And May He Be Bilingual Summary

In “And May He be Bilingual,” an essay included in her book “Women in the Front of the Sun: On Becoming a Writer,” Judith Ortiz Cofer depicts that hardships that she faced as a child of immigrant parents. Like many other people that share similar issues, the essay responds to the alienation that immigrants and people of a Latino background experience in the United States (Cofer 2). This consciousness happens to be supported by the several factors, the United States has always depicted itself as a country that allows others to manifest and achieve their dreams, and although the United States may seem to have already adapted and encouraged immigrant integration, it actually lacks on more than meets the eye. Cofer has decided to include various …show more content…
As a child with a Puerto Rican heritage, she grew up knowing Spanish as her first language. This, although not necessary a disadvantage, acted as one while she was growing up, and in her essay she expresses this feeling “…I express the sense of powerlessness I felt as a non-native speaker of English in the United States. Non-Native. Non-participant in the mainstream culture. Non, as in no, not, nothing” (Cofer 1). What she means by this is that the language she had grown up knowing had lead her to feel as if she was not part of the “mainstream culture” simply because of the fact that she lacked the knowledge of English. As a non-native English speaker, it felt as though this created a boundary between her and the rest of the world. By the end of the essay, Cofer has digressed and speaks of the “diversity” of the people in the country, and how everyone is connected through literature. Whether or not the language barrier exists, words can surpass …show more content…
In the late 1800s, at the turn of the century, the United States experienced an influx of immigrants due to the industrialization occurring in large cities and states all over the country. However since the mid 1900s there was another rise in immigration, this time from the south. One of the large disadvantages of being a new immigrant is the lack of integration, not only that but immigrants face challenges every day. Apart from language skills, Immigrants in the United States face the loss of their cultural identity when they integrate into the mainstream society, and if they don’t, they may be subject to discrimination. This loss of identity then fuels various misconceptions of immigrants. Retaining their culture, and refraining from interacting with other cultures, makes them seen as ‘lesser’ than those who are native, which is part of the indirect discrimination (Gibson 1). When ideas such as these exist, it prevents the Latino community from expanding further, as in becoming more knowledgeable or getting better jobs. They are forced to work in low-wage jobs and are often subject to work in dangerous jobs as well. The restrictions that have been set in order to become citizens or residents of the United States are difficult to surpass, which, once again, creates another difficulty for immigrants to become part of the American society and advancing