Blaxicans Richard Rodriguez Analysis

Decent Essays
Can you only be American if you are white? Immigrants have helped shape American Culture and identity by recreating the American image and eliminating the thought of certain color.

In the essay “Blaxicans” by Richard Rodriguez he says “I answered i am chinese” (91).Richard Rodriguez really is not chinese he is a mix of Mexican with American and what he shows with this quote is that you are not defined my what you look like but with where you fell the most connected to.As well as that the place that you were born on does not define you and for example if you were born in Mexico but have lived most of your life in Los Angeles you may classify yourself as an American because you have their costumes and speak the language.Being an American means

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    What makes an American, ‘American’? The answer to this question will vary greatly depending on the respondent’s beliefs and cultural background. As the United States continues to grow and evolve in areas such as race, ethnicity and culture, the image of America changes as well. In an article entitled ‘Nation or Notion’ by Patrick J. Buchanan, he argues that Americans need a common identity based upon ancestry and culture to survive as a country. On the other hand, an article entitled ‘What Does It Mean to Be an “American”?’ by Michael Walzer argues that America does not need a common identity.…

    • 1127 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Malcom X, Sherman Alexie, and Richard Rodriguez had multiple sponsors helping them in literacy. The largest sponsor they all had in common was themselves. They all pushed themselves to go further than what was expected of them. In Malcom X’s case, he was in prison and became frustrated with inability to express himself in his letters. The stereotype around prisoners is that they are illiterate, just lift weights in the prison yard all day, and then leave prison only to end up back in the prison system a few weeks to months later.…

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    by Mary C. Waters. One of the main points in this article is how white individuals identify with a certain European descent as their ethnicity by that their family has arrived to the United States. In the 1920’s immigrations laws limited the amount of European immigrants that come into the US, a form of immigration control. Years after this policy the great grandchildren of those families identified as White where they had no connection to their past. The upcoming generations are born inside the US and thus they receive jus solis citizenship and they have the ability to identify as an American.…

    • 1314 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Since the inception of of our great nation, we have been characterized as, “land of the free and the home of the brave,” as well as, “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.” Thomas Paine believed that America’s values are rivers of equality, liberty, self government, and economic freedom that flow into one titanic ocean of freedom. Furthermore, he believed that other cultures are simply spices that only add flavor to the stew of America. Nevertheless, our stew of American values is the prevalent flavor in the bowl. Though America is undoubtedly a country of countries, Paine’s vision of America was unquestionably inaccurate.…

    • 921 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When my father first immigrated from China to America, he was nervous, bittersweet about leaving his native country, but mostly excited. To him and thousands of others like him, America was a sign of a life of new opportunity. Growing up, my life was a blend of American and Chinese cultures. As a young child, I was always unsure if I was more American or Chinese, or even both. I didn’t feel like I fit into any of those categories.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The United States is often referred to as a Nation of Immigrants. Every person in America is either an immigrant or their ancestors were immigrants. A major period of immigration occurred in the mid nineteenth century. As population started to increase in the United States during the 19th century, immigration was a leading contributor to the population size. To some immigrants America was a safe haven from the events happening in their native country such as famine in Ireland to economic struggles in Germany.…

    • 1155 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Immigrants have created America to be what it is today, and have forever been working together as one to protect and be patriotic before this country was even founded. Two articles, written by Anna Quindlen and John F. Kennedy both have views on immigrants becoming American citizens, and how everyone in this country is so different, but we’re held together by our patriotism and desire to be a true American. In “A Quilt of a Country,” the author, Anna Quindlen, writes all about how America is made up of many different cultures and races. She compares America to a quilt.…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The most interesting aspect of Americans is their unwillingness to recognize the people they once were. The topic of immigration in the United States alone has been around for centuries. It seems almost impossible to find common ground on the situation and many people are even reluctant to speak about it. One-side views immigrants as a liability, while the other side views them as a means to boost the economy and help the government. Whether seen as a hindrance to one party or as a source of profit to the other, immigrants deserve their spot in America.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    If you really think about it, everyone in America is an immigrant or related to an immigrant. Unless you are Native American, your ancestors weren’t born here. The first colonists aboard the Mayflower were immigrants; leaving their country to escape religious persecution. Benjamin Franklin’s father is an immigrant. Thomas Paine, author of…

    • 2356 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    However, Americans have a conflicted and confused view of assimilation. Rodriguez mentions that Americans have often resisted assimilation, especially if it meant race mixing…

    • 1419 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In his essay ”Blaxicans and other reinvented Americans” Richard Rodriguez supports his main claim that identity is a choice by providing an anecdote that exemplifies his argument. Richard Rodriguez was in San Diego for a convention of mixed race children. He came across a girl that had, “ a Mexican mother and an African father “The girl said [that she was] ‘Blaxican'. By reinventing language, she is reinventing America. (line 187-189).”…

    • 125 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Labeling the outside appearance of yourself does not shape identity, culture is what outlines you as a person. In the essay “Blaxicans” and Other Reinvented Americans” Richard Rodriguez argues his point on different diversities accessing America’s boarders to get in the country as well as immigrants from other countries are expanding themselves all over America. He explains how Americans begin to question their status. Richard Rodriguez is Mexican- American. He views himself to be Chinese because he surrounded himself with people in that community and made their culture the American society.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The immigrants that entered the United States from the 1870’s through the 1920’s proved that they were different from any immigrants that came before them. This generation of immigrants was the most diverse group of people to enter this country during this period. Not only were they from different ethical backgrounds, they practiced different religions, their rules of life were different from ours, and among many other things. While the immigrants had, a hard time living in the US, they still defeated the odds and achieved economic success in multiple institutions. Unfortunately, because these groups of people changed the dynamics of the United States, Americans took that as a threat to the social, economic, religious, political, and overall…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sometimes I am curious about what the many different groups of minorities feel like in the United States. For example, their struggles, emotions, and actions they choose to make while trying to adjust to a new environment. Eric Liu’s memoir The Accidental Asian demonstrates just that. It depicts the double consciousness, social structures, instances of identity confusion, and the agency a second-generation Chinese American experiences.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Anglo-Saxon Culture

    • 1416 Words
    • 6 Pages

    This is not surprising given that the Anglo-Saxon founded early American colonies. This latter view finds proponents all the way from the Ku Klux Klan that wants to keep America “white” to the argued theses of Samuel Huntington in which proclaims that the vital necessity of retaining the essentials of our English inherited founding political culture system essential to the sound functioning of the United States. Indeed, some American Nativists still interpret Northern Europe as being the true "white" in the United States. In fact is it misleading to think of either of these views as absolutes totally opposite of each other? Both are views at opposite ends of a long line along which all countries lie in their various mixtures of component identities and sense of national identity.…

    • 1416 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays