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2018 Midterm1
(assignment) |
LITR 4340
American Immigrant Literature Model Assignments |
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Jojo
Hunter
20
Feb 2018
Assimilation and Acceptance
Assimilation has been a big part of whether or not immigrants and minorities are
viewed in the eyes of the dominant culture (those of European descent, “white”
people). One can assimilate in several ways: intermarriage into the dominant
culture, learning the native language, or a shared ideology. Because “immigrant”
implies a voluntary status, the connotation is much different than that of the
“minority” label, which is one that tends to come with a history of being taken
from one’s own country without consent. Beyond assimilation, most immigrants
strive to achieve the American Dream—that is, leaving their own country (Old
World), to make a journey to America (New World). Culture shock and
discrimination from the dominant culture is sure to happen as well, but this
leads immigrants to work harder and assimilate according to the standards that
the dominant culture abides by. By the second generation there is some inherent
assimilation, and by the third generation, most of the home culture has been
lost, or at the very least, goes unobserved. Model minorities have changed as
years passed, but are considered to be “good”—educated and assimilated, taking
advantage of the things that the New World has to offer.
Minorities tend to refuse to submit to assimilating to the dominant culture,
instead holding on the ideologies of their own people. Because of this, some
minority groups are considered “problem minorities,” often associated with
taking jobs from the dominant culture, being unskilled, uneducated, and refusing
to assimilate. This includes both the Native American and African-American
identities, which are considered true minorities. The minority history is
usually one of being dominated, exploited, and used for the personal gain of the
dominant culture.
In
Anchee Min’s Cooked Seed, Anchee
tries very hard to understand and accept American culture, but she in confused
by the fact that Takisha, a minority, tells her to stop hanging out with Kate
because of the troubled history between black people (minorities) and the
dominant (settler) culture that (white) Kate is a part of. However, when Takisha
tries to explain the plight of African-Americans to Anchee, she tells her that
she not only knows about their plight, but China is a country where they
sympathize with the views of African-Americans. This does not hold much weight
with Takisha, and Anchee notes that “Takisha was too provoked to come out of her
own world” (IV2, 212). In this case, there is a difference of ideals based on
time and place. Here, the immigrant wants to assimilate by learning the language
of the dominant culture- “…I want to learn…Talk to me, and educate me” (IV 2,
212)- yet the minority insists that there is a worse life for her.
In Le
Ly Hayslip’s Child of War, Woman of
Peace,” Le does everything she is “supposed” to do in order to assimilate,
but the people of the dominant culture all around her reject her nonetheless.
She has intermarried and is learning the language, but she has a hard time
seeing why it is good to have the American ideology that is being forced upon
her. Her husband does not pay much attention to her and even makes fun of her
for doing simple things, such as choosing the “wrong” type of rice. She admits
that in losing her own culture, “I was becoming a stranger to myself. I didn’t
like the feeling one bit” (IV2, 111); however, she admits later on in the story
that “In America, I was as big as my voice and I liked that feeling a lot” (IV2
117). Assimilation does not necessarily come easy for Le Ly, but as she realizes
that the oppression she felt from Vietnam is gone, she finds that maybe there
are good reasons to being American, and she was “starving and ready for anything
from the great American banquet” (IV2 125).
In J.
Christine Moon’s “What Color Would You Like, Ma’am,” Thien is the son of a model
minority immigrant family. He is second generation, so he is essentially stuck
between the worlds of the dominant culture and his family’s Old World values.
Though he likes to play video games and basketball with his friends, he also
realizes that the family business is important to the household. This is a
commentary on second generation immigrant ideology where the old values are not
quite lost, but they do intertwine with the values that have been learned. In
fact, he is loyal to the duties, and only after he does them will he think about
himself: “Maybe when Tanya comes back to work, he’ll be able to catch up with
his friends and hang out with them. As Thien drifted off to sleep, images from
his AP study book swarmed through his head, and he joyfully thought about fun
ahead with basketball and video games.” This loyalty to the family suggest that
he has not let go of his family values form their Old World, but he has
assimilated just fine with the dominant culture, although the lives of the
children seem to be very different.
“Elethia” by Alice Walker is another rebellion of minorities against the
dominant culture. Elethia realizes that the idea of Uncle Albert is one that
exploits minorities by using their image for capital gain. He was neither an
uncle nor happy in life, yet the posing and display of Uncle Albert in a place
where minorities were not even allowed was blatantly disrespectful to not only
Albert, but to the minority narrative of a life of servitude. Albert tried to
assimilate in his time, but was answered with hate, disrespect, and
commercialization of his remains after his death for white man’s profit. Elethia
herself became educated, therefore partially assimilating, yet she feels the
need to preserve the truth of her people. She and her friends kept Uncle
Albert’s ashes to honor the truth of his past, and therefore the truth of
minority oppression: “…For each of them what they knew and their reaction to
what they knew was profound” (IA, 308).
Chrystos poem, “I Have Not Signed a Treaty with the United States Government” is
a story of stripped identity and forced assimilation for Native American people.
Native American ideology states that nature, family, and tradition are to be
honored, and the United States only strips these things from those that are
resistant to assimilation. In this poem, Chrystos equates American culture to
materialism, stating that paper does not equal ownership, status, or legalities.
Everything has a purpose or meaning in the Native American culture, yet
production is limited to “garbage…lies,” the inability to produce
“dance…cook…children…elders…or relatives,” things that are held dear to these
people. This poem is a complete rejection of any type of assimilation of the
true minority culture to the dominant culture.
In
contrast to this is “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” by Leslie Marmon Silko. In
this story, there is a mix of both assimilation and the ability to hold on to
traditional values that the Native American hold dear. The preacher represents
the dominant culture, and although he is not forceful in his will for the family
to submit to his values (Christianity), he is hesitant to bring holy water to
Teofilo’s grave because “For a Christian burial it was necessary [to be given
Last Rites]” (IA 207). Both men in this conversation are enforcing the values
that they believe, yet they are both respectful to one another, and in the end,
the priest submitted to the values of the Native’s culture.
Before reading the narratives of immigrants and minorities, I would not have
been able to distinguish one designation from the other accurately. However,
after reading both fiction and non-fiction stories about the experiences of
individuals who have immigrated to the Unites States and those who are
marginalized for their minority status, I can begin to see things more clearly.
The dominant culture seems to affect how people’s view of the American Dream is
brought to fruition. While some of these groups have chosen to assimilate, and
therefore been coined “model minorities,” others choose to hold on to their
cultures/ideologies and are therefore ostracized for rejecting the dominant
culture’s ideas. This has led some immigrants and minorities to be accepted,
while others are rejected and marginalized.
