Midterm2 (2013 midterm2 assignment) Sample Student Midterm Answers 2013 #1: Research Report Starts

LITR 4333     American Immigrant Literature

Alexandra Alvarado

Betrayal or Opportunity?

            Mexican-American immigrants have numerous choices on how they may choose to assimilate to the dominant culture when they come to America. Language, family, names, careers, and education are just to name a few choices Mexican-American immigrants have to make. For this specific research paper I’m going to focus on how assimilating to the dominant cultures outlook on education will essentially increase the chances of success on the second generation Mexica-American immigrants in the United States. By success I mean economically, a main reason immigrants decide to leave their homeland. Many parents of immigrants want a better education for their children and the generations to come. The first-generation immigrants begin to see the restrictions that their education level has on their opportunities here in America.” Similarly, among Mexican American youth, parents’ educational attainment has been shown to be an important pathway through which normative educational expectations and achievement are shaped”(Allen).

            The second generation of the Mexican-American immigrants is usually the ones that see the bigger picture about education. The fact that without an education they might end up in jobs like their parents who are struggling to make ends meet. “Also having grown up in the United States culture and society, the children of immigrants compare their status and prospects for economic advancement to those of other Americans, not to their parents lives in the old country. Thus, the second generation is generally not willing to accept low-paying jobs with little likelihood of upward mobility. The second generation’s acculturation has been so strong in this country that virtually none can be expected to return to their parents’ countries of origin if things don’t go well here.” (Allen). 

            The second-generation immigrants are no longer comparing their status to that of their parents, but to that of fellow educated and successful Americans. The norm of housekeepers, construction workers, lawn workers, and other low wage jobs is just not an option for the second-generation immigrants. Also, the option of going back to the homeland is virtually not an option for failure from the second generation. They have seen their parents struggle to bring their family over to America so going back to the repression of the homeland would be a major step back.

Works Cited

Allen, James P. "How Successful Are Recent Immigrants to the United States and Their Children." Speech. California State University, Northridge, Phoenix. 22 Oct. 2005. Web. 1 Nov. 2013. <http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.shsu.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=53afb45d-0224-40d3-bc94-95beb6987278%40sessionmgr198&vid=3&hid=16>.