Most Americans belonging to the dominant culture have lived in America so long that they do not have memories of how their family originally came to live in America.  Past generations, because of the assimilation process gave up their language, culture and beliefs in order to assimilate into the American way of life.   Most members of the dominant culture only have reference to their surnames as a point of reference for origin of past members and even that is not accurate since most family names changed during the immigration process to make them easier to say and write for the immigration officers.  On a personal note, for example, my family names are Kadlecek and Schattel.  My parents told me that Kadlecek is Polish and Schattel is German.  Years later, I found out from a friend from Germany that my family pronounces Schattel incorrectly.  The way we say our name sounds French, the way she pronounced it sounded hard and gutteral, very German to my ears.  My great-grandparents obviously went through an assimilation process, to which I was unaware of until reading the immigrant stories in class.

Typical of the immigrant narrative, my great-grandparents gave up their language, culture and even changed the pronunciation of their name so that they could assimilate into the dominant culture.  Being Caucasian, having blonde hair and blue eyes help my family bypass the stigma associated with the color code.  With the exception of language, they blended in perfectly and with little resistance unlike Carlos Bulosan, in “America is in the Heart” and Sui Sin Far, “In the Land of the Free.”

As Immigrants, Carlos and Sui experienced the typical resistance from American’s belong to the dominant culture.  Both Sui and Carlos are Asian so immediately their physical differences (color code) set them apart from the dominant culture.  They exhibited stage one, by their willing migration to America in order to leave behind polital corruption and poverty. 

They both experienced stage 3 when they were welcomed with hostility and chaos.  For example, when Carlos states, “I came to know afterward that in many ways it was a crime to be a Filipino in California.  I came to know that the public streets were not free to my people: we were stopped each time these vigilant patrolmen saw us driving a car. We were suspect each time we were seen with a white woman.”  The couple in Sui’s story, experienced chaos and fear of the law upon their arrival in America when they were told, “Seeing that the boy has no certificate entitling him to admission to the country you will have to leave him with us.” (4)

In the minority narratives, people in this group try to remain apart from the dominant culture.  The people of this group did not immigrate to American of their own free will as in the case of African Americans and in the case of the American Indians.  Even though the Indians were in America long before the arrival of the Euro-Americans, they lost their lands to them due to war and outright theft.

For these reasons, complete assimilation to the dominant culture has not occurred.  While they live here and do participate in the American society, they remain distant and in some ways hostile to memories of the past. 

For example, in the poem Chrystos, “I Have Not Signed a Treaty with the United States Government” Chrystos refuses to buy into the American Dream as his people have experienced the American Nightmare.  The tone of the poem clearly exhibits bitterness and sarcasm at the treatment his people received.  In another story, by Louise Erdrich, "American Horse," the main character Albertine American Horse has her son taken away from her because the casework felt that his living conditions were poor.  According to the caseworker, “I want to find that boy and salvage him.” (215) What the caseworker demonstrates is the dominant culture’s attempt to force people to assimilate and live the way the dominant culture lives.

Edwidge Danticat’s story, “Children of the Sea” and Paule Marshall’s, “To Da-Duh, in Memoriam” reflect the New World Immigrant story.  In “Children of the Sea”, the main character, is fleeing the island of Haiti because of political turmoil.  Typical of immigration stories, he leaves behind his girlfriend as well as several other family members.  As stated by the character, he seeks out America for safety, “...use to read a lot about America...” (99)  He read about the American Dream and was actively seeking it.  He and his other shipmates were also aware and concerned about the stigma associated with the color of skin, as demonstrated when one of the other characters replied, “Now we will never be mistaken for Cubans.” (101) He then continues the statement to say, “Even though some of the Cubans are black too.” (101)

The story, “To Da-Duh, in Memoriam,” is a tale about a woman returning to her homeland with her young child.  The story demonstrates what occurs during reverse assimilation as upon her return she reunites with her family and her heritage.  Although her child is curious about the new land, she resists complete assimilation and hangs on to her American culture, even going so far as to brag to her grandmother about the big buildings. 

[Debbie]