According to Objective one, the immigrant narrative is the fundamental story or model of American culture that is interwoven with the American Dream and other essential multicultural American narratives, including the Minority narrative and the Dominant Culture and combinations thereof.

            These statements can be verified and explained throughout various texts we have read throughout the semester thus far. To answer the question “How does the immigrant narrative help identify the four groups in relation to American society and each other?” and “How do their stories resemble and differ?” along with “What overall picture emerges?” we must first start with the first. The four groups in question are Immigrants (or Old World Immigrants), Minorities, New World Immigrants and the Dominant Culture. A later topic discussed at the end relates to the Model Minority.

            To begin, the Dominant Culture is, to be blunt, white people; that is to say, the people of European Descent who came from various places throughout Europe to America. Over time, their various nationality or ethnic traits and differences melded into simply American or White culture. In The English Lesson, we see the various immigrants and minorities trying hard (for the most part) to become American or fit in better with American society. Their teacher is a prime example of the Dominant Culture, however in this story, rather than being exclusive and shunning those unlike her, she tries to bring the various groups “up to” (my words, not hers) American society. Much as Margaret Sanger wished to Americanize the masses coming into New York and teach them English and to have abortions, the teacher here is, much more benevolently, trying to teacher her adult students how to speak better English, in hopes that they will fit better into mainstream American society. Not all of the Dominant Culture is so large hearted, as Claude McKay’s poem The White City deals with issues of how the city of alabaster (both in its buildings as well as people) shuns him, though he tries as earnestly as he can to assimilate, if only the city and its people would allow him to be one of them. However the city and its inhabitants do not, will not and cannot, for their own reasons, allow McKay, a dark skinned individual, a Jamaican, and most of all in their eyes, an outsider to them, be one of them.

            The Dominant Culture does not assimilate or conform to anyone; others conform to the Dominant Culture. The world wants to be American, or so it seems in this day and age. Yet when the Pilgrims came over to “the New World”, the Native Americans were the Dominant Culture, yet the Pilgrims didn’t assimilate to the Native American way of life- no, the Pilgrims turned the coast into New England- thus they brought their own world with them and forced the Native Americans to subdue and subjugate to their (the Pilgrims’) will.

            In “Barbie Q” we see how the Dominant Culture has fully imposed itself on the world, even the youngest of the young. The two girls happily play with their Barbies, saying that one girl’s Barbie steals the others invisible boyfriend. It isn’t until a fire wreaks havoc on a local toy store, that the girls can have more dolls, simply because the dolls are smoke, fire and water damaged and because the Dominant Culture wouldn’t touch the dolls. Though it isn’t said, the sentiment that damaged dolls aren’t good enough for white children is implied though Cisneros’ words. The girls however, couldn’t care less, as they’ve memorized the store or catalog advertisements of the dolls and their dresses, right down to the necklace and shoe details. For them, it doesn’t matter where the dolls came from, how they smell or that a foot on one is burned, for as Cisneros said, “If you dress her in her new “Prom Pinks” outfit, satin splendor with matching coat, gold belt, clutch, and hair bow included, so long as you don’t lift her dress, right? -Who’s to know.” (252)

            The girls in Barbie Q could be immigrants or minorities, but the main issue is that they are poor and cannot afford new dolls except once a year for Christmas, “Because we don’t have money for a stupid-looking boy doll when we’d both rather ask for a new Barbie outfit next Christmas” (251), however there truly is a distinction between Immigrants and Minorities. Minorities don’t come to America- America comes to them. Minorities brought here by will or having the Dominant Culture come to them Europeans, Spaniards and the Vikings invaded the land inhabited by Native Americans (though the Vikings came first) and stole their land. African Americans came to America by force, when Europeans came to Africa in search of the cheapest labor- slavery. Rather than fame or fortune, “the man” enslaved these two groups as Steven Hyde of That 70s Show might address the authority, and more aptly, the white man. The Raiders song Cherokee Nation has a line about how the Europeans “Took away our native tongue/And taught their English to our young” which brings us to Assimilation. While most Immigrants wish to assimilate, some more than others, as seen in Pat Mora’s “Immigrants”, unlike the students in The English Lesson, Native Americans and African Americans, as minorities, were assimilated to make them more docile (because according to MS Word’s Spell Check, docilify is not a word). The point here is that rather than assimilate to the true Dominant Culture of Native Americans when Europeans came to America, the Native Americans were forced to assimilate to European culture, society and ways instead. . . .

[Omar]