|
2016 Midterm2
(assignment) |
LITR 4340
 American Immigrant Literature Model Assignments |
|
Trey Kibodeaux
Our Neighbor, Mexico
Adam Glasgow mentions in his
essay, “The big obvious difference between new world and old world immigrants is
the origins of the people themselves. When someone immigrates from the old
world, it usually means that the person is almost completely abandoning the old
world. They likely have an idealized view of what life in America is like, or
possibly, very little idea at all. New world immigrants, on the other hand, are
much more experienced with America and its culture than old world immigrants
are, and as such have a much better idea of what to expect - good and bad.”
Glasgow states that Mexican immigrants often have a clear idea of the United
States in mind, and he makes it a point to say that immigrants have probably
been exposed to aspects of the country that they both like and dislike. While
old world immigrants may have a broad-scale, big picture of the U.S., Mexicans
have a much more enlightened perspective. It is likely that they know someone
who has immigrated, visited, brought back with them something they acquired in
the United States; or perhaps they have done these things themselves. “Cases
like this are especially easy to see here in Texas where we are so close to the
Mexico/America border. As long as I've lived here I've always had at least a few
friends who regularly travel back and forth between the United States and Mexico
- and every time they went back and forth they brought their culture with them.
Everything from music, literature, art, and even small things like candy.” While
the immigration process for old world immigrants may entail more obstacles, the
process for new world immigrants poses its own set of struggles. It’s much
harder to assimilate when elements of a home country are still very prominent in
immigrant lives. New world immigrants have a much finer line between maintaining
pride for their home, and embracing the United States.
Once in the United States, how does an immigrant create a life for
themselves in a place that presents a completely different set of opportunities?
Jo Ann Pereira covers this in her appropriately titled essay, “What do you do
for a living?” “Although some immigrants came to the States with a previous
skill, trade or education, some cultures acquired a skill, learned a trade or
became educated so that they could earn a living to survive the U.S.” Pereira
uncovers the reason why an overwhelming amount of immigrants work in certain
fields and ties it to culture. “The Mexican immigrants came with skills and
experience acquired in their country.
These skilled miners, work hands from cattle ranches and small
independent producers were forced to the U.S. because of natural disasters and
war. Mexican workers performed well
as machinists, mechanics, painters and plumbers.” This topic is important
because it bridges the gap between stereotyping and actually understanding. It
is unlikely that a great amount of immigrants just so happened to choose the
same profession. Researching and looking into what it is about their culture
that brought them to a certain job field is both informative and illuminating.
After the subjects of initial immigration and acquiring a stable job in
the previously mentioned essays have been covered, Alexandra Alvarado takes it a
step further in her essay, “Betrayal or Opportunity?” She elaborates on the jobs
of immigrants in a more complex way that mentions how their career choice and
level of education will affect their legacy. “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.” First generation
immigrants can be described as opportunistic and willing to work hard in order
to improve their lives. Life in the United States would be better in their
perspective, because they are comparing it to the life they had in Mexico.
However, their children might have a different opinion as they have little
experience of life in Mexico and are comparing themselves to their current
peers. “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.”
These three model assignments come together to create a clear
chronological account of the experience of Mexican immigrants. From making the
initial decision to move, all the way to how future generations will be affected
by this decision years later. When talking about new world immigrants, it is
difficult not to mention Mexico. As our next door neighbor, Mexico is probably
the first country most think of when they hear the word “immigration.” Issues
regarding Mexican immigration have always been a topic of discussion. The papers
being reviewed were chosen for this reason: they provide an explanatory and
refreshing perspective on a topic that has been a major part of our country for
years.
