Daryl Edwards

The Unique Message of American Assimilation

     Immigration occurs when a person leaves their native country to settle permanently in another foreign country. It requires a certain daring and confidence for one to uproot themselves, and often times their families, and venture into the unknown. Sometimes it requires a certain desperation. Throughout America’s history millions of people have done precisely that. And while many reasons can be postulated for their having done so, the primary reason has been, and continues to be, economic opportunity. The chance to make a better life for one’s self and for one’s family has always been at the center of the American Dream.

     The American Dream and the immigrant narrative as a defining story are deeply intertwined. The idea of an American Dream is rooted in America’s rejection of the governing and economic models of the Old World. Such a rejection offered the prospect of freedom’s that many immigrants had not previously known. It also offered them the prospect of upward social mobility. When the Founding Fathers declared, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” (Declaration of Independence) it served to light a beacon for the American immigrant. It was a foundation stone for the American Dream and continues to appeal to those around the world who long for such Rights and freedoms. Immigrants sought to embrace this promise of financial security and constitutional freedom that America was known for.

     Many of the immigrant narratives that we’ve shared in class revolve around people coming to America in search of both social and economic freedoms. The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie, details how he became a major industrialist and a new model of the American Dream. Beginning life in humble conditions, he went on to control an enormous corporation and acquired a vast fortune. Immigrants, seeing Carnegie’s success, concluded that with talent, intelligence, and a willingness to work, they were guaranteed at least some measure of success for themselves. Stephon Paczdowski, in Nicholasa Mohr’s, “The English Lesson” speaks of how he and his wife found it necessary to leave their native Poland due to the political situation in which Jews were being persecuted. This is considered  one of the reasons immigrants choose to come to America, the desire for physical safety, the right to security of person. Ralph Chang’s entrepreneurial spirit, in Gish Jen’s “In the American Society”, as witnessed by his attempt to optimize the efficiency of his restaraunt, serves as an example of the industriousness of the immigrants, as he pursues economic success.

     The price that the American Immigrant is expected to pay for entrance into the American Dream is assimilation. Assimilation occurs when the immigrant adapts and conforms to the cultural and social values of the dominant culture. Immigrants to America are encouraged to learn the English language. This is viewed as a primary method of facilitating assimilation. In “The English Lesson”, all of the students viewed proficiency in the language as a means of progressing in society. The underlying theme of most of the texts we have encountered so far is one of conformity of the immigrant to the belief systems of the dominant culture. It is a trade-off, the immigrant acquiring the perceived rights and freedoms of America, and America acquiring another citizen eager to demonstrate industriousness and determination while pursuing the Dream.

It is important for people to have an understanding of the immigrant narrative in America. We are a multicultural nation, comprised of many voices, and those voices should be heard in order to facilitate the understanding so necessary for a nation such as ours to thrive. Studying Multicultural Literature has served as a method of tuning in to the narratives of America’s immigrants, and has provided a better means of understanding how their stories differ and compare with those of other Americans.

     In every period of America’s history men and women have uprooted themselves and ventured into a new land, hoping to plant themselves in a richer more fertile soil. The American Dream, the chance to grow into something better, continues to be an essential element of the immigrant narrative. As of 2006, the United States accepts more legal immigrants as permanent residents than any other country in the world. In 2006, the number of immigrants totaled 37.5 million(2009 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics). America’s immigrant narrative is a story that continues in a voice that seeks to be heard and understood.

Works Cited

Jen, Gish. “In the American Society.” Imagining America: Stories From the

     Promised Land. New York. Persia Books. 2002.

Mohr, Nicholasa. “The English Lesson.” Imagining America: Stories From the

     Promised Land. New York. Persia Books. 2002

“The Declaration of Independence.” Online Texts for Dr. Craig White’s Literature

     Courses. University of Houston Clear Lake. June 2010. Web 22 June 2010.

“Yearbook of Immigration Statistics:2009.” Homeland Security Administration.  2010.

We and Them: How the Immigrant Narrative Differs From The Minority Narrative

“…Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

                                                                                           Emma Lazarus

With this glorious proclamation inscribed in metal, so stands Lady Liberty in New York’s Harbor. A welcome to those who arrived in this new land seeking to claim the promises she made. These are the noble sentiments which greeted the fresh hordes of immigrants, who arrived wave upon wave to participate in the American Dream. From every country in the world immigrants have, and continue to,  come to America, a nation known for its promulgation of ideas such as; hard work, and fair play, equality and justice. But I submit that the Lady Liberty did not shine her freedom light into every corner of the world. While she welcomed to her bosom the children of other lands, those born and nurtured right here on her very shores were denied those same Rights and benefits offered to aliens.

     We have examined how the immigrant narrative compares to the American Dream. Immigrants from around the world have come to this nation and been embraced. Arriving here ignorant of language, they were given the opportunity to learn, and in return for this willing enculturation they were assimilated into the dominant culture, gate-keepers of all things American. Their stories have been insightful and inspiring. Who does not rejoice at the success of those once down trodden? But it must be recognized that the Great American Dream was something far less than it was professed. While some were embraced and accepted within this ethos, others were rejected and brutalized in the American Nightmare. It is here that we perceive the similarities and contrasts between the immigrant narrative and the minority voice.

     Immigrants and minorities both aspire towards the American Dream with its promise of opportunity and prosperity without regard to class, caste, religion, race, or ethnicity. This idea of the American Dream is rooted in the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence which states that, “…all men are created equal” and that they are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” including “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” On this there is agreement, both the immigrant and the minority wished to partake of the blessings and benefits decreed and proclaimed by the Founding Fathers. The reality however is much darker and far more bitter than revealed on its surface. While both immigrants and minorities may find agreement in their desire to aspire to the American Dream, the reality of discrimination, dehumanization, and brutalization against the minority let to a different sort of dream—a dream they continued to reach and strive towards. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. noted on the Capital steps in 1963, “…I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream.”

     It is impossible to consider the psycho-social dynamic of the American Dream without viewing it in terms of Assimilation. Assimilation is the process of accepting the values and belief systems of the dominant culture. Successfully assimilating increases the likelihood of success, consequently, all immigrants are encouraged to assimilate. By taking on the belief systems of the dominant culture, immigrants come to view minorities as inferior, which is a pervasive belief within it. In this manner we are presented with the greatest of ironies; the descendants of the original immigrants, aligned with the newly assimilated immigrants, bound together in rejecting and disparaging the minority immigrant.

     The minority narrative differs from that of the immigrant narrative in that while the immigrant has achieved assimilation (or is in the process of doing so), the minority has not. In fact the minority has faced social and legislative obstacles to being assimilated. The measurable aspects of assimilation are; socioeconomic status (educational attainment, occupation, and income), spatial status (defined by geography, or residential patterns), language attainment (the ability to speak English), and Intermarriage ( marrying outside one’s ethnic group) (Assimilation vs  integration,  Suchness.com). Among all of these metrics African-Americans remain disproportionately behind.

     In “Blonde White Women”, Patricia Smith speaks to the longing by black women to attain acceptance by seeking dominant culture ideas of beauty. Smith refers to the ads that encourage black women to buy straight hair and bleach their skin. The notion being that by altering their physical appearance they will stand a better chance of being accepted into the dominant culture. And in her poem, “I Have Not Signed a Treaty with the United States Government”, Chrystos speakes out about the historical exploitation of her Native-American people by the United States. Much like the African-American, Native-Americans have been targets of exploitation and abuse, rejected for assimilation by the dominant culture. Chrystos say, “This US is theory   illusion…” perhaps implying that the so-called American Dream is nothing more than rhetoric.

     In conclusion, while the immigrant narrative and minority narrative share similarities in their basic aspirations toward the American Dream, they also have striking differences, which have resulted in different perspectives. If it is true that the American Dream has been credited with helping to build a cohesive American experience, it is also true that it has resulted in over-inflated expectations for many minorities. Despite its promulgation of a belief in egalitarianism, the modern American wealth structure still perpetuates racial and class inequalities.

Works Cited

Chrystos. “I Have Not Signed a Treaty with the United States Government.” Online    

     Online Text for Dr. Craig White’s Lecture Courses. University of Houston Clear

    Lake.  June 2010. Web 20, June  2010.

King, Martin Luther Jr. “I Have a Dream.” August 28, 1963.

Lazarus, Emma. “The New Colossus.” 1883.

Smith, Patricia. “Blonde White Women.” Online Text for Dr. Craig White’s

     Lecture Courses. University of Houston Clear Lake. June 2010. Web 20 June

     2010.

“The Declaration of Independence.” July 4, 1776.

 King, Martin Luther Jr. “I Have a Dream.” August 28, 1963.

Lazarus, Emma. “The New Colossus.” 1883.

Smith, Patricia. “Blonde White Women.” Online Text for Dr. Craig White’s

     Lecture Courses. University of Houston Clear Lake. June 2010. Web, 2010.