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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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Tammy Tran
Conflict and Resolution in
Immigrant & Minority Narratives
Because of the current hot topics in immigration and the
oppression of women and people of color in U.S. politics, people tend to have a
“we vs. them” mentality while throwing around terms such as “immigrants” and
“minorities.” The media uses narratives in order to sway the audience toward or
away from a certain ideology. Literary works do just the same and their
narratives incorporate problem-solving trajectories in order to maintain the
reader’s attention and encourage empathy. Regardless of whether the work is
fiction or nonfiction, writers are constantly weaving narratives as an attempt
to reflect immigrant and minority experiences. Thus, examining conflicts and
resolutions pertaining to assimilation in literature regarding various groups of
people in the U.S. will further illuminate trends in immigration, both in the
past and present.
These various groups include the (Old World) immigrants,
true minorities, New World immigrants, and the dominant culture. To clarify,
immigrants are people who come to the U.S. by choice to seek new opportunities
and/or freedom while “true minorities” are people who are forced to come to
America and experience prolonged exploitation. Interestingly, New World
immigrants, a subgroup of immigrants, seem to include aspects of both immigrant
and minority narratives because they seek opportunities and freedom but have
also suffered from U.S. involvement in their home countries. The dominant
culture has a very distinct immigrant narrative because it sets the foundation
for all other immigrants to assimilate into. These characteristics fuel the
conflicts and resolutions in their narratives and shape the way they approach
assimilation.
A brief history is necessary to understand the immigrant
narrative and the conflicts experienced by Old World immigrants. A significant
wave of Chinese immigrants came to the U.S. around the 1860s to 1870s, although
they faced legal discrimination in 1882 due to the Chinese Exclusion Act that
was not lifted until 1943. Many Vietnamese immigrants came to America during and
after the Vietnam War, especially in the 1970s to 1980s. A wave of Jewish
immigrants came to the U.S. around 1880s to 1920s and another group of Jews fled
from the Holocaust to America during the 1920s to 1960s, even though immigration
was restricted. These examples are not at all exhaustive of the many Old World
immigrants that came to the U.S., but their narratives illuminate other
immigrant experiences in that they show immigrants fleeing to the U.S. for
safety and economic opportunities, only to initially experience legal and/or
social prejudice.
Thus, a common conflict for immigrants is their
frustration for why they cannot be accepted in society to begin with. Education
is a pathway to assimilation and the narrator in “Soap and Water” finally
received the opportunity to go to college, but she came across a barrier. The
narrator says, “I rushed for [college] with the outstretched arms of youth’s
aching hunger to give and take of life’s deepest and highest, and I came against
the solid wall of the well-fed, well-dressed world—the frigid whitewashed wall
of cleanliness” (Yezierska 17). She shows willingness, gratitude, and passion,
but the “clean world” refused to accept her even in college. Despite
institutions that enable assimilation, they may also hinder the assimilation
process. Furthermore, Yezierska’s use of hunger is effective as a metaphor for
the immigrant’s drive to assimilation and the “well-fed” dominant culture’s
pickiness of “quality” people.
In Hayslip’s Child of War, Woman of Peace, she
also details her determination to change in order to be accepted by her
husband’s relatives and friends. She married her husband in order to flee from
the Vietnam War, and like many Old World immigrants, she tries her best to be
accepted in this new society. However, she realizes that “In a land of instant
gratification and miracle conveniences, apparently, there was no room for a
spontaneous show of love through the labor of one's heart and hands” (Hayslip
115). All of her efforts did not please them; they just found more differences
and faults to point out about her, revealing the resistance of the dominant
culture.
To take resistance from the dominant culture a bit
further, Jayanti experiences outright hatred against immigrants in Divakaruni’s
“Silver Pavements, Golden Roofs.” Walking through the streets, Aunt Pratima and
Jayanti face the wrath of young White boys hurling dirty snow at them and
calling them by a derogatory term “with more hate in their eyes than boys should
ever have” (Divakaruni 80). This narrative shows that even children hold and
reinforce the prejudice used against immigrants. Although the boys used the
derogatory term incorrectly, it does not change the purpose of their harassment,
which is to alienate immigrants and those who are different than them. The
physical assault also contributes to the alienation, especially the boys’ choice
of the slush as a ranged weapon. These distancing acts demonstrate the dominant
culture’s resistance to immigrants coming to the U.S.
Although immigrants are pained by
resistance from the dominant culture, they eventually find ways to partially or
completely assimilate and become accepted. In “Soap and Water,” the narrator is
welcomed by Miss Van Ness, a friend from the “clean world” who finally accepts
her. The narrator states, “Just as contact with Miss Whiteside had tied and
bound all my thinking processes, so Miss Van Ness unbound and freed me and
suffused me with light” (Yezierska 36). Through her friendship with Miss Van
Ness, the narrator can access the resources she needs to assimilate into the
dominant culture. Min makes a similar statement in her memoir The Cooked Seed.
She writes, “An hour hanging out with Kate proved to be the most effective. I
felt like I was walking out of the darkness and into the light. I began to
understand bits of people's conversations” (Min 208). Language is another
pathway to assimilation and Min converses with her English-speaking friend Kate
to gain the English proficiency she needs to work and succeed in America. Both
writers describe acceptance and assimilation as the “light,” a symbol of
desirable goodness. This use reflects the notion that immigrants want to
assimilate in some way in order to be accepted in the U.S.
The history of Native and African
Americans precede that of the East Asian and Jewish immigrants and consequently
produce a different narrative. Native American ancestors traveled from Asia to
North America using the Bering Land Bridge 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. They are
considered true minorities because they received involuntary, and usually
violent, contacts from North European settlers (who become the dominant culture)
between the years 1600 to 1890 and continue to be exploited today. African
Americans were brought to the U.S. by slave ships starting around the 1610s and
were expected to work for someone else’s benefit rather than their own. Even
though slavery was abolished in 1865, legal segregation lasted for another
century and unofficial segregation still persist today. It is no wonder true
minorities experience prolong conflicts with the dominant culture.
True minorities’ conflict is feeling
forced to assimilate in a culture they are involuntarily a part of. In Erdrich’s
“American Horse,” Albertine and Buddy are hiding from the police because the
latter wants the Native Americans to assimilate. Vicki Koob says, “I want to
find that boy and salvage him” (215). In other words, she wants to ensure Buddy
is assimilated into the dominant culture since Albertine refuses to assimilate
them both. Moreover, the diction of “salvage” suggests that the boy is like an
object or some concept rather than a human being, which adds to the insult
minorities feel when confronted by the dominant culture. Miss Moore from “The
Lesson” wants the children to get an education, which as stated before is a
pathway to assimilation. The children are left with Miss Moore and are forced to
endure her lessons, which the children do very grudgingly. Because Miss Moore is
the adult and their parents expect them to be with her, they have to stay with
Miss Moore. However, as Sylvia shows in her narrative, it does not mean she has
to agree with what Miss Moore says.
As hinted in the previous paragraph, the
solutions true minorities use are resisting assimilation and distancing
themselves away from the dominant culture. Albertine in “American Horse” resists
the police by fighting head on with Officer Harmony and is ready to die
gloriously against the dominant culture. The speaker in the poem “Blonde White
Women” laments that the pinkish crayon could not cover her black skin, but later
realizes that “Even crayons fail me now— / I can find no color darker, / more
beautiful, than I am” (Smith 53-55). She resists assimilation by embracing her
own skin color and culture. In “The Man to Send Rain Clouds,” Leon does not
reveal Grandfather’s death to the priest because he does not want the priest’s
ways to impede on the ceremony and thus distances himself and his family away
from the dominant culture. Leon also politely declines any Christian rituals the
priest offers, another rejection to assimilation.
Although the conflicts and resolutions
are different between immigrants and minorities, they have similar experiences
to certain degrees. For instance, both groups experience exploitation. In “In
the Land of the Free” Hom Hing interprets James Clancy’s meaning to Lae Choo. He
states, “to get our boy we have to have much money” (Far 9). James Clancy is
profiting off of this new immigrant family’s loss of their son. He knows that
the family would do anything to get their son back, so James Clancy pretends to
leave in order for them to give up their valuables. Equiano in the Narrative
of Olaudah Equiano, The African is taken from his family and eventually
brought to the slave ship in which the traders take him to America. Slave owners
will profit off of Equiano’s labor and those of other slaves while treating them
inhumanely. Both groups also experience some degree of acculturation, or
selective assimilation. Hayslip in Child of War, Woman of Peace cuts her
hair to appease her husband’s relatives and friends, making her identity less
Vietnamese even though she maintains her family values—a common element of the
“model minority.” In “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” some of the Native Americans
are seen with a “pair of stiff new Levi’s” and a “green Army jacket” (Silko
206). Both of these instances show that both immigrants and minorities
acculturate their appearance but may or may not change their cultural values to
fit the dominant culture. Thus, their narratives differ and converge with each
other in various points.
Interestingly, the history of New World
immigrants supports a mix of immigrant and minority experiences. With the push
of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, many New World immigrants
came to the U.S. and continue to do so today. However, current politics may
complicate this trend in the near future; negotiations on policies pertaining to
illegal immigration are currently being discussed in Congress. Although
immigrants, they also faced great exploitation and US. imperialism similar to
true minorities. The U.S. engaged in the 1846 Mexican-American War and the 1898
Spanish-American War. The nation also intervened in countries like Nicaragua in
the 1920s, Cuba during the 1950-1960’s, Dominican Republic in 1965, and Haiti
during the 1990-2000’s, just to name a few. The U.S. has been involved in Latin
America and the West Indies before, during, and after the 1965 wave of New World
immigrants, making their experiences relatable to both immigrant and minority
narratives.
Hence, New World immigrants commonly
experience conflicting desires because their narrative has both immigrant and
minority characteristics. They mainly want the opportunities available in the
U.S., but they also want to identify with their home country. In her memoir
The Distance Between Us, Grande details her overwhelming desire to follow
her father across the U.S. border, but when she does, she also experiences a
pull back to Mexico. She writes, “I wished I could tell him that even though
this was my home now, my umbilical cord was buried in Iguala” (Grande 104). In
addition to its literal meaning, the umbilical cord symbolizes her roots and
cultural livelihood. To bury the cord in Iguala means that Grande’s cultural
roots are in the motherland, Mexico. Both “home” and “motherland” have weighty
connotations, illustrating the difficulty of choosing between them, even if Papi
wanted her to.
Another conflict New World immigrants encounter is the
dominant culture’s mixed responses to them, depending especially on the color
code. This code depends on the values placed onto certain colors. The dominant
culture places more value and acceptance on White skin than darker skin.
Consequently, certain New World immigrants are treated differently than other
New World immigrants due to the color of their skin. Historically, Cubans have
been relatively welcomed by the U.S. because a number of them tend to look more
European than the rest of the New World immigrants while Haitians are generally
the least welcomed because they look the most “African.” (To be fair, politics
and health concerns also magnify these differential treatments from the dominant
culture.) In “Silent Dancing,” Cofer explains that her father could easily pass
as a White person with his light skin and brown hair while the rest of her
nuclear family cannot pass with their brown skin and black hair (181). In
determining who can pass and who cannot, Cofer suggests that people with lighter
skin are treated better than those with browner skin in the U.S.
The solution New World immigrants use to
relieve their conflict is ultimately choosing to assimilate, resist, or embrace
both. In other words, there are mixed responses to the assimilate/resist dilemma
within the New World immigrant community. Revisiting Cofer’s “Silent Dancing,”
she describes her father’s efforts to assimilate, such as carrying a Christmas
tree into the apartment unit and her mother’s efforts to do the opposite, like
gravitating toward other Spanish-speaking female immigrants (182). Other New
World immigrants negotiate between assimilation and resistance. In Cisneros’
“Barbie-Q,” the narrator obsessively details the Barbie doll’s appearance and
that of her companion’s. The Barbie doll is a symbol of materialism, an aspect
of the dominant culture, and thus it seems like the narrator is assimilating.
However, when the narrator goes to the market, she wants Barbie’s friends,
boyfriend, sisters, brother, cousin, and even the friends and relatives of
Barbie’s relations. Although this detail further supports materialism, it also
supports the narrator’s inclination towards extended families, a common
characteristic of immigrant cultures. Acculturation is the narrator’s
negotiation between having to assimilate and resist. Some New World immigrants
decide to embrace both of their cultures. In “The Making of a Writer: From the
Poets in the Kitchen,” Marshall understands the importance of the “kitchen talk”
and the Western canon, thus embracing both the spoken and written word. Because
the former represents the Barbados culture and the latter represents the
dominant culture, she identifies with both cultures rather than strictly
choosing between assimilation and resistance.
The history of the dominant culture
shows a similarity and difference to New World immigrants. Similar to the
immigrant narrative, those of the dominant culture did come as immigrants in
waves. During the 1620s and 1630s, many Puritans traveled to Massachusetts Bay
from eastern England. Aristocratic settlers from southern England, like those of
Jamestown and the “Cavaliers,” populated the mid-Atlantic colonies in the early
to mid-1600s. The third wave consisted of the Scots-Irish in the 1700s; they
came from Scotland, Ireland, and Northern England and occupied the southern and
interior colonies. Although immigrants, these groups conquered vast lands and
its indigenous residents by disease and warfare, consequently permitting them to
maintain their own culture. Thus, they become the dominant culture, which
produces a unique immigrant narrative consisting of different conflicts and
resolutions.
The dominant culture struggles with conflicting desires
of survival and preserving their culture from the start. When the English
Pilgrims immigrated to Holland, they saw some of their children “drawn away by
evil examples into extravagant and dangerous courses... and departing from their
parents” (Bradford 4.4). These immigrants saw assimilation as “evil” because it
led their children away from their traditions. The Pilgrims must decide whether
to stay or travel again to America, despite there being “brutish men” and “wild
beasts” (Bradford 4.7). A similar dilemma existed during the life of Vance’s
grandmother. She moved to the Rust Belt in order to take advantage of the
economic opportunities present there. However, when the jobs migrated elsewhere,
Rust Belt families must decide whether to leave or not. Although it was less of
a choice for Vance’s family due to poverty, they must decide between finding a
way to get out of it or to wear it “like a badge of honor” (136). Leaving would
allow them to assimilate to an educated culture (which is a well-known
characteristic of the dominant culture) and staying would be to preserve their
values. The Scots-Irish are different from the rest of the dominant culture in
that sense.
In response to the conflict, the dominant culture relies
on the practice of acculturation. More specifically, they seem to only
assimilate for a certain purpose or for survival rather than trying to blend in.
In Crevecoeur’s “What is an American,” he states, “They are mixture of English,
Scotch, Irish, French, Dutch, Germans, and Swedes. From this promiscuous breed,
that race now called Americans have arisen” (3.4). He describes the assimilation
of immigrants coming to America to make Americans, but only includes those of
generally northern European descent. The power and opportunity in this so-called
clean-slated land allows them this selectivity, giving them flexibility to
choose what they feel is worthy and desirable to assimilate to. The Pilgrims in
Of Plymouth Plantation also selectively assimilate by choosing only to
take the advice and practices from Squanto and other Native Americans in order
to survive. As for anything else, they would much rather keep their traditions
and values, as suggested by their insistence in creating the Mayflower Compact
in order to dissuade non-Pilgrims from “their own liberty” and persuade them to
consent to the Pilgrim’s values (Bradford 11.1).
To reiterate, the dominant culture and New World
immigrants share qualities in both immigrant and minority narratives. Both
groups came to the U.S. as immigrants for religious freedom and/or economic
opportunities. However, they also possess the desire to preserve their own
culture and resist assimilation, a minority narrative quality. In consequence,
they feel they must negotiate between assimilating and resisting. New World
immigrants seem equally torn between the two and the dominant culture seems
closer to minorities in that they refuse to assimilate more (which explains the
friction between the dominant culture and true minorities).
In summary, immigrant and minority narratives consist of
different conflicts and resolutions, but they do have some overlapping
experiences. The immigrants’ main focus is to seize freedom and opportunity in
order to thrive, so they will find ways to resolve their issues and enter the
dominant culture. True minorities are forced and expected to comply with the
dominant culture, causing them to rigorously maintain their own culture while
distancing themselves from the dominant culture. Both groups experience
oppression and feel the need to acculturate in some way in order to survive. Of
course, labels are just general categories for organizing people, so there are
exceptions and grey areas. New World immigrants have characteristics of both
immigrant and minority narratives, forcing them to grapple with competing wishes
and to choose where they wish to lie on the assimilation/resistance spectrum.
Although immigrants, the dominant culture preserves and lays the foundation for
its values because it is privileged to immigrate to the relatively uncolonized
America with resources to maintain its power. Examining these narratives reveal
the complexity of experiences each immigrant and true minority has, making it
difficult to accept the assumption that all “minorities” or all “majorities” are
the same.
