Views of the Dominant Culture

By Amy Barnett

            The dominant culture in America can be identified by light skin, simple clothing, communities, literacy, and unwillingness to assimilate (obj. 4). These identifiers date back to the Pilgrims who settled at Plymouth. The Protestant migration to America is fueled by the conflicts they have with the Church of England. The Pilgrims want a place to dwell so they can practice their modest religion. They desire to practice a religion of “ancient purity” which is influenced by the church community of the Apostles after Jesus’ death. The Pilgrims leave England because of the persecution they endure for rebelling against the Church of England. Upon arriving in America, the Pilgrims make friends with the Indians in the beginning, but eventually build fences and set up guard around their dwelling to keep watch out for the Native Americans according to A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth (Mourt’s Relation). At this point the Native Americans have become the minority and the Pilgrims have become the dominant culture. An ironic point to note is how the Pilgrims left England to escape maltreatment and came to America forcing the Native Americans to assimilate to their practices.

            Though the Pilgrims established the dominant culture for America, the Jewish people formed as a dominant culture during biblical times which is recorded as the Exodus story. The Jewish migrated from Egypt to Israel to escape persecution. According to the Exodus story, God tells the Jews they must carry all their belongings, including their written laws which are linked to the Pilgrims bringing their belongings and the Mayflower Compact as their laws. Written law brings out the dominant culture’s importance of literacy (obj. 1). Additionally, in the Exodus story, God instructs the Jewish people to drive out the Canaanites and demolish all their homes and belongings. Similarly, the Pilgrims drive out the Indians which is connected to both dominant cultures. The dominant culture brings their old world and practices with them and do not assimilate, but demand assimilation to their culture. The Jewish people and the Pilgrims identify themselves as chosen by God which is a significant attribute of the dominant culture being defined by religion (obj. 4). Another connection to make between the ancient Jews and Pilgrims is they move as a community or “National migration” (obj 4). There is a sense of superiority about these two dominant cultures and it affects how they view outsiders such as the Canaanites and Native Americans. Historically, the dominant culture displays a level of intolerance to people who are different; therefore, the different people become the minority. Intolerance is so negative which may be the reason we are uncomfortable discussing the dominant culture.

            When I asked a group of junior high students to describe the dominant culture, intolerance was not mentioned. Instead, this group of adolescents identified the dominant culture as being white which is a common identifier. Also, the students thought of people with money and power as the dominant culture (obj. 4). The younger view of the dominant culture is interesting to compare to the older view which is not very different.

            A significant observation in immigrant literature is the immigrant’s eagerness to assimilate for American opportunity. The story, “Silver Pavements, Golden Roofs,” by Chitra Divakaruni provides a metaphoric willingness to assimilate when the narrator, Jayanti, thinks to herself:

            The air inside the plane smells different from the air I’ve known all my life in Calcutta,   moist and weighted with smell of mango blossoms and bus fumes and human sweat. This            air is dry and cool and leaves a slight metallic aftertaste on my lips. I lick at them,            wanting to capture that taste, make it part of me forever.

            Jayanti is using the taste of the air in the American airplane as a metaphor of how she desires to assimilate to the dominant culture before she is even there. She has already been accepted to an American university which identifies her as the “model minority” through Jayanti taking “advantage of educational opportunities” (obj. 1). Throughout the story Jayanti does not assimilate in specific ways such as how she dresses and the foods she eats; again, she is classified as the “model minority” or “ideal immigrant” because of her “resistance to assimilation” mirroring a primary characteristic of the dominant culture not assimilating (obj. 4). Later in the story, Jayanti is standing in the snow and feels the “stinging all the way to the bone” while observing the snow covering her hands with white. The white snow reminds her of the flight attendant’s “blonde hand” which illustrates Jayanti’s view of the dominant culture as having light skin (obj. 1).The narrator thinks of her uncle’s “black nails” that represent the American Nightmare instead of the dream (obj.3). She also thinks of her aunt’s “elegant fingers (the fingers, still, of a Bengali aristocrat’s daughter)” and the world she has left behind. She notices that the pain from the cold goes away. The story ends with Jayanti’s realization of the pain she may go through while trying to assimilate, but she is willing to experience the pain until she becomes assimilated into America’s dominant culture. Jayanti’s view of the dominant culture causes her to understand that she must assimilate in order to benefit from her experience in America.

            The dominant culture is appropriately described in minority narratives. In the book, Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska, Sarah Smolinsky notices the cleanliness of the dominant culture and describes it as “the spick-and-span cleanliness of these people” and “their hands and necks white like milk” when she goes to college (obj. 1). She also sees the dominant culture’s “plain beautifulness” in their “neat finished quietness of their tailored suits” which connects her view to the plain fashion (obj. 4). The identifiers are seen in contrast with Sarah’s dingy clothes, so they are more obvious to Sarah. Yezierska is able to identify the dominant culture accurately because she notices how different she is from them. To the minority, the view of the dominant culture is more distinct because of the differences seen.

            Members of the dominant culture have difficulty discussing their characteristics because it may lead to the knowledge of the dominant culture’s hypocritical unwillingness to assimilate in history which displays intolerance of people that are different. The American dream attempts to portray an acceptance of diversity. However, the reality of American dominant culture separates from the different and unique appearances or practices of minorities. The dominant culture expects minorities to assimilate to their cultures and practices. Minorities have an easier time identifying their cultures and classifying the dominant culture. The reason could be that minorities are forced to look at their differences by the dominant culture’s averseness to accept minority cultures. Individuals can benefit immensely from more education of the dominant and minority experience by studying the narratives of these two groups; hence, they may gain a greater perspective of the dominant and minority cultures which hopefully leads the dominant culture to a more empathetic attitude towards minorities.