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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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Katie
Morin
12/6/2016
The Birth of America’s Dominant Culture
Over
the duration of this course, the concept of America’s dominant culture has been
brought up time and time again –whether one assimilates to it, rejects it, or
acculturates to it. Having been born and raised in America, it is easy to
overlook the dominant culture and its effects on society. However, for those
newly immigrated to the country, their experiences are often quite different and
this concept of a dominant culture has the potential to define them in their new
role as American citizens. This role is primarily dictated by their reaction to
the dominant culture, but can also be dependent upon whether or not the dominant
culture is willing to accept them. Before having taking this course, the origins
of America’s dominant culture had not really occurred to me. When you have been
born and raised in the same area, it is difficult to understand that America’s
dominant culture is not something that has just always been, and instead its
creation had to be established at some point by someone. But by who? How did
America’s dominant culture come to be, and how does it affect and define those
who are newly immigrated to America?
Initially, before having learned the definition of the dominant culture
from an academic/historical standpoint, I had always associated the concept of
America’s cultural ideals with being more or less restricted to the mainstream
trends seen today (perhaps a certain style of clothing, music, pop culture, etc.
and less so race, religion, and domestic matters), but had not considered its
role when taking into account newly immigrated Americans. Nor had I considered
just how deeply rooted this dominant culture has become, and while it may have
changed some over the years, its general premise has remained the same since the
birth of America – it serves as an ideal to strive towards, and whether or not
an individual opts to accept, reject, or how well they adjust to it can define
who they are as an American, and subsequently their place in society.
While Native Americans would technically be considered as America’s
original inhabitants, and therefore the first immigrants to America, European
immigrants are responsible for the establishment of the nation’s original
dominant culture. According to the course website, the “USA's dominant culture
derives from early settlers from Northern and Western Europe, especially England
and the British Isles.” Arriving in three waves, came the Pilgrims, another
English group which arrived in Jamestown, and finally the Scots-Irish. With each
group came a new culture and set of customs and values that would shape the
America which we know today.
Upon arriving in America, the groups of immigrants started to divide.
While their original intentions as newcomers to America were to bring their own
customs and beliefs to a new land to inhabit, people did not necessarily stand
in agreement with one another once having settled in America. According to
chapter 33, paragraph six, of William Bradford’s
Of Plymouth Plantations, a departure
from original customs took place and many broke away from the community. He
writes:
“Many
having left this place (as is before noted) 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; and sundry
others still upon every occasion desiring their dismissions.”
This
reveals a division in the community and its culture of regarding the group as a
body of Christ instead of as individuals. This is also similar to a form of
assimilation, where an immigrant would break away from their home country’s
customs and instead began to adapt to their new surroundings. This is also
depicted in John Winthrop’s "A Model of Christian Charity." He writes: “…that
every man might have need of other, and from hence they might be all knit more
nearly together in the bonds of brotherly affection” and “that every man afford
his help to another in every want or distress” (1,2a). Regardless of
Protestantism as a large factor of their dominant culture, people still broke
away from this group mentality in exchange for individualism. No longer did they
feel obligated to continue on under the strict control of the church body. This
new land made for new opportunities.
Much
like the first two waves of European immigrants, the Scots-Irish were also
reluctant to depart from their way of life. According to the course website,
this “suspicion of outsiders conforms to the Dominant Culture's position of not
assimilating but rather being assimilated to.” This sense of familial honor is
seen across all three waves, but especially so among the Scots-Irish. Page three
of Hillbilly Elegy also attests to
this, as the narrator writes that:
“This
distinctive embrace of cultural tradition comes along with many good traits –an
intense sense of loyalty, a fierce dedication to family and country –but also
many bad ones. We do not like outsiders or people who are different from us,
whether the difference lies in how they look, how they act, or, most important,
how they talk.”
This
is indicative of the dominant culture’s unchanging nature, and the understanding
that others are meant to assimilate to it –not the other way around.
Apart
from religious beliefs, some of the more obvious signs of dominant culture
initiated by these first newcomers to America include the concept of a “plain”
style as well as The Declaration of
Independence whose “all men are created equal” statement only applies to men who
are white. This implies that being white is indicative of the dominant culture,
something that we have also touched on in class.
Acceptance of and conformity to the dominant culture is particularly seen
in immigrants – individuals who have freely chosen to come to America in hopes
of obtaining a better future and quality of life. Due to the fact that
immigrants made the choice to come to America, they are often more likely to
assimilate to the dominant culture – they feel fortunate for the opportunity to
come to America, and now want to take advantage of everything the country has to
offer. Evidence of this eagerness to accept and be accepted by American society
and dominant culture has been seen frequently throughout the semester, and “Soap
and Water” by Anzia Yezierska depicts the plight of the American immigrant. In
it, the story’s narrator, a Russian immigrant, wants desperately to fit in with
Americans, especially one of her mentors. However, try as she might to
assimilate to the dominant culture, she is not considered “clean”
enough—uncleanliness is something the dominant culture thinks is shameful.
Because of this rejection, she breaks down emotionally. This desire to become
Americanized, to no longer be considered as an outcast to the dominant culture,
is something that is generally seen in immigrants.
Subgroups of immigrants exist as well, one of which is the model
minority. The model minority is often seen as the ideal immigrant. They tend to
go above and beyond in academic fields, and spend the majority of their lives
actively working towards the concept of The American Dream. Model minorities
(Jews, South and East Asians, etc.) willingly assimilate to the dominant
culture, but recognize the fact that they must try and work harder in order to
better their situations, especially when in comparison to more traditional
American citizens. Anzia Yezierska’s book
Bread Givers, depicts the plight of a Jewish-American immigrant by the name
of Max Goldstein. Goldstein came to America with nothing but hope for a better
future. He worked hard doing manual labor, struggled his way through life, and
eventually became a successful businessman. He came from nothing, so the
opportunity to come to America in order to better his situation serves as a
prime example of The American Dream coming to fruition. Despite the title “model
minority,” model minorities are anything but a minority group and do not seem to
enjoy being associated with those belonging to minority groups. In fact, as we
recently discussed in class, model minorities sometimes feel an air of
superiority to traditional minority groups. The poem “Restroom” by Chitra
Divakaruni describes this, describing how the narrator, a “model minority,” is a
hard worker whose husband worked his way up from the bottom and now makes “good
money” selling liquor in an impoverished (minority occupied) area. This is an
example of immigrant advancement through the exploitation of minorities, where
the model minority does not identify with traditional minority groups, but
instead profits from them.
Over the course of the semester, we have discussed minorities and their
tendency to resist assimilation, or conformity to, America’s dominant culture.
More often than not, this resistance can be attributed to feelings of ill will
based on past experiences. African Americans and Native Americans, the two
primary groups of minorities, did not choose to be associated with American
culture, and are more reluctant to accept it. African Americans were brought to
America in order to be enslaved, and Native Americans were invaded by American
culture, forced to either assimilate to the dominant culture or face
persecution. Because they did not choose to become a part of the traditional
culture and instead had it forcefully imposed onto them, minorities tend to
house a great deal of resentment and hatred for the dominant culture, hence
their resistance to accept it. Instead, they hold onto their traditional customs
and values, and reject the ideals of the dominant culture. Additionally, due to
the fact that they were so heavily exploited, many minorities also view in a
negative light those in authority, specifically if those authoritarians are
white. An example of this can be seen in “American Horse” by Louise Erdrich. In
it, a small Native American family lives in fear of the authorities who they
believe intend to take away the family’s young child. Ultimately, the child is
taken away, but not without his mother first being knocked unconscious. This
story reflects the narrative of our nation’s original Native Americans: they did
not ask for their lives to be interfered with by those who tried to impose the
dominant culture onto them, they did not ask for their families to be broken
apart, and they did not ask to be abused. This is the defining difference
between minorities and immigrants –to minorities, the dominant culture is
something to be feared, not embraced.
Finally, New World immigrants are unique in that they do not necessarily
fit into either category: immigrant or minority. Instead, New World immigrants’
narratives are extremely relative and difficult to define. Because of this, a
New World immigrant’s feelings toward the dominant culture are truly unique to
the individual. While studying the New World immigrant this semester, I noticed
that it was best to think of this group as a type of immigrant-minority hybrid,
as they have the tendency to exhibit characteristics seen in both of these two
groups. Due to the fact that their home countries are so close to America, they
are often reminded of their heritages, which could possibly test their loyalty
to America. Junot Diaz’s short story, “How to Date a Brown Girl…” depicts the
struggle New World immigrants must endure when faced with the dominant culture.
The story’s main character seems to want so badly to be accepted by white girls,
but then also mocks them repeatedly throughout the narrative. He also makes a
point to hide certain reminders of his minority status (government cheese, lack
of indoor plumbing, etc.), but the effort he makes to disguise these items might
indicate his desire to be accepted by the dominant culture, a characteristic
generally seen among immigrants. This combination of assimilation to and
rejection of the dominant culture can be described as a form of acculturation.
While it has evolved over the years, the general concept of the dominant
culture as created by America’s first European immigrants remains the same.
Whether or not a person chooses to assimilate to, reject, or acculturate to the
dominant culture has the potential to define their role in society. However,
that is not to say that refusing to conform to the dominant culture’s ideals
makes a person less than American. As America continues to grow in its cultural
diversity, I believe that the likelihood of the dominant culture evolving even
further, or perhaps being done away with altogether is a possibility.
