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2018 Midterm1
(assignment) |
LITR 4340
American Immigrant Literature Model Assignments |
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Anne
Ngo
22
February 2018
Assimilation and the American Dream
In American literature, the idea of the American Dream is prevalent in
many of its texts. The story of individuals coming to a new country in hopes of
creating a better life marks the beginning of an American Dream. However, in
examining the literature, narratives from American immigrants and minorities
differ in their experiences of coming to the United States. In the 4th
wave of immigrants, seeking opportunity and a better life, or the American
Dream, is a factor to voluntarily move and live in a new country (Waves of
Immigration: Course Home Page). Often times, in order to achieve their American
dream, one assimilates to the dominant culture, losing the traditions and
culture from their home country. On the contrary, in the past, minorities were
involuntarily moved to America, facing discrimination and not having the
opportunity to work for oneself. Because of the discrimination and oppression
that minority groups face, they are more resistant to the dominant culture.
Minority groups find that when they assimilate to the dominant culture, they do
not become “a part of successful America”; rather, they “remain impoverished and
marginalized” (Chomsky). Therefore, in immigrant narratives, clothing, beauty
features, and houses are symbols of assimilation, diverging from what is seen in
minority narratives. Although the immigrant and minority narratives differ in
assimilating or resisting the dominant American society, they both find similar
ways to cope with living in the dominant American culture.
In immigrant narratives, symbols of beauty from the dominant culture and
one’s desires for it often indicates one’s assimilation to the dominant culture.
In the case of Le Ly Hayship’s Child of
War, Woman of Peace, beauty features as a sign of assimilation is
represented through clothing. When Hayship wears an
ao dai, a traditional Vietnamese
garment, at a grocery store, she encounters a clerk at the checkout counter,
looking at her with a “nasty stare” (110). Hayship reacts with guilt, thinking
that “maybe he had a brother or father” who was killed in the Vietnam War (110).
As seen through this encounter, clothing represents identity, and Hayship
wearing her ao dai represents her
Vietnamese identity, prompting the clerk to showcase his anger towards her.
Through this experience at the grocery store, as well as her husband’s “notice”
of the other women in the store, she begins to wear American-style clothing as a
means to assimilate to a new country and be accepted (Hayship 108). However, the
new clothes did not satisfy her, confessing that she “hated” her “body for being
Vietnamese puny and not . . . like the glossy American girls” (Hayship 115).
This perception of herself suggests that clothing is a gateway for assimilation,
and that wearing the wrong clothes can lead to dissatisfaction of oneself in
assimilating to the dominant culture. Here, her desires for wanting the dominant
culture’s beauty standards mirrors her assimilation to the America. For Hayship,
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. Although Hayship does not assimilate and continues to hold on
to her Vietnamese identity at the end of the story, the symbols of clothing in
the relation to assimilation indicates the difference between immigrant
narratives and minority narratives.
Assimilation tends to be seen more in immigrant narratives than in
minority narratives. Compared to immigrant narratives, there is more resistance
in minority narratives. As seen in her poem, “Blonde White Woman,” Patricia
Smith shows acceptance of her beauty, indicating resistance from the dominant
culture. However, as denoted in the poem, there was a time in which she wanted
features of the dominant culture. Smith reveals that as a young girl, she had
wished she was “golden,” rubbing a “carnation pink Crayola” on the back of her
“hand” (21-25). This is similar to Hayship’s desires for the beauty features of
the dominant culture. However, 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). Here, she shows resistance to the beauty standards of the
dominant culture, indicating her acceptance of her African American identity.
Although not all immigrant narratives result in one’s complete assimilation to
the dominant culture, Hayship shows signs of assimilation, while Smith
ultimately rejects and resists them. This contrast of assimilation and
resistance is what differs between the two narratives.
Similarly, clothing is also present in Leslie Marmon Silko’s “The Man to Send
Rain Clouds,” but differs in how it represents in Hayship’s text. The
American-style clothing, like the “brown flannel shirt” and the “Levi’s,” that
Leon and Ken dresses Teofilo in does not represent their assimilation to another
identity, but rather, acculturation to the dominant culture (Silko 206). This is
supported by how Leon, and the other characters in the story, continue to
practice the traditional rituals for their Grandfather, despite the presence of
the missionaries in their community. 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). This is also seen in Silko’s text,
as images of “corn meal” and “pollen,” a traditional practice of their native
tribe, are pictured alongside the “priest’s brown Franciscan robe” (208).
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 identity. Thus, the
clothing in Silko’s text represents acculturation, not assimilation. This is
where immigrant and minority narratives diverge from one another: minority
narratives do not assimilate to the dominant American society. Although Hayship
still maintains her cultural identity, her desire for clothing and beauty
features that reflect the dominant culture suggests her path to assimilation.
Therefore, as Smith shows resistance of the dominant culture, and Leon (as well
as other members of his tribe) acculturate to the American society, minority
narratives does not show signs of assimilation compared to immigrant narratives.
Another symbol of assimilation in immigrant narratives is houses. For many,
owning a house is an indication of a better life, that one has earn the money to
purchase their own house. This symbol is a sign of assimilation to the dominant
American society, as seen in Dr. Rose Ihedigbo’s
Sandals in the Snow. 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” (Ihedigbo 151). Here, her recollection of the
move to their new house indicates their move to assimilation of the dominant
American culture. Ihedigbo’s son, Emeka, also recounts the significance of their
move, stating that owning their house is the “embodiment of the American dream”
(151). The implications of purchasing their own home aligns with the fourth
stage of the immigrant narrative: assimilation to the dominant culture
(Objective 2c: Course Home Page). This is supported through Onyii’s thoughts of
feeling “normal” and “middle class” after the move to their new home. Similar to
the Ihedigbos’ experience with moving to their own house, the symbol of houses
in immigrant narratives often represent the movement towards the assimilation to
the dominant American culture. Houses, in immigrant narratives, are signs of
hard work and sacrifice that immigrants make in order to have a better life for
them and their families. By purchasing a home in a prominently white
neighborhood, it indicates their assimilation towards the dominant American
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. This rejection from the dominant
American culture is detailed by the health department workers in Anchorage,
sharing to Lucy, a nurse moving into the village, that she will experience
“culture shock” (Evans 238). Here, 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, such as the
“magazines,” “soda can,” and “paper plate” found in Mercy’s (one of the Alaska
Natives that Lucy meets) home, they do not assimilate or lose their cultural
identity (Evan 241). Thus, as the house in Ihedigbo’s text indicates the
assimilation to the dominant American culture, the homes in Evan’s story
represents community and cultural identity. 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 Chystos’s poem, do not represent assimilation to
the dominant culture; rather, they represent resistance.
Although immigrant and minority narratives differ from one another in terms of
assimilation, not all immigrants fully assimilate. For example, the house in
Ihedigbo’s text represents the family’s assimilation to the dominant American
culture, however, 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 a necessity
for the family (159). Ihedigbo and her husband, Apollo, then voiced 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). Here, the Ihedigbo family do not assimilate, but rather
acculturate to American society, keeping their Nigerian roots. Therefore, not
all immigrant narratives result in assimilation. Some may acculturate to the
dominant culture, similar to minority narratives such as “Gussak” and “The Man
to Send Rain Clouds.” Therefore, there may be variations in which an individual
or a group assimilates or resists the dominant culture. Thus, immigrant and
minority narratives may differ in one’s assimilation or resistance to dominant
American culture, but both are similar in that, they may acculturate to it as
well.
Through an examination of immigrant and minority narratives, both differ in in
one’s or group’s assimilation to the dominant culture, yet they find similar
ways to live in the dominant American society. In immigrant narratives, an
individual or a group assimilates to the dominant culture through clothing,
beauty features, and houses, in efforts to improve their lives, cope with living
in a new country, and achieve their American Dream. In minority narratives, an
individual or a group may show resistance or acculturation to the dominant
culture, but not assimilate 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. 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. Thus, by examining immigrant
and minority narratives, we can have a deeper understanding of their experiences
and recognize that each individual has an important story to tell.
