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Sample Student final exam answers 2016
(2018 final exam assignment) Part 1: Essays: dominant culture overview |
LITR 4340
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Anne Ngo
3 May 2018
There is Always Something We Can
Relate To
Assimilation marks a difference between the experiences
of immigrants and minorities. Immigrants narratives tend to show signs of
assimilation to the American culture, while minority narratives show resistance
towards it. In immigrant narratives, beauty features and clothing often
represent the assimilation to the dominant culture. The desire for beauty
features and clothing prominently seen from the dominant culture represents the
path towards assimilation in immigrant narratives.
Despite the differences in assimilation or resistance,
immigrant and minority narratives find similar ways to cope with living in the
dominant American culture. Through acculturation, immigrants and minority
narratives may balance between keeping their roots and living alongside the
dominant culture.
Moreover, the symbol of houses represents similar
meanings in immigrant and minority narratives. To own a house in an immigrant
narrative shows that they managed to improve their lives, represented through a
physical, tangible accomplishment. Houses, then, symbolize assimilation to the
dominant culture. In minority narratives, houses do not necessarily represent
the assimilation to the dominant culture, but it can show signs of
acculturation.
A similar variation to the symbol of houses applies to
the narratives of New World immigrants. In these narratives, houses often
represent assimilation to the dominant culture, but also as a space to preserve
their customs and traditions from their home countries. The narratives of New
World immigrants show signs of assimilation, like immigrant narratives, and the
preservation of cultural and ethnic identity, like minority narratives.
Meanwhile, the narratives from the dominant culture
present a different experience from the immigrant story, but may show some
characteristics of immigrant narratives. The homes in these narratives are not
symbols of assimilation; they represent the place where they can refuse
assimilation or the place towards a brighter future.
By exploring the symbol of assimilation in immigrant and
minority narratives, differences appear, but similarities arise. The narratives
of New World immigrants connect the bridge between immigrant narratives and
minority narratives through the representation of assimilation. The narratives
from the dominant culture also differ from the immigrant and minority narrative,
but may show similar experiences in arriving or coping in America. Thus, through
an analysis of the symbols that appear in these narratives, we can understand
that our experiences may be similar despite the boundaries.
In immigrant narratives, such as Le Ly Hayship’s
Child of War, Woman of Peace, the
desires for beauty from the dominant culture often indicate the assimilation to
it. When Hayship begins to wear American-style clothes, they do not satisfy her,
confessing that she “hated” her “body for being Vietnamese puny and not . . .
like the glossy American girls” (115). Her perception suggests that clothing and
beauty is a gateway for assimilation, and that wearing the wrong clothes can
lead to dissatisfaction of oneself in assimilating to the dominant culture.
Wearing clothes and desiring beauty features from the dominant culture are a
response for wanting to be accepted in America and create a better life for her
and her children. Similarly, Jayanti of Chitra Divakaruni’s “Silver Pavements,
Golden Roofs” also dreams of styling in American-style clothing: “I sit dressed
in a plaid skirt and a matching sweater. My legs, elegant in high-knee boots
like the ones I have seen on one of the afternoon TV shows that Aunt like. . .”
(76). Jayanti’s desires to dress in American-style clothes is in part of wanting
to be accepted in her new country. It allows her to blend in within the scene of
her imagination, and ultimately blend in in America. Clothing, then, represents
her desire to join the dominant culture.
Minority narratives, on the other hand, differ to the
symbol of clothing and beauty in immigrant narratives. In her poem, “Blonde
White Woman,” Patricia Smith reveals that as a young girl, she wished that she
was “golden,” rubbing a “carnation pink Crayola” on the back of her “hand”
(21-25). Although this is similar to Hayship’s desires for the beauty features
of the dominant culture, Smith’s realization that she was “hurt[ing] herself”
with her “own beauty” suggests the divergence of assimilation in immigrant
narrative (21-34). At the poem’s end, Smith acknowledges her own beauty: “Even
crayons fail me now— I can find no color darker, / more beautiful, than I am”
(56). She shows resistance to the beauty standards of the dominant culture,
accepting her African American identity. Although not all immigrant narratives
result in complete assimilation to the dominant culture, Hayship shows signs of
assimilation, while Smith shows resistance.
Minority narratives show more resistance to the dominant
culture because the ancestors of minority groups were involuntarily moved to or
within America, facing discrimination and the inability to work for themselves.
Because of the discrimination and oppression that minority groups faced (and are
unfortunately still facing), minority narratives do not assimilate to the
dominant culture. Minority groups find that when they assimilate to the dominant
culture, they do not become “a part of successful America,” and “remain
impoverished and marginalized” (Chomsky). Therefore, minority narratives, such
as Smith’s poem, show more resistance to the dominant culture than Hayship and
Divakaruni’s narratives.
Some minority narratives, such as Leslie Marmon Silko’s
“The Man to Send Rain Clouds,” can symbolize clothing as the representation of
acculturation. In Silko’s narrative, images of “corn meal” and “pollen,”
pictured with the “priest’s brown Franciscan robe,” show their acculturation to
the dominant culture (208). For centuries, Christian missionaries have held
their presence in the Native American community, wanting to convert them into
Christianity (Galler). Because of their presence, many Native Americans began to
“selectively accept” particular “cultural components,” while still practicing
their native traditions (Galler). Pairing the traditional customs with the
Franciscan robe, a symbol of the dominant culture, implies that the people of
the tribe is living coincide with the dominant culture while maintaining their
cultural heritage. Therefore, assimilation and resistance has variations, as
Silko’s narrative does not completely assimilate or resist the dominant culture.
Another symbol of assimilation in immigrant narratives,
such as Dr. Rose Ihedigbo’s Sandals in
the Snow, is houses. When Ihedigbo’s family moves from their “UMass
university apartments” to a “two-story paradise” in a suburban neighborhood, her
daughter, Onyii recalls that she and her brothers “struggled” with feeling
“different or out of place” prior to their move (151). Onyii felt that the move
“changed them,” stating that they were “middle class” and “normal now” (151).
Onyii’s recollection of the move indicates their movement to assimilation.
Ihedigbo’s son, Emeka, also recounts the significance of their move, stating
that the purchase of their own house is the “embodiment of the American dream”
(151). The implications of owning their own home aligns with the fourth stage of
the immigrant narrative: assimilation to the dominant culture (Objective 2c:
Course Home Page). Onyii’s thoughts of feeling “normal” and “middle class” after
the move also support the implications of their assimilation. Houses are then
symbols of hard work and sacrifice that immigrants make in order to provide a
better life for them and their families.
Although immigrant and minority narratives differ from
one another in terms of assimilation, not all immigrants fully assimilate. For
example, Ihedigbo notes the importance of keeping in touch with their Nigerian
identity. As Ihedigbo points out, being an “other” in the American society “made
the need for fellowship among” the Nigerian community (159). Ihedigbo and her
husband, Apollo voice the importance of “keepin[ing] their children connected to
their roots,” especially when they are surrounded by the silent demand of
“conformity” in order to be “accepted” (159). Thus, the Ihedigbos’ reassertion
of their Nigerian identity to their children reflects the fifth stage of the
immigrant narrative (Objective 2c: Course Home Page). The Ihedigbo family do not
assimilate, but rather acculturate to American society, keeping their Nigerian
roots. Therefore, not all immigrant narratives result in assimilation, but may
acculturate to the dominant culture.
The symbol of houses in minority narratives differs from
the representation of it in immigrant narratives. As presented in Mei Mei Evan’s
“Gussak,” the Alaska Natives live in a “cluster of houses” that form the
“village of Kigiak” (238). They live remotely from the cities of Alaska,
indicating that they are not assimilated to the dominant American society. The
houses represent the sense of community of the Alaska Natives in the story,
still holding on to their culture. Although the Alaska Natives acculturate to
the dominant American culture, as represented through the “magazines,” “soda
can,” and “paper plate” found in Mercy’s home, they do not assimilate or lose
their heritage (Evan 241). Similarly, Chystos’s “I Have Not Signed a Treaty with
the United States Government” mentions the homes of the dominant American
culture, writing that “they build funny homes” in which “no one lives in but
papers” (10). The homes, Chystos points out, are not places in which families or
people gather in a communal space, rather, they are occupied by materialistic
items such as paper. Thus, the houses in minority narratives, such as the ones
described in Evan’s narrative and Chystos’s poem, do not represent assimilation
to the dominant culture. Rather, they represent acculturation or resistance.
In an examination of immigrant and minority narratives,
both differ in assimilation to the dominant culture, yet they find similar ways
to live in the dominant American society. Immigrant narratives represent
assimilation through clothing, beauty features, and houses, in efforts to
improve their lives and cope with living in a new country. Minority narratives,
such as Chystos or Patricia Smith’s poems, may not show assimilation to the
dominant culture, but show more resistance to it. However, immigrant and
minority narratives are also similar, in that they both show acculturation to
the dominant culture as a way to cope in America. Leon and the Ihedigbo’s
acculturate as a means to live coincide with the dominant American society and
still keep their cultural identities. With this in mind, immigrant and minority
narratives may have different experiences, but they also have similar ways in
which they live in the dominant American society.
Understanding that immigrant and minority narratives have
similarities, the narratives of New World immigrants combine both assimilation
and resistance of the narratives. Like immigrant narratives, the symbols of
houses in the narratives of New World immigrants also represent hard work and
the endeavor for a better life. This symbol of houses indicates a sign of
assimilation. For New World immigrants, the move to America is voluntarily,
leaving their home countries in Latin American and the Caribbean to create a
better life for them and their families. This movement is similar to the
voluntary movement seen in immigrant narratives.
In Reyna Grande’s
The Distance Between Us, her father, Natalio, works and lives in America in
efforts to build a house for his children in Iguala, Mexico. The house
represents his way of providing a better life for his children, as seen in the
immigrant narrative. However, he rejects staying in Mexico, explaining that
there were “no jobs” in Iguala and that the family would be in “miserable
poverty” if he stayed (90). Instead of settling at their new home, he decides to
return to America, earning money in pursuit for a better life for him and his
children. Thus, the house that her father builds symbolizes his assimilation to
the American society. He works hard to build the house, wanting to improve the
lives of his children.
The symbol of houses in the narratives
of New World immigrants can also reflect the minority narratives. In Oscar
Hijuelos’s “Visitors,” Aunt Luisa’s house represents their Cuban heritage for
Hector. Because of the worries that Luisa and her family will find the “false
life” that he “led” in America, he tries to recall his memories of Cuba, hoping
it would make him more of a “Cuban man” (318). He vividly remembers her home:
the “sunlight” beaming on Luisa’s street, his grandmother “sitting nearby” the
house, and the kitchen with its “Cuban milk” and “Cuban magic potion” (319). The
house, for Hector, represents his rediscovery of his Cuban roots. This
reassertion of his Cuban identity reflects the fifth stage of the Stages of
Immigrant Narratives (Objective 2c: Course Home Page). While the houses in
Ihedigbo’s Sandals in the Snow and
Grande’s The Distance Between Us
represent the assimilation towards the dominant American culture, Luisa’s house
represents the departure from it. Hijuelos’s “Visitors” thus identifies with
minority narratives, through Hector’s reassertion of his Cuban heritage.
Similarly, the house in Gary Soto’s personal narrative,
“Like Mexicans,” differs from its meaning in immigrant narratives, representing
more of a minority narrative. In his narrative, Soto worries about marrying
Carolyn, his fiancé of Japanese descent, as his family asserts to marry a
“Mexican girl” of the same “social class” as them (303). It is not until he sees
the home of Carolyn’s parents that his concerns vanishes: “I felt better . . .
when I got out of the car and saw the house [with] the chipped paint, a cracked
window, [and] boards for a walk to the back door” (303). Soto sees that the
environment that Carolyn grew up in was similar to his, stating that “these
people are just like Mexicans” (304). Thus, Soto’s narrative identifies with
minority narratives, as the home of Carolyn’s family does not represent the
assimilation to the dominant American culture. This difference shows that the
narratives of New World immigrants can reflect either immigrant or minority
narratives.
Narratives of New World immigrants, such as Judith Ortiz
Cofer’s “Silent Dancing,” can also blur the boundaries of both narratives,
showing assimilation and resistance to the dominant culture. In her personal
narrative, Ortiz Cofer’s father shows signs of assimilation, prohibiting the
family to “form bonds with the place” or the “people who lived there” (181). He
wants to move his family away from their neighborhood, detaching them from the
Puerto Rican community at Paterson. His desires to move out shows his
assimilation to the dominant American culture. While her father assimilates, her
mother still holds on to their Puerto Rican roots. Their apartment was a
“comfort” to her mother, as she hears voices in Spanish that surround their
place and remind her of their home country (181). She is able to be in touch
with their Puerto Rican heritage through their apartment in Paterson, reflecting
aspects of minority narratives.
The blur of these lines also appears in Paule Marshall’s
“The Making of a Writer: From the Poets in the Kitchen.” In Marshall’s personal
narrative, the kitchen of her family’s home is the center for expression and
“gathering” for her mother and her friends (84). Through the “warm safety of its
walls,” they long for their home country, describing Barbados as the “Caribbean
island in the sun they loved but had to leave” (85). Their longing shows that
they do not assimilate to the dominant American culture, holding on to their
heritage. At the same time, her mother and friends point out that in America,
“you could at least see your way to make a dollar,” saving enough money to buy
“brown-stone houses” for their families (85). In past history, one of the
motivations for those in the Caribbean to move to America is to improve their
economic situation (Zong and Batalova). For Marshall’s mother and her friends,
purchasing their own home symbolizes a better life for their children, similar
to the symbol of houses in immigrant narratives. Thus, Marshall’s home provides
the space for her mother to retain their heritage, while trying to create a
better life for her family. The narratives of New World immigrants, thus, can
blur the lines of assimilation and preservation of cultural identity from
immigrant and minority narratives.
To build a deeper understanding of the immigrant
narrative, an examination of the narratives from the dominant culture may reveal
differences, but possible similarities with assimilation. The Pilgrims starts
the first wave of the immigration from the dominant culture, arriving from
Eastern England to their new “home” in Massachusetts Bay (“Immigration Waves” &
Sub-Cultures of USA's Dominant/‘Settler’ Culture: Course Home Page). The home,
for Pilgrims, represents the place or country where they can refuse assimilation
to the culture of that location. Prior to their settlement in America, William
Bradford’s Of Plymouth Planation
describes the Pilgrims’ concerns about their children’s assimilation in Holland,
stating that the children “were drawn away by evil examples into extravagant and
dangerous courses. . . [and] departing from their parents” (4.4). The Pilgrims
were worried of their children’s assimilation to the Dutch culture, fearful of
losing their native language, heritage and their “unique status as people of
God” (“The Pilgrims” & Puritans: Course Home Page). This concern of assimilation
may mirror Stage 5 of the Immigrant Narrative: their children were on the path
to assimilation (Stage 4), but they reasserted their ethnic heritage, concurring
to leave Holland and settle in America (Objective 2c: Course Home Page).
However, the immigration of Pilgrims to America does not
reflect the immigrant story. They never desired to assimilate, providing a clear
indication about their intentions to “plant the first Colony in the northern
Parts of Virginia” in the Mayflower Compact (Bradford 11.2). The implications of
“plant” suggests that the Pilgrims intended to establish their culture and
beliefs in America, refusing to assimilate to the Native American culture that
was present in America. This was the start of America’s current dominant
culture.
In the second wave of immigration, the “Cavaliers”
reaffirmed the new dominant culture. Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur’s
Letters from an American Farmer
portrays an early version of the “melting pot,” describing that an American is a
“mixture of English, Scotch, Irish, French, Dutch, Germans, and Swedes” (3.4).
They are “that strange mixture of blood,” he states, “which you will find in no
other country” (3.6). His descriptions of the “American” suggest that the
“mixture” of various ethnic and cultural groups (from Europe) shows the
assimilation to the new dominant culture. However, the repercussions of such
assimilation result in the loss of their culture and heritage from their home
countries (Course Objective 2a: Course Home Page). Thus, the first and second
waves of immigration encourages and expects those who arrive to America to
assimilate to them, but only from those of European descendent.
Some narratives of the dominant culture, such as J.D.
Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy, may have
surprisingly similar experiences with the immigrant narrative. Living in a rough
environment with his mother and her boyfriend, Vance moved in with his
grandmother, “never to return to the homes of Mom and her men” (132). At his new
home, Vance’s grandmother set rules, such as “get[ting] good grades” and
“get[ting] a job,” which in hindsight, built the foundation for Vance’s future
(133). Vance, a descendent from the Scotch-Irish, does not show assimilation to
the dominant culture, as he is a part of it. But this movement of houses, from
his old home to his grandmother’s house, shows the movement towards a brighter
future, similar to the symbol of houses in immigrant narratives. Although the
dominant culture, generally, has different experiences and privileges with
living in America, there are aspects of life (such as moving towards a better
future) that the dominant culture and immigrants can relate to.
Despite the differences of assimilation
and resistance in immigrant and minority narratives, their experiences in living
in America are similar. The symbols of clothing, beauty features, and houses in
immigrant and minority narratives gauges the degrees of assimilation or
resistance to the dominant American culture. The narratives of New World
immigrants, however, identifies with either narratives, or both at once. As seen
in immigrant and minority narratives, houses in the narratives of New World
immigrants may represent assimilation (for example, Natalio in
The Distance Between Us), the
reassertion of cultural and ethnic identity (like Hector in “Visitors”) or the
combination of both meanings (such as Marshall’s mother and her friends in “The
Making of Writer”). Combining both narratives illuminates the similarities of
the immigrant and minority experiences in living in America. Despite their
different experiences, the narratives from the dominant culture also has its
similarities with the immigrant narrative, showing the symbol of houses as
representations of a better future. Thus, through an examination of these
narratives, we can always find something to relate to, despite our different
stories.
