Juan Garcia

Exploring the Power of Voice:

Reimagining Identity through Multicultural Literature

          I began this course with a desire to develop a better understanding of the utility of literature in the desire of minorities to find an equal representation in sociopolitical affairs of United States culture.[1]  I had been exposed to the facts and figures of race, class and social structures through my studies in anthropology, sociology and cross-cultural studies, and the inequities that were present because of the uneven playing field that cultural minorities were born into.  Through reading the texts, surveying the student presentations, and conducting literature based research, I was able to draw parallels between the struggles of women, people of color, and alternative lifestyle individuals.

          Although most authors try and write originally, intertextuality is a fact of the writing expression in its influence and its use as a tool of voice.   Each cultural work is influenced by the ones previous: Black Elk Speaks referencing the Holy Bible and it’s commandments against killing, Frederick Douglass drawing strength of rhetorical voices within the Columbian Orator he carried for decades, and the syncretism developed from the clash of Catholicism and Curandera in Bless Me Ultima.  Each author builds their house of words on the past—a foundation usually built from the literature of the dominant culture.

Intertextuality becomes a powerful form of protest when dominant language texts are used to support minority equality ideas. Martin Luther King refers to the promissory note of the US constitution and its promise of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and questions the validity of the check.  Frederick Douglass utilizes the debate between the slave and his owner to frame his struggle in agitating for freedom.  Also, Whitman works in references to the ennobled stories of the ancient Greeks, borrowing a little glory to shine a light on his work’s underlying themes.  The authors in each of the works we read gave a voice to the minority movement and, for the observant reader drew parallels between the dreams of the different minorities in the “margins where we live.”

Finally, the readings also provided the constant image of a double minority.  Love Medicine explored the issues in being a woman and the cultural disintegration of Native American life.  I was left wondering how much of the pain was caused by her exploitation as a woman, or the dissonance of Native American culture and mainstream society.  Cisneros was in a similar vein, a woman and a Mexican immigrant.  It would have been interesting to move into a similar direction with gay literature, with a study of E. Lynn Harris (Invisible Life or Just As I Am) or the triple minority, a lesbian author of color such as Barbara Smith.

The presentations went a step further in drawing parallels and showing the joint struggle of all minorities.  In some ways, the presentations even provided an opportunity for individuals to see the issues plaguing minorities around them, as Jennifer Jones states in “Seminar in Minority Literature-The Experience.”  She was unlikely to be the “clueless teacher” after her studies in the class.  Of course, the presentations also gave voice to the work, and created an understanding of the immigrant and minority experience.

Love Medicine comes to the forefront again when discussing presentations, as it evoked a strong reaction from several people in the presentation audience.  Were the troubles of Lulu and Marie a result of being a woman, or a Native American?  The class debate provided a basis for the argument: each level of marginalization makes it harder for a person to rise up.  Women of color, in effect, are born with two strikes against them.

The opposite effect could be seen in the discussion on Best Little Boy, where the race of the author, as well as his social station, seems to have cancelled out the struggle for acceptance of his lifestyle.  The class discussion may have been markedly different if the person seeking acceptance had been African American or Mexican immigrant minority.  The subject of voice would not have been pigeonholed by the author’s affluence.

I felt the research itself, was the capstone experience of the class.  The midterm and finals provided a student the opportunity to delve into an area that sparked an interest.  Julie Garza explored Native American studies at Dartmouth and the identity issue in Ultima, touching on the subject of mixed identities—Mexican, Indian or Mestizo.  Melissa Garza tackles social othering in the fight for acceptance.  In both cases the student found a topic that impassioned them, and delved deeper in the minority experience, finding out that the issue of minority wasn’t just a black or Hispanic issue, but a feminine and LGBT issue as well.

My project revolving around the language and assimilation, made me think of the issues faced by other immigrants.  In anthropology, you are asked to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange.  Through this process, I found that other immigrant cultures had to deal with the same struggles as Mexicans, and in some cases much tougher situations.  I was able to draw the parallels as well. The American Dream meant different things to different cultures, but represented acceptance of the common differences of color and creed for minorities.  Our common dream was a “seat at the table.”

In conclusion, I felt the more culturally affinitive with other people of color after this class.  I also drew a greater understanding of the power of literature in building bridges with other cultures and the power elite.  The greatest strengths were in the diversity of literature, the vocal and inquisitive class discussions, and the personal projects.  I found a new favorite author, and kindred soul, in Rudolfo Anaya.  I was however, left with a wish that the gay and lesbian literature had been explored more, as I felt there were ideas and discussions left on the table.  In all, I will focus more on the anthropological aspects of my work, and balance it with the sociology and social psychology, and come up with a richer and more well rounded perspective of each new culture I study.

American Dream: A Rainbow of Choice

          Throughout the course, we explored the American Dream and its meaning for different minority cultures.  It was held out as a reward for proper assimilation, but it became a nightmare for those that held fast to their cultural roots.[2][3]  The successful dream came to mean different things for different cultures.  The literature of the course helped develop a better understanding of the meanings of the American Dream for each minority group, and what it meant to be assimilated.

          Native Americans have always held a unique role in the cultural assimilation of the US.  Since they are seen as the original settlers of the land, it was more a situation of forced assimilation or destruction.  The choice can be seen most starkly in Black Elk, where the bison represents not only the livelihood of the Sioux (Actually Lakota, another example of forced assimilation), but also the cornerstone of the culture.  With the destruction of the vast herds of bison by the westward expanding whites, the Lakota had little choice but to become wards of the state.  Sam brought up similar views in his discussion on the Crazy Horse Monument.  It was built to honor Crazy Horse, but he would have preferred the honor of leaving his homeland in its original state.

          This discussion also brought to light the Dream of the Lakota, and a recurring wish of most Native Americans.  The American Dream for them would be the absence of the United States.  The American Dream is unachievable, because it means a return to the original cultural heritage of the wandering plains life, the spirituality of living with nature, and the end of white domination.  In effect, the success of the American Dream for the Native American would be the end of the American way of life for the dominant culture.

          Similar issues can be seen in the assimilation dilemma of the Mexican immigrant.  Most of the Western United States once belonged to Mexico, but was conquered by the United States.  The residents of the region became citizens of the US overnight, and had the illusionary choice of becoming Americans or living in the margins--to borrow from Ortiz.  Antonio encounters this choice as he grows older in Ultima, the constant demand to assimilate.  This course would involve moving away from his informal teaching with Ultima, and in the direction of the divisive American Culture that drove his brothers away from the family.  For the Mexican American, assimilation would result in the breakdown of the extended family, and a move away from the culture based on worship of the land.

          For the Mexican American, the trend towards materialism and nuclear family focus of the American Dream, poses problems.  In order to obtain the American dream, a Mexican must turn their back on family and culture.  The Mexican dream therefore becomes a struggle of compromise.  Much like Baca in Green Chile, the Mexican immigrant settles for the American red chili, with thought toward the green chili of their past.  The consolation for the Mexican immigrant is the ability to seek refuge for a short while, just by crossing back to Mexico.  The immigrant can get back in touch with their roots, like Antonio does in his trip to visit his uncles, and recharge the cultural tank.

          Finally, the abbreviated discussions on gay and lesbian culture presented an altogether different view of the assimilation process.  In most cases, the desire for sexual expression begins after puberty.  By that time, the gay individual has already begun establishing their role in society, or has had it established for him or her.  Also, due to the diversity of homosexuality, the individual can be of any race, creed, color, or sex.  Assimilation becomes a complicated issue related to sex and race.  The discussion on Best Little Boy became a class-centered discussion.  The assimilation had already occurred, and Tobias had ended up in a solid upper class area. 

          The American Dream for the homosexual minority becomes the desire to simply find acceptance for their choice.  They are happy to maintain their socioeconomic level, if only their family and friends would accept their choice of a mate. Each victory must be seen in the light of the victories for their primary culture though, as a gay or lesbian person is black, Mexican, or female first and sexual orientation second.

          A final analysis of the assimilation and the quest for the ethereal American Dream by the minority cultures becomes a struggle of culture class and changing goals.   Each minority must make compromises in order to find their place in American Culture.   As a result of those compromises, the end result of the assimilation becomes the Dream for each culture.  In almost all cases, the dream is only a desire for acceptance of their culture, and not a stepford wife, two and one half kids, and a house large than the Joneses-with a two car garage.