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2018 Midterm1
(assignment) |
LITR 4340
American Immigrant Literature Model Assignments |
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Tammy Tran
The Nuances of Immigrant and Minority Narratives: A Commentary
For my first Web Highlights, I decided to review two midterm 1 essays and one
final research report. Because I have a rough idea for what my midterm 1 paper
will be, I decided to look at an additional midterm 1 essay to get some more
perspectives. I will examine Tracie Estrada’s “Resilience: It’s what defines
us,” Austin Green’s “‘Superman himself is literally an immigrant,’” and Adam
Glasgow’s “Immigrant and Minority Literature: What's the Difference and Why Does
it Matter?” All three writers cover the common differences between immigrant and
minority narratives, but each provided interesting insights I would like to
review in this paper.
Estrada’s “Resilience” includes the uplifting and heart-wrenching emotions of
immigrant and minority narratives, concluding with a statement of awe towards
the resilience of the American people, whether immigrants or minorities. Three
particular statements caught my attention. Estrada states, “Immigrants coming to
the United States enlist into an unspoken agreement, a social contract which
states that if you obey the laws of the land the system will work for you”
(para. 3). I had not thought of it as a “social contract,” but it definitely
makes sense that to work and succeed in America, one must abide by the culture
one is in. Another statement from Estrada’s paper was: “Perhaps some ‘model
minorities’ do and are expected to follow the rules is because they have come
from a county that demanded their acceptance of the rules this being the reason
why assimilation seems acceptable to them” (para. 3). Although I can see where
she is coming from, I cannot help thinking that most, if not all, countries
demand acceptance of their rules and not merely countries “model minorities”
come from, but I suppose some countries have more legal ways for people to
express their grievances than others. I also understand that Estrada’s motive
here is perhaps to point out the tendency for “model minorities” to keep quiet
in politics and not “rock the boat.” The final statement I will point out in her
paper is: “Minority stories often depict a dominant culture that has no place
for them. However, those who begin assimilation run the risk of alienation by
their own, like Harmony” (para. 6). I find this to be an intriguing statement.
There seems to be a barrier or gulf between true minorities and the dominant
culture, because for both, a “we vs. them” mentality sprung from violent contact
with each other in history. Although people may say, “Let us look past history
and come together,” it may be harder than it seems to put aside years of
violence and oppression.
Green’s “‘Superman himself is literally an immigrant’” encompasses the relevant
biography of Gene Luen Yang as well as a commentary on Yang’s graphic novel
American Born Chinese. I too have heard and read this graphic novel. I am
also a Chinese-American from an immigrant family, so this text resonated with me
on a personal level. Green states that the graphic novel reveals an inner shame
East Asians have for their culture in the U.S. Interestingly, shame has not been
talked about in class and the texts I have read so far did not comment on this
shame that some immigrants experience when confronted by the dominant culture.
In another paragraph, Green writes, “If [the two Asian people] spend time with
each other, it would make them stand apart from the rest of their peers even
more” (para. 7). This statement reveals that the dominant culture has become the
“normal” and the price for those who have not assimilated is alienation. One
needs to “hang out” and convert to the dominant culture before feeling included
in its society. Another statement caught my attention. He states, “It is
interesting that Superman can be viewed as both having an immigrant experience
by some, but also viewed as a representation of what America can be, or stands
for, by others” (para. 9). I believe people are currently having this
conversation either in school or outside of it. They are examining the meaning
of “American” and our course takes it a step further to examine the experiences
different Americans have in order to understand America as a whole.
Glasgow’s “Immigrant and Minority Literature” covers the topic of assimilation
and how it applies to immigrant and minority narratives in select texts. He
concludes with an argument that understanding the differences between immigrant
and minority literature and proper terminologies matter in order to have clearer
discussion about the world and literature at hand. In my first midterm paper, I
would like to explore the question of why such information matters a little
further. An intriguing paragraph includes Glasgow’s question, “Can a work of
literature be both a piece of immigrant literature and minority literature?” He
provides The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiana as an
example for this complexity. Glasgow explains that although it was a true
minority narrative at first, Olaudah Equiana eventually assimilated, making it
difficult to call it a true minority narrative. This example also reminds me of
Evans’ “Gussuk,” where a true minority wishes to assimilate into the dominant
culture. These are definitely examples of exceptions to the general concepts of
minority narratives.
After reviewing these three model assignments, I learned about the general
consensus for what constitutes immigrant and minority narratives as well as the
general form of essays. Moreover, these writers have given me insight on the
nuances of immigrant and minority literature that has kick-started my own
thoughts for my first midterm paper. There is still so much to uncover between
these two groups and having read other students’ works gave me confidence that I
can provide my own insights and discoveries on immigrant and minority
narratives.
