2016 Midterm2 (assignment)
Sample Student Midterm2 Answers
Part 1: Essays on New World Immigrants

LITR 4340    
American Immigrant Literature 
Model Assignments

  

Kimberly Loza

The Mixture of the New World Immigrant and the Minority

    The term “New World” immigrants combines immigrant and minority narratives or identities. This is due to that they, unlike minorities, come to America voluntarily. However, like minorities, they have often had to deal with past exploitation. These reasons are why “New World” immigrants can be seen as both an immigrant and a minority. The reason that this group is classified as being “New World” is because they come from the Western Hemisphere and that their home countries are a part of the Americas. Within the readings of New World immigrants such as Mexican Americans, other Hispanic Americans, and Afro-Caribbeans we can see both how these stories possess immigrant and minority characteristics.
    The first group that we can look at are Mexican Americans in which, an argument can be made into whether this group should be considered either an immigrant or a minority. Being a Mexican American myself, I can easily see it both ways. I think back to all the times my Father would say “we didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us”. The quote rings true when it comes people like my family who have been here since some parts of our country were still a part of Mexico. We have to be able to identify with both parts of our culture. We have to be both Mexicans and Americans because it is what makes us who we are. However, I can see how Mexican Americans can also be seen as immigrants because some have come to this country in order to seek a better life for their families.
    In stories such as “Barbie-Q” and “The Distance Between Us” we can see how these stories about Mexican Americans can represent either a minority or an immigrant narrative.  For example, in “Barbie-Q” we see that two little Hispanic girls are assimilating to American culture by playing with an iconic American toy, Barbie Dolls. However, since they do not have a lot of money they are excluded from having the best dolls like other little girls of the dominant culture and they have to settle for the older dolls and clothes. Until, one day they go to the Flea Market and see the dolls that they always dreamed about having but, the reason that they can get them is that these dolls are fire damaged. To them this does not because they get to experience what they always wanted which, is some form of the American Dream. We can see this in story when it says “so what if our Barbies smell like smoke when you hold them up to your nose even after you wash and wash them....If you dress her in her new ‘Prom Pinks’ outfit...who’s to know?” This quote has so much meaning behind it when it comes to this being a minority narrative because the idea of changing something in order to make it like the others can be tied to assimilation of not only a minority culture but, an immigrant culture as well. Also, the fact that no one would know can be tied to this as well.
    In “The Distance Between Us”, we can also see the variation of the mixture between an immigrant and minority narrative. We can see how it is an immigrant narrative because they are struggling so hard to get into the country because they want a better life with their father. Once they get into the country however they get to see these forms of their American Dream in the shape of Disneyland and Mc Donald’s. In the story the author states “Mami had mentioned Disneyland and how sad she was that she never got to see it. I hoped one day I would get to do everything people said you could do in El Otro Lado, like speak English”. The character is already thinking of ways in which she wants to experience the American Dream and assimilate into the culture. So it can be seen how this both represents an immigrant and minority culture because she came to this country for the American Dream and she wants to be a part of the dominant culture.

However, we do not only see this mixture in Mexican American culture we also see this with other New World immigrants.  Another New World immigrant group that we can look at are the other Hispanics such as; Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Dominicans. This group does not only represent immigrants because they came to America voluntary but, they also represent minorities because even though  they are very different groups they tend to get categorized as being Hispanic along with Mexican Americans. We can see in stories like “Coca Cola and Coco Frio” and “Silent Dancing” represent that same variation of a mix between an immigrant and minority narratives. In “Coca Cola and Coco Frio” we hear the narrator talk about his experience being back in his family's native country and getting to experience a culture that he is not use to. It is almost in a way a role reversal and he is more captivated by this native land of his due to the natural drinks like Coco Frio while the people of that land are more intrigued by Coca Cola. He wants what they take for granted and they want what he has in his home. In this poem he in a way is the minority who has immigrated to this country and he wants the greatness that they have. In “Silent Dancing” we get this matter of how New World Immigrants have a mixture of immigrant and minority narratives. In this story we get a sense of how immigrants want to assimilate into the dominant culture. However, even though the mother and father of the story have different views on assimilation, the father wants to be a part of the dominant culture while, the mother is not comfortable doing so. She wants to stay true to her culture which, you could say is what makes her a minority within her own family because they all want to assimilate.
    The final group of New World Immigrants that we are going to look are the Afro-Caribbeans. This group also portrays a variation to a mixture of immigrant and minority narratives. In stories like “Children of the Sea” and  “To Da-Duh, in Memoriam” we can see how this theme is presented. In the “Children of the Sea” we can see how this mix is present when they are in the boat talking about their sunburns in which a character says “now we will never be mistaken for Cubans” to then the narrator replies “even though some Cubans are black”. This moment of when they struggling through brutal environments in order to get to the American Dream. They are still worried about being exploited for the way that they look and they even categorize themselves as being part of an entirely different minority because they think it will give them a better chance of reaching a better life and being treated better. So, it can be seen that even when this is a tale of a migration but, it also brings in that minority factor. In “To Da-Duh, in Memoriam”, we also get a sense of this mixture when the main character goes to her mother’s homeland and she meets her grandmother. Towards the end of the story she shares with her grandmother of what New York is like. She talks to her about how she even got into a fight with a white girl and her grandmother is astonished by this because she has possibly heard that in some ways the dominant culture oppresses the minority but, she was astonished because this was her form of the American Dream in which she wants to know more about the place that her granddaughter lives. An example, of this is that she wants her granddaughter to sing and dance for her as well as how she wants a postcard of the Empire State Building. She was not only dreaming of the American Lifestyle but, was concerned with her granddaughter fighting with someone of the dominant culture.
    When talking about “New World” Immigrants, we can see different variations to the mixture of immigrant and minority narratives that takes place within the stories. Each story not only shows some traits of a minority narrative and an immigrant narrative. They show themes of how like an immigrant some characters come over voluntarily to American but, have also experienced past exploitation like that of minorities. This shows that this group is rather complex and different than other immigrant groups because they can be seen as both immigrant and minority groups.