Christine Moon

Midterm Essay #1:

Gaining the Hybrid Identity in the Multicultural America

            The American Immigrant narrative can be described as a collection of personal stories by those who believed so strongly in a better future. The courage to leave the only land they know and to travel a long distance in search of “the American Dream,” may not always reflect a happy and successful ending in their stories. Much of their struggles and hardships are recorded for others to read about, and more often than not, many families struggle for years, while others struggle for generations. However, it is a risk that every immigrant family takes because just being in America is a celebration of their own and to the family members they have left behind. The American Immigrant narrative can be analyzed as a heroic journey led by the ultimate sacrifice—to voyage into a land of the unknown to pursue the life they had only once dreamed of.

            In an American Immigrant’s story, renouncing one’s own culture and tradition is not uncommon. In order to adapt to the “Dominant Culture,” many immigrants find themselves in an overwhelming situation to adjust properly in society, while struggling to maintain the roots they are slowly beginning to forget. Many American Immigrant narratives showcase the generational divide that becomes a difficult yet prominent aspect. The older generations cling to their traditional history and culture, making it more difficult to adjust and assimilate to the changes of the new world; the younger generations are more eager to broaden their horizon, and as they begin to adapt quickly, their ability to identify with their past culture begins to fade away.

The different voices of each immigrant bring new light to their individual stories. Though there is pain from letting go of a culture they were originally born into, the widely celebrated “American Dream” is more obtainable through learning the new language, culture, and tradition. It is for this reason many American Immigrants’ stories branch from the loss of their ethnic identity or the regain of it. In Chitra Divakaruni’s Silver Pavements, Golden Roofs, the word ‘America’ is described as a “word [that] opens inside…like a folded paper flower placed in water, filling [you] until there is no room to breathe” (77).

The generational divide can be commonly viewed as the traditional (“original”) culture versus the modern culture. Chrystos’ poem “I Have Not Signed a Treaty with the United States Government,” reveals the brutal truth of how she feels about her identity and the identity of her ancestors. She says that the United States is a “theory,” an “illusion,” and “is not a good idea” (lines 7-12). This poem reflects different voices (perhaps fellow protesters or ancestors), and shows the political and generational divide that is carried through the written and spoken cultures (i.e., the traditional (“original”) culture versus the modern culture). Assimilating to the “Dominant Culture” is the main objective for many immigrants, and to do so, they keep a certain amount of distance from the minority groups. Though this is why many believe that the “Model Minority” pursues education and professional jobs more than other groups, their drive comes from their original culture’s stress on respecting society and its rules, and the fear of facing their families if they fail to achieve. The reputation of being educated and maintaining a professional job is highly celebrated in the original culture of the “Model Minority.”

The purpose of coming to America is to experience the better life, which can only be accomplished through success, honors, and a higher social status, according to the “Model Minority” (i.e., becoming a doctor and gaining respect from contributing members in society).  However, the emphasis on assimilating to the “Dominant Culture” can bring a negative aspect to attention: losing one’s ethnic identity. This can range from forgetting the native language, losing interest in traditional rituals, and identifying only with the American “Dominant Culture.” The “hybrid identity” is a term many immigrants can identify with; in what is now the “Multicultural America,” combining multiple heritages for a single person is an idea that many immigrants have gladly accepted without the pressure of choosing one or the other.

In Patricia Smith’s poem “Blonde White Woman,” the speaker remembers as a child crumbling under the pressures of beauty. Her “dull gray mophead” is how she referred to her hair, and she admits to “wishing [her]self golden” (lines 20-21). She identifies the blonde, white woman as being beautiful, because to be beautiful “meant to be kissed,” and to be kissed “meant [being] blonde and white” (lines 31-32). Looking into her childhood memories, the speaker struggles with herself and her own identity. She looks at her hair and skin color as attributes that stand in the way of being and feeling beautiful. As overcomes these conflicting thoughts, she grows to accept herself and her own beauty; without her identity being crushed, she concludes her journey with: “Even crayons fail me now—I can find no color darker, more beautiful, than I am” (lines 53-55).

In Anzia Yezierska’s Soap and Water, there is great emphasis on education and all the hardships the speaker had to endure: “How I pinched, and scraped, and starved myself, to save enough to come to college! Every cent of the tuition fee I paid was drops of sweat and blood from underpaid laundry work. And what did I get for it? A crushed spirit, a broken heart, a stinging sense of poverty that I never felt before” (3). There are feelings of rejection and loss of hope throughout this story, as the speaker is disappointed by the “American Dream.” As a woman enjoying her freedom, she came to college in hopes of “express[ing] [her]self…to voice [her] thoughts” (3). A Russian native, she explains that “going to college was like the birth of a new religion in [her] soul,” as it “put new fire in [her] eyes” (3). She tolerates many hardships as she is denied stable job positions due to her “shabby clothes,” and believed that “society’s injustices [were] like a noose around [her] neck…” (4). She later overcomes the “bruises of [her] soul,” and is emotionally overcome by a simple handshake (5). It is the recognition and friendship that Miss Van Ness provides that allows the speaker to gain hope, and allows her to realize that the pain of the past is just that—pain of the past. Miss Van Ness “unbound and freed [her]” and at this moment, her struggle with her identity is restored with new anticipation of joining the American society (5).

In The American Society by Gish Jen, the pancake house, as the speaker says, “was to send my little sister Mona and me to college” (158). The foundation of the father’s beliefs is built upon his children’s future successes. Ultimately, the pancake house stands for the sacrifice that he made to provide a better life for his children, who will later, after gaining their own successes, take care of him. The father lives in a divided society: one that is inside his head; and the other is “The American Society,” which the mother and children so badly want to become a part of. The father “doesn’t believe in joining the American society,” which raises concerns for the rest of his family who want to join and participate at a local country club (159). The mother has shown signs of conforming to the American society as she used to be a manager at the supermarket, “could pump her own gas and check her own oil,” and also “gained new ideas about herself” (159). As she breaks for a brief moment from the gender-stereotype in the Chinese culture, there are still moments of hesitation that come from her Asian values. Mona “knew [her] mother could not simply up and do as she pleased,” and her respect for her husband continues on the strong path of her heritage (159). The father expects a sturdy “degree of loyalty,” and the family is well aware of this even as they live in America (160). The children, who appear to be vocal, are already accustomed to the American ways. Their speech reflects a spunky attitude, which would normally be frowned upon in China. However, the children still behave respectfully towards their parents and feel protective of their family. They yearn to be accepted by the American society despite being Chinese, “yet the pancake house was the same as ever” even though “it was time for a change” (164).

            The “hybrid identity” is a growing trend. At one time, picking one identity was important to immigrants, because they believed this was the only way to successfully assimilate. The growth of oneself is a result of accepting oneself, and in a new world with so many unfamiliarities, it is easy to lose sight of a solid identity. It is understandable that adopting a new culture onto a foundation of current roots is difficult. With traditional restraints and generational divides, immigrants have learned to adjust accordingly: maintaining their family’s traditional core values at home, and celebrating the American culture separately outside of their cultural home. The number of immigrants has been on a rapid increase for decades. It is understood that these are general difficulties they all share, but are difficulties that they can also overcome. Perhaps the “hybrid identity” can be viewed as the internal strength of the immigrants, and a personal blessing of being graced with multiple heritages.

Christine Moon

Midterm Essay #2

The Overlapping Images of the Immigrant and Minority Narratives

            The immigrant narrative and the minority narrative exist side by side and can often be compared to one another. The origin of these narratives extend differently: the immigrant narrative is considered the stories of “traditional immigrants,” as they voluntarily decided to come to America; the minority narrative is considered the stories of those who did not voluntarily choose to come to America—because they were either already here (Native-Americans), or they were forcefully brought here (African-Americans). Though the elements of their stories produce different insights, the common interest they share are discrimination, the struggle to assimilate, and the racial and cultural divide. Because of this, both the immigrants and minorities experience the burden and pressure of the “Dominant Culture.”

            Immigrant narratives demonstrate a story of a journey; their narratives exhibit leaving their own world behind to discover a new one, and their tales include hardships of dealing with a language and cultural barrier as well. The minority narrative largely focus on suffering from being captured and being forced to stay in America as slaves; in present-day narratives, minority narratives may convey more stories of exploitation, discrimination, and resistance to assimilation. According to A Wife’s Story by Bharati Mukherjee, “insult…is a kind of acceptance” (58). The “tyranny of the American dream” makes the insulted feel “invisible” (58). Can this be true? Or, perhaps, it is the feeling of being invisible that may allow one to feel insulted.

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave written by Frederick Douglass, allows readers to see and feel what a slave in America had to suffer through. He recalls “the first time [he] ever witnessed [the] horrible exhibition[s]” as a child, and sees his Master as a man of an “iron heart” (3). Seeing the “bloody scenes that often occurred on the plantation,” Douglass painfully illustrates images of Aunt Hester’s whippings; however, he thankfully remembers “suffer[ing] little from anything else than hunger and cold” (4). His journey depicts memories of his hardships as life as a slave until he becomes a free man. He finds that “colored people [were] more spirited” than he had thought, and found great joy in being his “own master” (18). He eagerly describes his “new existence,” and this self-journey begins to represent very closely to the immigrant narrative (18). As a staple in the minority narrative, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave can also be overlapped with the immigrant narrative, as details of Douglass’ journey unfold from a story of his life to a journey of self-discovery and strength.

            In Patricia Smith’s poem “Blonde White Woman,” the speaker admits to feeling less beautiful compared to the white woman next to her. Though she is reading Ebony, she longs to rid herself of her “mop hair” and “fat lips,” (lines 26-32). She recalls these childhood memories and remembers her first-grade teacher with blonde hair and “cool blue eyes” (line 43). Though this may not be the typical minority narrative filled with ‘suffering,’ through the eyes of a child, one can sympathize with the young girl who wanted to feel beautiful. She struggles with her identity until she is proud to be “Patricia Ann,” and she is proud of her “short black hair” (lines 52-58). In this poem, the speaker wants to be part of the “Dominant Culture.” As the poem evolves, the journey of this young girl grows into a mature response of self-acceptance and pride of who she is. What started out as a minority narrative soon expands into the journey of courage and power to love herself for who she is, rather than who she wanted to be.

            In Sam Roberts’ article “More Africans Enter U.S. than in Days of Slavery” from the New York Times, he explains that there is a new movement among African-Americans. There are more African immigrants arriving in the United States than ever before. He writes that more immigrants have been coming voluntarily since the “outlawed international slave trafficking in 1807” (1). Upon arriving, African immigrants have been “sharing their relative prosperity,” and the “African-born residents” are “sending more than $1 billion” every year back to their loved ones in their home country. With almost 300 million Americans, it is estimated that 13 percent are African-American. Sylviane Diouf, a historian and researcher, explains in Roberts’ article that with African immigrants, they are “better educated…here to work, to prosper…and don’t pose a threat” (3). This aspect fits into the standard immigrant story of breaking away from their old world to explore the “American Dream,” and even overlaps the standards of the “Model Minority.”

More importantly, Africans are now reclaiming their rights to freedom and are enjoying the choices and opportunities that other traditional immigrants had access to over a century ago. They, too, are overcoming cultural and language barriers, and experiencing the “aspiration of earlier immigrants” (2). Though a great part of the African-American population is categorized as the minority population, the large rush of African immigrants is now opening up new doors. Perhaps a new genre of immigrant narratives may be presented in the next decade. Roberts predicts that “immigration may also shift some of the nation’s focus from racial distinctions to ethnic ones” (4). Either way, the line that separated the immigrant narrative and the minority narrative is becoming blurred. The overlapping of the two narratives is an interesting pattern; however, the common denominator may remain the same: the discrimination, the struggle to assimilate, and the racial/ethnic and cultural divide. Apart from where the individual stories may originate from, the overall struggles that are exposed in both forms of narratives can still be the common interest that all immigrants (and minorities) will always share.