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2018 Midterm2 (assignment) Index to Sample Student Midterm2 Answers Part 3. Research Report Starts |
LITR 4340
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Anne Ngo
Vietnamese-Americans: Adaptation, Assimilation, and Rediscovery
As a
second-generation Vietnamese-American, I often ponder about my American and
Vietnamese identities. Am I too American? Am I not Vietnamese enough? These
questions were raised when I realized that I had lost touch with my Vietnamese
roots. However, the past few years for me have been a celebration and
appreciation for my Vietnamese culture: speaking the language, cooking the food,
and learning more the traditions. Through my rediscovery of my Vietnamese
heritage, I have learned to balance my identities in being both American and
Vietnamese. This occurrence for me reflects the Stages of Immigrant Narratives,
moving from Stage 4 of assimilation to Stage 5 of the “rediscovery or
reassertion of ethnic identity” (Objective 2c: Course Home Page). This movement
of the two stages are the focus of my research. I am interested in learning if
other second-generation Vietnamese-Americans have similar experiences in
assimilation or rediscovery of the Vietnamese identity. I am also interested in
learning about the response from second and third generation
Vietnamese-Americans on Vietnamese community centers. These centers, ones like
Vietnamese shopping malls, have had a huge part on my childhood memories. As
assimilation and the rediscovery of Vietnamese identity are the focuses of my
research, I learned that I am not alone in my experience as a
Vietnamese-American.
For Vietnamese immigrants, they may not establish complete assimilation
to the new country. Rather, they can adapt to whatever environment they are
living in, while continuing to hold on to their ethnic and cultural identity. In
fact, one characteristic of Vietnamese traditional culture is to “adapt to
change” in efforts “to remain in harmony with other cultures and ethnic groups
from the host country” (Nguyen 447-448). Vietnamese traditional culture supports
immigrants’ “change” of adapting to a new country, as they still hold on to
their “Vietnamese cultural and ethnic identity” (Nguyen 448). For Vietnamese
immigrants, they adjust to the host country, but still practice their
traditional customs. Many second generation Vietnamese-Americans, on the other
hand, may feel American, rather than Vietnamese, highlighting the assimilation
that may take place in the next generation. They may feel that “Vietnam is the
country of their parents,” knowing little about Vietnam (Nguyen 449). Some
second generation Vietnamese-Americans may even “reject the Vietnamese culture,”
as they have “grown up” around their “American peers” (Nguyen 449). These
sentiments reflect the fourth stage, assimilation to the dominant culture, of
Immigrant Narratives (Objective 2c: Course Home Page). Despite their
assimilation, some Vietnamese-Americans “regret” their growing departure of
their Vietnamese identity and their lack of knowledge of the language (Nguyen
449). They may rediscover their Vietnamese culture, moving from Stage 4 of the
Immigrant Narrative to Stage 5 (Objective 2c: Course Home Page). For me, these
findings are not unheard of. I also see these sentiments in my own experience
and in the people I know who are also second generation Vietnamese-Americans.
Some have rediscovered their ethnic identity, while others are fully assimilated
to the dominant American culture. Thus, through their degrees of assimilation,
the older generation may respond to them with an emphasis on community.
Vietnamese community centers, such as the Eden Center in Washington D.C., offer
a look to the Vietnamese’s adaptation to America. The physical building of the
Eden Center showcases the representation of their adaptation, as it holds shops
that you may find in Vietnam, while showcasing “American features” (Meyers 5).
These features include the English lettering in some store fronts and its
location in a strip mall, “non-existent in Vietnam” (Meyers 69). Here, the
center reflects the first generations’ ease in adapting to their adopted
countries. The older generation sees the center as a physical representation of
the Vietnamese community, different to the newer generations’ view of it. For
the second and third generations, they understand the importance of the Eden
Center, but do not see the “need for it” (Meyers 60). They more so see the
center as the place where their “mom drags them” to and not as the physical
symbol of the Vietnamese community (Meyers 74). The different attitudes of the
older and newer generations reflect the adaptions and assimilation of both
generations respectively. Implications of these findings suggest that the
younger generations acknowledge the importance of engaging in Vietnamese
culture, but also distance from it. This distance is unintentional, as they are
more familiar and engaged in the American culture.
Understanding the sentiments of the old and new generations reveal the patterns
of rediscovery of the Vietnamese identity and the adaptations and assimilation
to the dominant American culture. These findings are enlightening to me, as they
are also familiar. Through my research, I have a better understanding of the
experiences in living in America from the first, second, and third generation
Vietnamese-Americans. Lastly, I learned that my experience is similar to other
second generation Vietnamese-Americans. And that provides comfort to me.
Works
Cited
Chomsky, Aviva. “Assimilation Brings Lower Status for Minorities.”
Opposing Viewpoints in Context.
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010600204/OVIC?u=down54663&xid=
2caa2814
Galler, Robert W. “Indian Missionaries.”
Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. http://plains
humanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.asam.022
Meyers, Jessica. “Pho and Apple Pie: Eden Center as a Representation of
Vietnamese American Ethnic Identity in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area.”
Journal of Asian American Studies,
vol. 9, no. 1, 2006, pp. 55-85.
Nguyen, Thị Hien. “Cultural Adaptation, Tradition, and Identity of Diasporic
Vietnamese People A Case Study in Silicon Valley, California, USA.”
Asian Ethnology, vol. 75, no. 2,
2016, pp. 441-459.
Zong,
Jie and Jeanne Batalova. “Caribbean Immigrants in the United States.”
Migration Information Source.
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/caribbean-immigrants-united-states
