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2019 Midterm2
(assignment) Sample Midterm2 Answers Part 1: Essays on Immigrants, Minorities, and New World Immigrants |
LITR 4340
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Rosa Ramos
A Nation of Immigrants
The American dream is the belief that everyone has the
God given right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, it is thought
that if one works hard and makes sacrifices, riches and success can be attained.
The consensus is that this is true, and it is believed that there is an even
playing field for all. While minorities are often thought of as any ethnic group
that is not part of the dominant culture, this American Immigrant Literature
class has divided the immigrant experience and the minority experience into
three different categories, including the immigrant, the minority, and the new
world immigrant. Although these groups tend to be disadvantaged, their
experience is quite different. An Old World Immigrant is a person who makes a
choice to leave the old world for the new, while a minority is one that was not
granted the choice to join the new world but forced to do so, and the New World
Immigrant has also chosen to travel to the new world voluntarily, but they have
a history of exploitation or involuntary contact with the USA.
The most recurrent example of the
American dream is the Old World Immigrant narrative, which is where people leave
the old world for a land with more opportunities. Although immigrants face
hardships similar to minorities, the Old World Immigrant narrative tends to have
a happier theme or ending. The reasons for leaving their homeland differs from
person to person and it can be for economic prosperity or to escape political
persecution. Many times they arrive to the new land with little to nothing to
their name but are able to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” and become
successful.
Old
World Immigrant narratives include hardships, but they are told through the
rose-colored glasses of hope. In “Bread Givers” by Anzia Yezierska, the Old
World Immigrant narrative is perfectly displayed. In the short excerpt, Max
tells Sara how he arrived with nothing but a “little bundle on [his] back” and
after a little walking was able find work. By the end of the day he made his
first American dollar, pushing the narrative that those who work hard will be
successful. He says that he, “felt the riches of all America in my hand” after
receiving his first dollar; by the end of the week and without speaking English,
he is in business for himself and will own a chain of stores. Although Max had
to start out by doing the “dirty” job new immigrants are usually left to work,
he does work his way up and becomes successful. In, “The English Lesson” by
Nicholasa Mohr, it tells of a group of adult Old World Immigrants enrolled in an
Adult Education class taking Basic English. Mrs. Hamma, the English teacher,
reiterates the American dream when states that she teaches that class in part
because her grandparents were poor immigrants from Germany who worked their way
up. The notion that upward mobility is available to all those who are willing to
work hard is present throughout this narrative. Again, the general feeling of
this story is upbeat, with the majority of the students expressing their desire
to become American Citizens. When Stephan Paczkowski makes his introduction, he
reveals that he was a professor at a university in his motherland but is now a
porter at a hospital. This relates to the notion that new immigrants must “clean
toilets” at some point before they are able to succeed.
Old World Immigrants arrive to the new
world and usually want nothing more than to assimilate into the dominant culture
so that they will be quickly accepted into it. This process does not occur over
night and it can be an embarrassing and confusing ordeal. For example, in
“Sandals in the Snow” by Dr. Rose Ihedigbo, the Ihedigbo children notice how
some of their neighborhood friends talk back to and disrespect their parents.
Knowing that this would never be allowed in their household, they are shocked by
the lack of respect.
The dominant culture may also have cleanliness standards
that are not aligned with the Old World Immigrant’s culture. In “Sandals in the
Snow” the Ihedigbo children did not wear deodorant and did not know that their
smell was not pleasant to their American peers. To the Ihedigbos their “Nigerian
smell” was not unpleasant and that was what they were used to. Similarly, in
“Soap and Water” by Anzia Yezierska, Miss Whiteside looks down on the
protagonist because she does not deem her clean enough to be a teacher. Because
she was not as clean as Miss Whiteside, she considered her dirty, “She never
perceived [she] had a soul. Meanwhile, Miss Whiteside never bothers to question
why she isn’t clean, she merely looks down on her.
In
“Child of War, Woman of Peace” by Le Ley Hayslip the culture clashes that new
Old World Immigrants may experience is clearly displayed. While at the grocery
store, Hayslip discovers that even buying rice proves to be a complicated matter
when she realizes there are so many options. Hayslip is also criticized by Erma
for not feeding her children “a proper meal” and only feeding them rice and
noodles. Erma isn’t taking into consideration that in Vietnam, Hayslip’s diet
would consist of rice and noodles and the children would not starve. Hayslip
attempts to be closer to Leatha and Erma by working harder and longer but
everything she does is still wrong to them. Like the protagonist in “Soap and
Water”, there is a time Hayslip ends up feeling alone and has no one to
communicate with.
While Old World Immigrants made a
choice to travel to the new world in search of better opportunities, minorities
were brought to the new world against their wishes. Their contact with the
dominant culture was involuntary, they are voiceless, and subject to
exploitation. Their history is one of oppression by the dominant culture and
thus have resisted assimilation. Minorities are commonly associated with poverty
and crime and unfortunately excessive police force. Minority narratives tend to
have a more somber feeling and the characters are more willing to acculturate
rather than assimilate.
In
“The Man to Send Rain Clouds” by Leslie Marmon Silko, the Native American family
that just lost their family member ask a Priest to bless his body with holy
water. They follow their own rituals but ask the Priest to sprinkle Holy Water
so that their grandfather “won’t be thirsty.” They have taken something from the
dominant culture and adapted it to their culture; the Holy Water has taken on a
different meaning to them than what it means to the dominant culture.
The minority groups are also known for
fearing police or those in authority due to great injustices that have been
committed against them. In “American Horse” by Louise Erdrich, Buddy and his mom
Albertine are hiding from the police because social services want to take him
and place him in foster care. Albertine and Buddy hide, hoping they will not be
found, where as someone from the dominant culture would have likely called their
lawyer. In our society today, minorities can feel just as helpless to jump in
and stop injustices from happening just as Equiano felt in “The Interesting
Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano…the African” by Olaudah Equiano.
Equiano fits the minority narrative when he witnesses atrocities being done
against his fellow slaves, but he is unable to speak up against it or help them.
He describes witnessing whites committing violent crimes against female slaves,
some not even ten years old. Equiano also remarks that he is confused why it was
not seen as wrong for white men to rape women, but he knew of a case where a
black man was tortured and killed after he slept with a white prostitute.
Another facet of the minority narrative
is the desire to resist the dominant culture. In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade
Bambara, Miss Moore takes the children on field trips attempting to expose them
to experiences pertaining to the dominant culture that they would otherwise
never see. I enjoyed reading this narrative, especially the way in which Miss
Moore exposes the children to new experiences. She knows that some of the things
they will experience will bring them discomfort but she allows them to
experience it for themselves. For example, when it came time to walk into the
toy store and none of the children wanted to walk in because they were nervous,
still Miss Moore hangs back and waits for them to make a move. Once they walk
in, Miss Moore notices how uncomfortable the children feel in the toy store but
she simply watches them. She does not try to explain what they are feeling or
try to comfort them, she questions them, and it seems like she wants them to
come to their own realization that they are living in a completely different
lifestyle than the people from the dominant culture that shop there. Sylvia
becomes upset looking at all the luxurious expensive toys, maybe because she
realizes that she will never be able to have them. When Sugar says, “this is not
much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an
equal crack at the dough, don’t it?” I think that is the realization she wanted
them to come to. Miss Moore knows that these children are at a disadvantage, but
she wants them to be aware of what could be available to them.
Similarly, the poem “Blonde White Women” by Patricia
Smith she tells of a time in her childhood when she wanted to be “golden”, she
wanted to be white. She goes on to explain that when one of her white teachers
hugged her, she wanted her to be her mother until the teacher pulled away and
she saw the look of “too much touch.” By the end of the poem, Smith has come to
the realization that she loves the color of her black skin and no longer wishes
to be like the white women she idolized as a child. She wanted to assimilate
into the dominant white culture as a child but as she came into her own, she
realized that she could never be them so she has embraced herself and her
culture. Due to this realization, she feels like the dominant culture resents
her for not wanting to be like them any longer.
The New World Immigrant narrative is a “combination of
immigrant and minority narratives and identities.” New World Immigrants include
Mexican-American, Hispanic, and Afro-Carribean people. The close proximity of
their home country to the New World, has allowed the New World Immigrant to
travel back and forth, making assimilation more complicated. To complicate
matters more, families have often times moved back and forth from their homeland
to the U.S throughout generations. New World Immigrants want the American dream
but also want to continue practicing parts of their culture.
The desire to want to belong to both
the New World and the homeland is an important facet of a New World Immigrant.
In the poem “Coca-Cola and Coco Frio” by Martin Espada, we meet a boy from
Brooklyn, New York that is on his first visit to his family’s homeland. He is an
American, looking to connect with his roots in Puerto Rico. The fat boy is
initially disappointed, as he only finds more of the same things he has in
Brooklyn. Although he is able to make a connection to his family’s homeland, he
notices that people on the island are neglecting their own cultural views in
favor for American views.
Due to the complex nature of their
upbringing, young New World Immigrants can grow up feeling as if they do not
belong here or there. Such is the case of Hector in “Visitors” by Oscar
Hijuelos. Hector has a desire to be more Cuban, but at the same time this notion
scares him. Although Hector is able to understand and read Spanish, he is unable
to speak it and it leaves him feeling like a failure. He feels regretful that he
is so Americanized and is anxious that his Cuban family will think of him as a
fraud.
The color code signifies a difference in race and/or
social status. In “Silent Dancing” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the family has arrived
to The United States from Puerto Rico. The father is dead set on assimilating
the family into dominant culture, while the mother feels more comfortable
holding on to their culture instead. The father is a fair skinned man and though
he did face discrimination, he finds it easier to blend into the dominant
culture whereas his family is darker skinned. The father takes the family
clothes shopping at Penny’s and Sears instead of the stores people in their
neighborhood shopped at. The father wanted them to shop at the grocery store,
but mom wanted to shop at her locally owned shops where she could read the
labels of the items she was buying.
New World Immigrants have crossed into
the United States illegally; some have done it for a better life and others
running from political persecution. In “Children of the Sea” we see a group of
people escaping Haiti on a boat; the distance to the United States is far, and
the trip is long and arduous. The people on the boat know that if the Coast
Guard finds them, they will likely be sent back to Haiti, but being found is the
only way they will survive. Similarly, Reyna in “The Distance Between Us” is
snuck into the United States with her dad and siblings, in hope of a better
life. They are also caught several times and sent back to Mexico.
Although the circumstances are
different for why minorities and immigrants travel to The United States, there
are many of the same feelings attached to their experiences. At some point
immigrants and minorities wonder if by adopting the dominant culture, they are
losing a part of themselves. The difference is how they decide to act on those
feelings. Immigrants welcome the assimilation to the dominant culture and are
grateful to be in the new world, while minorities are angry with the dominant
culture because they did not choose to be put in that position. I think that in
order to be successful, one must adopt certain aspects of the dominant culture.
However, care must be taken to not lose cultural identity in the process.
