Zizi Sigh

11 June 2014

The Role of the Initial Perception in the Assimilation Process

Under the light of immigrants’ cultural adjustment in the United States, the initial perception of the United State plays a great role in accelerating or prolonging the assimilation process. Despite the accuracy of the immigrants’ perception, they try to focus on the familiar points in both original and American cultures. They make an effort to assimilate with the new  world. As such, we find the immigrant narrative delivers this pattern: an initial perception, experience with actual culture, correction to the initial perception, and eventual assimilation  respectively. In other words, we may notice the psychological mechanism in term of the sincere will to become part of  “America the Dream” notwithstanding the myriad cultural backgrounds. 

Let’s take Ismael Beah for example. He was a refugee from Sierra Leon during 1980, adopted by an  American lady, became a famous writer and an entrepreneur. He was 12 years old when he first came to America. His first contact  with American culture was hip-hop songs and movies. Hip-hop songs in particular created his initial perception of American culture. He found a resemblance of his life struggle in song, which made his assimilation process easier. In other words, he had a positive perception and clear idea about life in America. It is true that he did not meet any rap singers during his first visit to New York with UNICEF, but the welcoming environment enhanced his initial perception:

 “One evening, when the fifty-seven of us [portion of children brought from different places that suffer from civil wars] got on the subway on our way to the South street Seaport, I asked Madoka, “How come everyone is so quiet?” He looked around the train and replied, “It is not the same as public transportation back home.” Shantha, the cameraperson for the event, who later became my aunt when I returned to live in New York, pointed the camera at us, and Madoka and I posed for her. On every trip I would make mental notes on things I needed to tell my uncle, cousins and Mohamed. I didn’t think they would believe any of it” (Beah 198-199).

For Beah, his perception of America or New York precisely transformed from being a dreamlike land to a real place that has tangible existence. He and Madoka compare and contrast their knowledge of the appropriate behavior in the public transportation. They find it very strange that people are not talking in subways. In other words, immigrants acquire not only the language, but also the behavior and communication styles of the new culture.  In other words, he was not surprised from the movement of the subway, but he was more interested in the way people behaved in the subway. Because Sierra Leon consists of a small and talkative community, Beah felt estranged from the New Yorkers’ behavior (Beah 47-48).  At this point, Beah is ready to add “American” next to Sierra Leon identity since his narrative shifts later on from comparing and contrasting to a social performativity (De Fina 220). In other words, one way to measure Beah’s assimilation is through his narrative; he becomes native to the place in the end. He describes the streets and his activities in New York instead of  relating everything that he sees with movies and hip-hop songs.

The principle of narration and assimilation applies to Paul Muno, whoe begins his story with his struggle during the civil war in South Sudan (Documentaries). Then, he focuses on his achievement, maintaining “the American Dream.” Now he divides his time between his job in Nashville, Tennessee, and South Sudan. Abraham, another South Sudan refugee, did not actually hear about America before the UNICEF constructed a formal class to teach the American culture (CBS News). He cherishes his American identity because“it is the only identification paper” that he ever held. Though South Sudan refugees had been introduced to the American culture in formal classes before they come to the United States, the lack of exposure to the popular culture prolonged their assimilation process. Besides, they came to the country when they are between 20-24 years old which was another factor in blending into a new culture. Even though they lived in shelters away from their country, they were bonded to their community. Without an initial perception of the culture—whether it is accurate or not—a refugee may take a longer time to form a new identity in the new world.

Though Ismael Beah, Paul Muno and many African refugees had basic knowledge about American culture before they migrated from their countries, they show a similar assimilation process in their narrative. However, South Sudan refugees take a longer time than Beah to develop a national identity. For Beah, the initial perception had already established in young age, while South Sudan refugees had an undefined perception about America.

Works Cited

Beah, Ismael. Long Way Gone. New York: Search Crichton Books. 2008. Print.

CBS News. “The Lost Boys, part one”. Video. Youtube.  Mar 31, 2013. Web. Jun 11, 2014.

CBS News. “The Lost Boys, part two”. Video. Youtube.  Mar 31, 2013. Web. Jun 11, 2014.

De, Fina A. Identity in Narrative: A Study of Immigrant Discourse. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Pub. Co, 2003. Print.

Documentaries. “This World Return of the Lost Boys of Sudan BBC Documentary”. Video.Youtube. Feb 14, 2014.Web. Jun 11, 2014.