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Midterm2 (2013 midterm2 assignment) Sample Student Midterm Answers 2013 #1: Essays on New World Immigrants |
LITR 4333
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Carrie Block
A Brand “New World”
America has long been seen as the land of
opportunity, a place where many an immigrant has embarked on an opportunistic
journey, the journey in search of the American Dream. Of these American stories
are the narratives of the “New World” Immigrant.
These narratives are often a mixture of attributes from both the
immigrant and minority narrative as stated in objective three.
It’s these differences and similarities
that make up the “New World” immigrant narrative.
To begin we must define what is meant by
“New World” Immigrants. “New World” immigrants are those that have come from the
Western Hemisphere i.e. Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean islands. This
is in direct contradiction to the term “Old World” immigrants who came to
America from Eastern Hemisphere i.e. Europe, Asia, and Africa.
As with “Old World” immigrants, “New World” immigrants share a
commonality. They have both made some type of journey but in contrast the “New
World” countries are much closer and so “New World” immigrants can easily go
back and visit their homeland. This can frequently lead to a divided loyalty
between their new country and their country of birth. In the “English Lesson” by
Nicholasa Mohr, Diego still shows loyalty to his homeland the Dominican
Republic. “So I come here from necessity, pero this no my country.”
The “New World” immigrants that have
dominated recent immigration to the U.S. are the Mexican Americans. Mexican
Americans often come to America for financial or economic reasons. As referenced
in Objective one, it is this search for the American Dream that likens them to
the immigrant story. In Gary Soto’s “Like Americans” the grandmother wants her
grandson to become a barber because they she felt they earned more money. “I
should become a barber because they made good money and listened to the radio
all day. Honey they don’t work como burros,” Another attribute that they share
with the immigrant narrative is their expectations for their children to do
better either by education or economics. This is also quite evident in the quote
above. She longed for her grandson to have an easier life than she was afforded.
Mexican American or Hispanic narratives also
share commonalities with the minority narrative. One of these commonalities is
the resisting assimilation. A great example of this resistance is shown in “El
Patron” by Nash Candelaria. The father in this story is not happy that his son
has gone off to college. “I should have never let him go to college,” Senor
Martinez said. “That’s where the he gets these crazy radical ideas. From the
rich college boys whose parents can buy them out of all kinds of trouble.”
Because of this resistance to assimilate Mexican Americans tend to like to stay
in their own communities, assimilation proceeds but a reduced rate. An example
of this can be found in the story of “Barbie-Q by Sandra Cisneros. This story
tells of a young girl’s desire for the Barbie doll, which can be seen as the
symbol of an American girl. “Until Sunday when we are walking through the flea
market on Maxwell Street and there!” … “There! Where? Two Mattel Boxes. One with
the “Career Girl” ensemble,”…”The other “Sweet Dreams,” dreamy pink and white
plaid nightgown and matching robe.” This passage shows both the family’s desire
to stay within the community shopping at the flea market and the child’s wish
for the Barbie a symbolic gesture for assimilation.
Another type of “New World” immigrant is
that of the Afro-Caribbean. Afro-Caribbean immigrants are often faced with that
of color discrimination or the “color code” and a history of exploitation. This
is linked in part to the early dichotomy of early USA and slavery. Many of the
Caribbean islands were slave ports on the way to U.S. One of these slave
islands, Haiti, had a slave rebellion in 1804 that resulted in a black-led
Republic. This in turn frightened the slave owning nation of the Southern U.S.
Due to this Haiti remains the least favored nation for immigration in the U.S.
Because of this history of exploitation Afro-Caribbean narratives can resemble
that of the minority narratives. The story “Children of the Sea” by Edwidge
Danticat, tells of young man fleeing Haiti because of political persecution.
This story shows many commonalities to the minority narrative one of these is
the example of the color code.”They treat Haitians like dogs in the Bahamas, a
woman says. To them we are not human.” The “color code is also evident in “The
Making of a Writer” From the Poets in the Kitchen by Paule Marshall. “Indeed,
you might say they suffered a triple invisibility, being black, female and
foreigners. They really didn’t count in American Slavery except as a source of
cheap labor.”
As with Hispanic or Mexican Immigrant
Narratives, Afro-Caribbean immigrant narratives show similarities or
characteristics of the immigrant narrative. They enter the USA in search of
economic progress. This can be seen in “The Making of a Writer” From the Poets
in the Kitchen by Paule Marshall. “You could at least see your way to make a
dollar. That much they acknowledged. They might even one day accumulate enough
dollars, with both of them and their husbands working, to buy the brown-stone
houses which like my family, they were only leasing at that period.” Home
ownership can also be said to be the American Dream.
In conclusion, the “New World’ immigrant narrative often shares some similar traits or connections to that of the immigrant and minority narrative. As my fellow student Cassandra Rea stated “Immigrant and Minority narratives are cultural narratives that can help connect the reader to what life was like when they came to the New World”. It’s these connections that we are drawn to as readers. It’s these connections that are essential to telling a true American story.
