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2018 Midterm1
(assignment) |
LITR 4340
American Immigrant Literature Model Assignments |
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Greg Bellomy
A Buffet of Melting Pots
Because meaning is constructed at the personal level, examining the work of
those who studied before us is an edifying experience. Beyond providing
explanation of key concepts, it gives readers the opportunity to examine the
breadth of interpretation that is possible and even reasonable on a given topic.
Such has been the case with my investigations of past students in the Immigrant
Literature course; I have learned a few new things and reshaped my understanding
as a result.
In “Culture Clash,” Austin Green uses the stages of immigration as a
means of organizing the experiences within the course narrative. I was impressed
by the fact that he used the stages dedicated to the immigrant experience to
compare and contrast these types of stories. Like Austin, I had a very small
baseline of relevant knowledge when I first began this course. I also
appreciated how he highlighted the rejection of imposed religion and the
incorporation of the Holy Water into the burial of the old man in Silko’s story.
Most importantly of all, though, like Austin, I have also found myself
unexpectedly moved and inspired by our studies so far.
I also thought that Zach Thomas’s “Part One: To Be Or Not To Be” was an
interesting read. Primarily, I hadn’t previously thought of “the Narrative of
Olaudah Equiano” to be a tale of assimilation, but this is how the story ends. I
suppose that this illustrates one situation where the lines between Immigrant
and minority narratives are blurred. In some ways, Equiano’s forced assimilation
through slavery is much more rapid than the immigrant stories which we have read
so far. It can also be argued that Equiano was able to buy his freedom because
of the excellency with which he assimilated to the culture that enslaved him.
The use of his intellect and his mastery of craft and trade were the means by
which he bought his freedom. I also admired the way that Zach mentioned the
family as a barometer of acculturation. I was familiar with the idea that
greater acculturation means less family interaction for immigrants, but I did
not think about how this can also work with the minority experience (and it
should have occurred to me after reading “American Horse”).
Katie Morin’s essay was probably my favorite of all the essays that I
read. I really enjoy the way that she transitioned between the minority and
immigrant narratives in order to show their likenesses and differences. Like the
previous two essays, she talks about issues of acculturation, assimilation, and
family, but the construction of her work is such that each idea is developed
quite well before it transitions into the next. I liked the idea of exploring
the ideas with stages, but when I tried it myself, I couldn’t keep the
paragraphs on a single topic. In this sense, I should be admiring Austin’s craft
as well, but I am mostly just jealous of how well Katie wrote (probably because
we hit a lot of the same ideas, but I must admit that she did better). In any
case, I will try to borrow from their structures and styles as I continue to
build my essays this semester.
