|
2019 Midterm1
(assignment) |
LITR 4340
American Immigrant Literature Model Assignments |
|
Jasmine Choate
From the Perspective of
Immigrants and Minorities
Prior to this course, I honestly would not have been
able to mention one characteristic of either the American Immigrant of Minority
Narrative. I had not found myself coming across either of these at all. Which is
strange considering I am a literature major. Yet, I’m able to recognize that the
understanding of these two narratives is incredibly important and beneficial.
The closest I’ve come to reading anything of the sort, would be a book titled
“Houston, we have A Problema” by Gwendolyn Zepeda that I read for a Humanities
course. However, it was not until this course, that I even realized the entire
novel was a part of the Minority Narrative since we only discussed her familial
beliefs. However, she also struggled with being a minority woman in the
workplace and in her relationship with a White man.
Yet learning through the
perspectives in these stories, I’ve found myself more confident in
distinguishing the two. I think the biggest characteristics that we’ve discussed
so far are the concepts of choice, assimilation, and the model minority.
The major difference that
sets apart immigrants from minorities is the driving power of choice to come to
America. Immigrants have made the decision to leave behind their native lands in
hopes of a better life. This is where the phrase “The American Dream” comes into
play. Whether they are trying to escape poverty or an unfair government, or
simply wanting to find work or an education, they are looking for something new,
better, and beneficial to themselves and their family. One example of the choice
to chase the American dream comes from
Soap and Water by Anzia Yezierska. “Going to college seemed as impossible
for me, at that time, as for an ignorant Russian shop-girl to attempt to write
poetry in English…The ideal of going to college was like the birth of a new
religion in my soul.” [15-16] By first acknowledging how much of an impossible
concept pursuing an education was for her, we are able to see what would
motivate her to chase after the opportunity, as an immigrant. Something that a
lot of us Americans take for granted, an education, is something that was so
powerful and moving that it felt almost spiritual to the narrator to think about
attending college.
Another example of the
opportunity that immigrants choose to work for is from
What Color Would You Like, Ma’am? By
J. Christine Moon Ko, when she introduces Thien as the young boy responsible for
achieving the American Dream for his entire family. “After all, he would be a
college student soon, and every single member of family counted on his future
successes. They would all dream and talk about him becoming Dr. Thien Nguyen.”
[4] This is another common story within immigrants. Where the parents come here
in hopes of finding a better life for their young children in a land full of
opportunity. Thien was able to recognize the entire reason as to why is family
works so hard in their nail salon as a way to ensure that he can become
successful later on in life, which in turn would make them proud and happy with
what they have all accomplished as a family unit.
For Minorities, their
situation in America is different. They have had to come face to face with the
dominant culture even though they did not want to. They also experience a much
harsher sense of exploitation and rejection because of the fact that they
usually resist assimilation of the culture that they were forced into. The
American Dream they experience almost immediately turns into a nightmare void of
freedom and opportunity. We see this within
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of
Olaudah Equiano, The African by Olaudah Equiano. “I now saw myself deprived
of all chance of returning to my native country…and I even wished for my former
slavery in preference to my present situation, which was filled with horrors of
every kind” [2.18]. After being kidnapped in his youth alongside his sister, we
witness what the author was feeling when being ripped away from their native
land and forced into slavery and cruel punishment. In describing his situation
as depriving him from returning home, we see the disparity that came along with
his bringing brought to America against his will. There was no sense of hope,
determination, or opportunity within these chapters, as there is within the
immigrant narratives.
Though there is a clear
distinction between the Immigrant and Minority narratives that we’ve come across
in this course, there are instances where we see characteristics of both within
a text. One work that this occurs in is
The Cooked Seed by Anchee Min. In this text, the narrator is discussing the
struggles and issues of slavery with her minority roommate, Takisha. From the
narrator’s perspective, America has become a place where she finds luxury and is
able to work towards her goals of education. However, Takisha makes it known
that she struggles with coming to terms with what had been done to her ancestors
when they were slaves; “her ancestors were sold, beaten, hanged, and burned when
they tempted to escape.” (213) The narrator was able to relate with Takisha
because of what she had personally experienced and escaped back in her native
land. “I knew what it was like to be owned. In fact, I dint’ know what it was
like not to be owned.” The one difference between their hardships is that
Takisha’s ancestors experienced all of the torment and cruelties here within
America. For the narrator, American was her freedom and way out of that
suffering leading them to have differing outlooks and perspectives.
For American immigrants,
there is a sense of wanting to belong within the dominating culture so it is
typical to blend in through customs, language, appearance, and ideals. This
process while giving up their native culture is known as Assimilation. If they
welcome characteristics of the dominant culture alongside their native one, it
is called Acculturation. There are examples of both of these conversions within
Sandals in the Snow by Dr. Rose
Ihedigbo. An instance in where they family is showing assimilation is when they
discuss what their more favorable dishes are, which happen to all be
Americanized, not traditionally Nigerian. “James makes chicken wings, David
makes lasagna, Nate makes rice and stew, and Onyii makes macaroni and cheese.”
(171) This also shows another way the children were assimilating into American
culture through their names while in high school. Rather than going by their
Igbo names they found it easier to use more modern and western names, which
seems like a typical thing to do during the impressionable years in high school.
One example of Acculturation from this story is in regard to the way they were
styling their daughter hair. “While some might have viewed the change as giving
in to the hostile Western society that surrounded them, for Rose it was quite
the opposite… she never felt the pressure to change her daughter’s Nigerian
hairstyles.” (166) By changing her daughter’s schools she was admitting that
there was something that had to be done for her daughter’s well-being in this
dominating culture. Yet, she was not willing to give up what made her daughter a
Nigerian displaying her pride in the hairstyle as well as her native culture.
When immigrants
assimilate, and strive to achieve the expectations of the dominating cultures,
they are referred to as a Model Minority. They have the characteristics in what
America would consider and “ideal immigrant”. Meaning they are incredibly hard
working, have or are obtaining some sort of education, are not problematic, and
maintain a stable family unit. One example of a model minority that we’ve seen
in this course is from The American
Society by Gish Jen. “When my father took over the pancake house, it was to
send my little sister Mona and me to college.” (158) In this story, the father
is shown to be extremely hard working and determined to get his daughters into
college to further their education. He takes a stressful job and is able to run
a successful business from it. Granted his motivated work ethic pushes away some
American employees, yet it is the immigrant workers who meet his expectations by
going above and beyond at the restaurant. American Immigrants are fully aware of
the opportunities they are able to come across here in America that they were
not able to in their native lands. This pushes and motivates them to put in the
extra work necessary to make everything worthwhile. Giving up everything you
know in your home land to go to a foreign one is a tough decision to make, yet
millions choose to do so in hopes of a better life.
As a student, I almost
immediately try to find a way to relate to whatever type of narrative I’m
studying in order to build a stronger connection and gain a deeper impact from
it in the end. For this class, my connection is the experiences my mother has
had to go through as an American Immigrant. My mother prides herself in where
she comes from but is even more proud of how hard she has worked to get where
she is today. Reading from the perspective of American Immigrants opened a door
of curiosity to find a deeper understanding of immigrants and their hardships.
As an American citizen, I think I can be a little ignorant to the obstacles that
others have had to face in order to be here in America, and be able to achieve
great things by bettering themselves. The literature this course is exposing me
to is opening my eyes to the cultures, struggles, and perspectives of people
that I had not had the pleasure of learning from before.
