Incredible pressure strangles American immigrants, from the moment they step onto United States soil, throughout their struggles to make better lives for themselves, all the way to watching their first-generation children begin to understand their alienation among their stark-white peers. With verbal abuses echoing in their minds, such as,“if you’re in America, learn to speak ‘American’” and “go back to your own country if you can’t handle it here”, the understanding of American assimilation becomes clear - conform or experience intense ostracization. Language barriers epitomize the obstacles that those of other cultures must overcome in order to reach true conformity to the American culture, in order to acquire the respect of the masses, a
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In Richard Rodriguez’s “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, Rodriguez himself was one of “those Mexicans” which my grandmother chastises. As a child, Rodriguez was incredibly hesitant towards learning English, since it was seen as the language as los gringos, the people who were continually domineering and controlling over all aspects of his life. Spanish was the language of intimacy and love; he notes that the fierce separation he experienced at the hands of los americanos further demonstrated the intimacy which his family’s language helped reinforce. Rodriguez considered English to be a public language; he writes that “I couldn’t believe that the English language was mine to use. (In part, I did not want to believe it.)” (328). The language used by the public was the language which constantly revealed him as an outsider, and he could find no comfort in it. However, in order to be respected by los gringos and to see himself as an American citizen, he had to overcome his premonitions regarding Inglés, and truly assimilate into the American culture. He reflects that “the social and political advantages I enjoy as a man result from the day that I came to believe that my name, indeed, is Rich-heard Road-ree-guess.” (334). In order to be treated with dignity by the majority, he had to renounce his identity as a minority; this, unfortunately, directly contrasts with the supposedly fundamental American belief that “all men are created …show more content…
In the upcoming movie, “Hidden Figures”, one of the main characters - a female, black scientist for NASA - expresses, in relation to white men, “Every time we get a chance to get ahead they move the finish line. Every time.” This quote illustrates the struggle which people of color face in regards to their acceptance as a “real American”; in many cases, they can fulfill, or even succeed, the expectations laid out by white people, only to continue to face criticism merely for being a person of color in a white world. When Judith Ortiz Cofer, a Puerto Rican writer and poet, was mistaken for a waitress, rather than a professional in a restaurant in which she was reading her poetry, she reflected that “it reminded me of what I had to overcome before anyone would take me seriously” (108). In this essay, “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria”, Cofer illustrates the American Latina stereotype of a “whore, domestic, or criminal” (109). She understands that in order to be treated with the same respect and given the same equal treatment as a “true American”, she must put in exceptional effort to break through this stereotype set in place by those who consider themselves to be “true
In Richard Rodriguez’s “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, Rodriguez himself was one of “those Mexicans” which my grandmother chastises. As a child, Rodriguez was incredibly hesitant towards learning English, since it was seen as the language as los gringos, the people who were continually domineering and controlling over all aspects of his life. Spanish was the language of intimacy and love; he notes that the fierce separation he experienced at the hands of los americanos further demonstrated the intimacy which his family’s language helped reinforce. Rodriguez considered English to be a public language; he writes that “I couldn’t believe that the English language was mine to use. (In part, I did not want to believe it.)” (328). The language used by the public was the language which constantly revealed him as an outsider, and he could find no comfort in it. However, in order to be respected by los gringos and to see himself as an American citizen, he had to overcome his premonitions regarding Inglés, and truly assimilate into the American culture. He reflects that “the social and political advantages I enjoy as a man result from the day that I came to believe that my name, indeed, is Rich-heard Road-ree-guess.” (334). In order to be treated with dignity by the majority, he had to renounce his identity as a minority; this, unfortunately, directly contrasts with the supposedly fundamental American belief that “all men are created …show more content…
In the upcoming movie, “Hidden Figures”, one of the main characters - a female, black scientist for NASA - expresses, in relation to white men, “Every time we get a chance to get ahead they move the finish line. Every time.” This quote illustrates the struggle which people of color face in regards to their acceptance as a “real American”; in many cases, they can fulfill, or even succeed, the expectations laid out by white people, only to continue to face criticism merely for being a person of color in a white world. When Judith Ortiz Cofer, a Puerto Rican writer and poet, was mistaken for a waitress, rather than a professional in a restaurant in which she was reading her poetry, she reflected that “it reminded me of what I had to overcome before anyone would take me seriously” (108). In this essay, “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria”, Cofer illustrates the American Latina stereotype of a “whore, domestic, or criminal” (109). She understands that in order to be treated with the same respect and given the same equal treatment as a “true American”, she must put in exceptional effort to break through this stereotype set in place by those who consider themselves to be “true