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Sample Student final exam answers 2016 (2016 final exam assignment) Part 1: Essays: dominant culture overview |
LITR 4340
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Kimberly Loza
The Influence of the Dominant
American culture is influential to many modern immigrants in which they
assimilate to what the dominant culture has to offer for them. However, it makes
you wonder what kind of dominant culture these immigrants are assimilating to
and the values that they are taking in as their own. It also can be wondered
what the dominant culture thinks about immigrants embracing the culture that
they view as their own. We can see these ideas in texts such as William
Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation, J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy,
and in the Declaration of Independence. These texts provide a sense of
what type of dominant culture is being put forth to immigrants and how these
values are influencing the culture. These texts also put out a feeling of the
American Dream that so many immigrants desire.
The first text that we can look at in connection to the matter of what kind of
dominant culture do modern immigrants assimilate to is in William Bradford’s
Of Plymouth Plantation. This text represents the beginning of what is viewed
as the dominant culture today and it shows how much of an impact it has made
from the beginning in connection to immigrants. Bradford states “besides, here
the people are but few in comparison of other places, which are full and
populous, and lie hid, as it were, in a wood or thicket, and many horrible evils
by that means are never seen nor known”(ch. 32). What Bradford is trying to say
is that the surrounding evils of the new world are what brought some of the new
immigrants over. The Pilgrims are the ones who are in search of a purer home
but, ironically they discover a more sinful world than any other place that they
have been to. This sense of evil and sin is what influences the later immigrants
to come over as according to the Pilgrims. Bradford explains on this matter when
he states “whereas here, they [sins] are, as it were, brought into the light,
and set in the plain field, or rather on a hill, made conspicuous to the view of
all” (ch.32). He is explaining that in sin is in some ways seen so clearly but,
there are also those instances in which it is hidden from view and that scares
the people of that dominant culture that are in search of a newer as well as
purer world.
Bradford elaborates on this matter of how the later immigrants are trying to
seek a mixture of the stability of a traditional culture in connection to the
material security of a dominant culture. Bradford says “many having left this
place by reason of the straitness [smallness] and barrenness of the same, and
their finding of better accommodations elsewhere, more suitable to their ends
and minds” (ch. 33). These immigrants are looking for that sense of a new life
and a purer world but, when they get there they ironically find the same values
of the old world that they had left to begin with. Bradford is explaining that
this is what the dominant culture has for the Pilgrims and that there is no way
to escape this matter of what the new world is representing. It is just a matter
of how they try and hold onto their values but, also try and be a part of this
new dominant culture which, is what assimilation is all about.
In the Hillbilly Elegy, we also get a sense of what dominant culture
immigrants are assimilating to. They are in a everlasting pursuit of what the
American Dream is and even someone who is of Scots-Irish descent we see this
passion to be a part of the dominant culture. Vance states within his novel “I
maybe white but, I do not identify with the WASPs of the Northeast...I identify
with the millions of working class white Americans of Scots-Irish descent who
have no college degree” (3). He identifies that he is white but, since he is
Scots-Irish he still feels like he does not belong to the idea of the American
Dream that the dominant culture is trying to present. In this case it would be
to get out of poverty, gain a college degree, and to become a success. This is
something that we see Vance eventually get within his story and it shows that
even though he does not feel like he belongs to the dominant culture; he still
wants to achieve this sense of an American Dream. We see this with other
immigrants throughout the semester, these immigrants want a sense of the
American Dream because they know it will lead to success and that is why they
assimilate to the culture around them to get that sense of belonging.
Vance expands on this idea by focusing on how the Scots-Irish values which, in a
way goes against the values to that of the dominant culture. He states “their
family structures, religion and politics, and social lives all remain unchanged
compared to the wholesale abandonment of traditions that occurred nearly
everywhere else” (4). He is showing that not all immigrants want to implement
the ideas, values, and traditions of the dominant culture but, they rather go
against it. This can go into connection into how the people of the dominant
culture viewed immigrants who try to assimilate to their culture. They see it as
good as because since most of these immigrants are adopting their same values.
So, it can possibly be wondered that they view the immigrants who go against the
assimilation and go off on their own values; they may see as not so favorable.
Like Vance discusses within his memoir, the dominant culture may view the people
of his culture to be uneducated and poor. These labels that are brought on by
the dominant culture would explain why the Scots-Irish do not want to implement
the dominant values around them.
The final text that we can look at in connection to what dominant culture modern
immigrants are assimilating to when they are in pursuit of the American Dream is
by looking at the Declaration of Independence. This document represents
what America is and the type of culture, traditions and values that it wants
immigrants coming into the country to adapt as their own. The Declaration of
Independence is a symbol into the way of the American Dream and to
understand what it could mean to immigrants in their pursuit of happiness. The
document states “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (1776).
This is the most powerful line within this document because it represents what
so many immigrants strive for when they come into this country. They are leaving
places where they do not have these luxuries and values implemented into their
culture. They want that sense of equality, life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness because to them that is the American Dream. It is their motivation to
assimilate and it is the foundation of the dominant culture that they are
wanting to assimilate to.
In William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation, J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly
Elegy, and in the Declaration of Independence, these texts are forms
of the dominant culture that so many modern immigrants are striving for and they
are wanting to assimilate to. They desire to take in some of the values and
traditions of the dominant culture but, they also want to remain true to some
parts of their ancestors. The dominant culture views these immigrants that are
trying to assimilate as being very favorable due to they are trying to take in
the values of the dominant culture. However, the ones that do not they view not
as favorably and exclude them from any sense of the American Dream. The
foundation of the dominant culture is what inspires modern immigrants to take
part of the American Dream and they are willing to do anything to achieve it
because they know that for them that it will lead to a form of success.
