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2018 Midterm2
(assignment) |
LITR 4340
 American Immigrant Literature Model Assignments |
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Carrie Hutton
New World Immigrants and Their Quest for an Identity
New world immigrants are individuals who, just like everyone else, are humans in
the world. The United States was founded on the idea of immigration and leaving
an area for a better life. The
dominant culture has created a set of values and rules that everyone’s culture
is measured by in the United States. The dominant culture expects immigrants and
minorities to fit into the parameter of the American society and to conform
their beliefs into the beliefs of the “original” immigrants. If the immigrant or
minority resists assimilation they are branded as being unworthy. Some
immigrants and minorities may be more willing to assimilate while others are
more resistant. New World immigrants combine both immigrant and minority
identities creating a multicultural identity; leaving the new world immigrant in
an internal conflict and a quest for their true identity.
The New World immigrant is defined and explained beautifully in Cassandra Rea’s
Mid Term paper, America’s Neighbor: New
World Immigrants. She describes the New World immigrants’ struggle of
assimilating to the dominant culture because of their views and perceptions of
the dominant culture. Rea states, “…there is that constant struggle of
assimilating to the dominant culture as well as their outlook on previous
experiences with America that help shapes their view of the country itself”
(para. 1). This statement further qualifies why New World immigrants vary
between the immigrant and minority identity and how these identities are
conflicted within the immigrant. I learned from her essay, that each group,
Mexican-American, Hispanics, and Afro-Caribbean, forms their own special
identity. After reading this essay, the idea of a conflicting identity to fit
into the dominant culture was further defined.
The New World immigrants’ journey is portrayed in Kimberly Loza’s Research
Report, The Border Culture. She
describes her heritage and the journey of other Mexican-Americans and their
journey through the dominant culture. She reports findings that describe the
relationship between the U.S. and Mexican border and how the interactions,
linguistically and culturally, can equate to harmony. Loza states, “She shows
that even though these the families are a part of different cultures that they
unify through the languages and culture that they have. She really focuses on
unity and commonality. This is something that I really want to focus on myself
being a Mexican American because I don’t identify as one. I am proud of both of
my cultures.” (para. 3). I chose this report because Kimberly Loza’s report was
very interesting and informative to read because it gave me a different view on
how a Mexican-American, like herself, might struggle with identifying as an
immigrant or minority.
The New World immigrants’ journey is described in Tracie Estrada’s Mid Term
essay, New World Immigrants Create a New
Narrative. I chose this essay because she describes very eloquently the
difference between Old World immigrants, New World immigrants, and Minorities.
She focuses the majority of the essay around New World Immigrants. Estrada
states, “New World Immigrants cannot be categorized neatly into columns. Their
characteristics and circumstances differ not only within their unique cultures
but cross cultural. As seen with Old World Immigrants, assimilation becomes
exhibited but resistance to the dominant culture is displayed more predominantly
with New World Immigrants” (para. 1). This explanation of New World immigrants,
addresses the struggle they must face when living in a new country and the need
to retain their traditional identity. The fact that New World immigrants cannot
be grouped “into columns” is a way of viewing the identities of the New World
immigrants and how they mesh together to form possibly form a unique identity,
different from all others.
New World immigrants are unique, in that, they are not defined as immigrants or
minorities; they are a combination of the two. When thinking about the dominant
culture and the expectations and restrictions placed on society it is not hard
to believe that the New World immigrants are multicultural. New World immigrants
create an identity that fits the mold America believes they should have and they
maintain their cultural heritage because of the geography of their home country.
