question: Can anyone identify with ethnic or gender groups other than their own? If so, is such identification possible only through a shared sense of victimization?)

Objective 3 (color code only): Literature represents the sensitive subject of skin color in frequently or symbolically, but with important associations for identity and consequences for destiny.

The immigrant narratives, "In the American Society" and "America is in the Heart", exemplify the distinctiveness Asian American Immigrant identities uphold, as compared to those of other immigrants, despite their economic status. The "color code" and ethnic group identification with other ethnic groups is highlighted in the text examples below.

Gish, Jen, "In the American Society" (handout)

Guests at Mrs. Langster's party notice Mr. and Mrs. Chang's physical Asian American traits:

"I watched my mother take off her shoes, laughing and laughing as a man with a beard regaled her with Navy stories by the pool. Apparently he has been stationed in the Orient and remembered a few words of Chinese, which made my mother laugh still more. My father excused himself to go to the men's room and then drifted back and weighed anchor at the hors d' oeuvres table, while my mother sailed onto a group of women, who tinkled at length over the clarity of her complexion" (168).

"Viticulture is not your forte, yes I can see that, see that plainly. But may I trouble you on another matter? Forget the damned bottle." He threw it into the pool, and winked at the people he splashed. "I have another matter. Do you speak Chinese?" (169).

"Doubtless you've seen drunks before, haven't you? You must have them in China" (169).

The immigrant status of Mrs. Langston and Mr. Brothers is revealed by Mrs. Langston herself and the narrator.

"I just know how it is. It's a secret of course, but you know, my father was Jewish. Can you see it? Just look at my skin" (169).

"He was a slim, well-proportioned man, with a Roman nose and small eyes and a nice manly jaw that he allowed to agape" (168).

Bulosan, Carlos, from "America is in the Heart" (IA 158-171)

As they begin working, Allos and Marcelo's Asian-American identity is labeled Filipino based on their physical appearances:

"All right, Pinoys, you are working for me now" (61).

"The leader of our crew was called Cornielo Paez; but most of the oldtimers suspected that it was not his real name. There was something shifty about him, and his so-called bookkeeper, a pockmarked man we simple called Pinoy (which is a term generally applied to all Filipino immigrant workers), had a strange trick of squinting sideways when he looked at you. There seemed to be an old animosity between Paez and his bookkeeper.

            "But we were all drawn together because of the white people of Yakima Valley were suspicious of us. Years before, in the town of Toppenish, two Filipino apple pickers had been found murdered on the road to Sunnyside. At that time, there was ruthless persecution of the Filipinos throughout the Pacific Coast, instigated by orchardists who feared the unity of white and Filipino workers" (66).

After discovering his background, Allos describes Mr. Malraux's immigrant status:

"Mr. Malraux, our employer, had three daughters who used to work with us after school hours. He was a Frenchman who had gone to Moxee City when it consisted of only a few houses. At that time the valley was still a haven for Indians, but they had been gradually driven out when farming had started on a large scale. Malraux had married an American woman in Spokane and begun farming; (67).

Question 1: How do the Asian American Immigrants identify with each other's ethnic groups verses the other immigrants in the texts?

Objective 5 (focuses on second bullet): To observe and analyze the effects of immigration and assimilation on cultural units or identities:

● gender:

In the Old World, gender identities tend to be traditional, with divisions of power, labor, and expression. In the New World, gender may be de-emphasized in favor of equality, merit, and other gender-neutral concepts.

New World and Old World gender identities are illustrated below with two female Asian American Immigrants.

Sui Sin Far, In the Land of the Free (IA 3-11)

"When my wife told to me one morning that she dreamed of a green tree with spreading branches and one beautiful red flower growing thereon, I answered her that I wished my son to be born in our country, and for her to prepare to go to China" (4).

"But accustomed to obedience she yielded the boy to her husband, who in turn delivered him to the first officer" (5).

"The noon hour arrived. The rice was steaming in bowls and a fragrant dish of chicken and bamboo shoots was awaiting Hom Hing" (9).

"La Choo piled up her jewels before the lawyer. Hom Hing laid a restraining hand upon her shoulder" (10).

Maxine Hong Kingston, from The Woman Warrior (handout)

"I minded that emigrant villagers shook their heads at my sister and me" (196).

"I went away to college--Berkley in the sixties-- and I studied, and I marched to change the world, but I did not turn into a boy" (196)

"There is a Chinese word for the female I -- which is "slave" (197).

"Even now, unless I am happy, I burn the food when I cook. I do not feed people. I let the dirty dished rot" (197).

"When I visit my family now, I wrap my American success around me like a private shawl" (200).

Question 2: Classify each character in the "Old World" and "New World" categories while comparing their cultures.   

Question 3: What narratives can be cross-examined with the other objective(s) discussed?