what it means to be American

The final project for my Ethnic American Literature course was to present a digital story about, "What it means to me to be an American”. I choose to do my story about family heritage and the diversity that has always been instilled in me since birth. Growing up in suburban Plainfield, NJ my childhood experiences and developments were shaped and formed through my environment.  The maturation of me from childhood was full of lasting experiences that shaped my life all the way to my current level of adulthood. Everyone has their own unique characteristics and attitudes and background. In the development and experiences of my life, there was never a one set theory that could describe me. The environment I grew up in had a lot to do with how I perceive the American dream. By being exposed to different religions, beliefs, and cultures I was able to gain a wider view point on things and not just see them from one perspective.  This first became evident to me in my childhood.  I was put in a situation where a classmate of Muslim beliefs refused to say the pledge of allegiance in class.  Seeing this at this point in time caused my way of thinking to change and become broader.  For starters I was only aware of “God” as a superior being.  By seeing my classmate’s refusal; because the God he served was not recognized in the pledge of allegiance, caused me to realize that religious views may vary and that not everybody serves the same God.  By disobeying an authority requirement was unheard of during this time. In my early childhood I was raised never to disobey an elder; if an adult spoke you did not.  So by seeing my classmates response to a daily routine caused me to be aware of different ideas and opinions.   This is the first time I garnered my own viewpoint.  The effect of this experience has lasted with me till this day. By seeing this I not only gained my own viewpoints but I also did not have to rely on my parent’s guidance. I was given an insight to other cultures, ideas, beliefs and customs.  Living in today’s society there are many foreign influences.  Being able to recognize and respect the differences of individuals and groups gave me a further understanding of other cultures.   

 My mother is Jamaican and Scottish and my father is Bermudian, so the influence of Caribbean style foods and entrees were present in my household.  This has stuck with me till this day. I was lucky to have my parents in my life constanly. There are many children in the world that do not have their parents around. However there was a time where I had to leave my parents side. I can remember the distinctly remember the times when my brother and I were shipped off to Bermuda. I went there to spend time with my grandparents, who I love dearly. Although I was in a place of paradise, I could not rap my mind around the fact that I was without my parents. The abstinence of my parents for three months really affected me. Even though I was surrounded by individuals that loved me dearly, not seeing my mom’s face or hearing my dad’s chuckle really took a toll on me. Because I had a strong bond with my parents, the times where I went to Bermuda were the most difficult times.  Even though I loved Bermuda, and seeing all of my relatives, I never understood why they came along with us.  I was always sensitive about the situation even though there was always a parental figure around, but this would never compare to my own parents.  My relatives were always loving and caring, but the separation of my parents caused me to feel like I was not receiving the same love from my parents. Why did they send me away? Did they love me as much as I loved them? These questions constantly flowed through my head as I spent my time in Bermuda with my relatives.  But how does this relate to being American, it’s because of my family coming over to make better opportunities for themselves that I am able to live freely, have an education, strive for equality and believing. Everyone has their own dream, and everyone shares the characteristics of being from other cultural backgrounds, which what I’ve gotten from the course makes us all American because we all seem to embrace a multiculturalism with all the integrated families that have raised.

 

A Father from Darkness

Migrating to the United States, for most adjusting to the American way of life is what always seems to be most challenging. One must choose their way of life whether that being adapting into a new environment or sustaining the cultural identity instilled in them. In the story, "A Father from Darkness" by Bharati Mukherjee, illustrates themes of multiculturalism, and pregnancy out of wedlock. The story brings up ideas related to the differences between one culture and another. It also questions what should be morally correct and who should decide. It brings into the light the challenges that a person who is tightly interwoven with two cultures might have. This is the story depicting a family who migrates from Ranchi, India to Detroit, Michigan. The Bhowmick family go through the disturbances of adapting to the American way of life. Mr. Bhowmick holds on to a metallic image of the Indian Hindu goddess “Kali”, the patron goddess of his family, as well as the goddess of wrath and vengeance. He noticed once that the tongue of the goddess hanging out suddenly seemed as red and saucy. Mr. Bowmick is a character of thinking as bad luck for his neighbour’s sneeze at the start of his work one morning, he feels that the goddess’s tongue is wagging at him, arousing fear in his mind. First, he is overcome with guilt at his failure to love his 26-year old daughter Babli. Babli was born in India and migrated over as a child. Over the years, Babli rejects her Hindu culture as foolish myths and fully assimilates into American culture. The change in the appearance of the goddess determines the change in the fate of Mr. Bhowmicks family. Upon learning that Babli is unmarried and pregnant, deals with a tricky situation in which the cultural and ethnic encounter is not between individuals, but attitudes acquired as well as preserved between reason and superstition. Mr. Bhowmick  is nostalgic about the feminine and tender women of his youth. He is disappointed that his daughter Babli, an electrical engineer is not feminine enough for him. He is shocked when he hears that she is pregnant through artificial insemination and not having the tendency to marry a man. Mr. Bhowmick who is a religious and spiritual man is discouraged by his wife and puts the blame on his wife saying that it was her idea of coming to America. The relationship between the members of this house also weren't very good. He had a wife that he did not love. Babli “was not the child he would have chosen as his only heir", "he regretted again that she was not the child of his dreams."

 

Smoke Signals

 

The film Smoke Signals portrays Native Americans as genuine people. Smoke signals are about calls for help and that's really what this movie was about, Victor, Thomas, Arnold, Arleen, Suzy and everybody else calling for help. Referring to the title about the theme of fire, the smoke that originates from the first fire in the movie is what causes these events, and the smoke from the second fire brings about the beginning of resolution. Early on in the film it is stated that, "Sometimes to go forward you have to drive in reverse". This phrase directs the context of thought that the film follows about dealing with personal issues, this statement also portrays Thelma and Louise’s reverse driving throughout the film, we saw dealing with personal issues in order to fully understand a situation and move on from them was a strong Indian theme.  This motion of life and all actions have consequences and It is clear that both Victor and Thomas are somewhat troubled by their pasts and need to deal with their own personal tragedies. We see after the adventure of the road-trip, both return home to the reservation where they find some kind of closure and safety. In the case of Victor's father, Arnold Joseph he ran away from his responsibilities as a husband and father. He was in turmoil surrounding the deaths of Thomas’s parents which he caused ultimately do to the fire he mistakenly lit. Arnold became influenced by alcohol as a coping mechanism to deal with his guilt. He also abused his wife which led him to become lost within the Indian society on the reservation.  His abandonment or reasoning for leaving left Victor with feelings of confusion which wasn’t until his journey with Thomas was he then able to understand why his father had left the reservation. Thomas was an expressive young man who lost both his parents in a fire at a very young age. Through storytelling Thomas makes great efforts to connect with people around him, while Victor seems to dislike Thomas constant talking and uses his own quiet expressions to gain strength and confidence, he follows the traditional Indian ways as best as he can and sees story telling as his purpose. Victor thinks that being stoic is the main goal of an Indian, and he gives Thomas advice on how to be an Indian man, such has keeping their hair free, and having stern looks on their faces.  This part in the movie stood out to me because shortly after Victor was giving him the demonstrations of faces they sang a songs about John Wayne's teeth, after their encounter with some cowboys who they fought for the right to sit in a certain seat this part shows the controversial setback they have with the white men which goes back to their identity. What kind of commentary does this film offer us in terms of understanding America? From the movie we learn about the dangers of drunkenness on a reservation, the reaction that some Indians have to living on a reservation, the tenuous relationships that Indians have with their families, and the confusion that Indians have in their relations with white men.

Family Ties

Blog # 2                                     Family Ties By Santiago Baca

In reading the poem Family Ties, I think the author is primarily making connections between the man, family, and land; talking about how he finds more comfort in family and nature than in his culture. In the beginning he describes his aunts and uncles as trees and the children as rivers, which in essense is tying them to the positive natural imagery that is prevalent in the poem. Conflict is shown when he states of being inside, “mounted elk head”, which indicates a hunter's trophy and something that goes against nature and arguments over who possesses the land. Here is where he feels separate from his own kind. When they act outside the natural and start imposing their will on the land. He is tied to both nature and family. In some segments it appears he may feel more tied to nature than family ties, because he portrays a sense of anger at the fact that people have to own land or have citizenship to be seen as not trespassing instead of being able to just enjoy it. The tone changes again, when he goes outside with his family and he describes the pastoral beauty that is between his family and the natural world. These reflections are broken by the sudden statement that he can't afford to let his family go to a place like this because of the man-made concept of land ownership. “He can’t afford a place like this”, signifies why people get upset of the so called Land of the Free. He clearly longs for there to be no more, no trespassing signs. This fact is repeated for an upsetting affect as they drive away his sons dreaming of the fields and the man saddened by the No Trespassing signs.  Also, I find for the no trespassing signs to reference not only the land, but how he feels cut off from extended family as if they are on one side of a divided line and he on the other. In addition, to him feeling disconnected because of the conflicts within his family arises due to their imposes of their interruption’s on nature, he thinks family is natural and tied to nature.

Melpomene Tragedy

Blog 1                           Melpomene Tragedy by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha

            This poem was very interesting that had a lot of serious and deep segments to it really making you wonder about a lot of things. From what I gathered, she starts off by explaining her younger years, when she was just a little girl with opened eyes watching the surrounding scenery. It seems as though she grew up in a communist country.  She says that, “beyond the correct setting, immobile placid”, meaning that everything looked normal even when it wasn’t because in a communist country everyone would be controlled. For example, having a curfew, no person allowed to be on the streets hence the “immobile placid “part. Through extreme stillness, she talks about how eighteen years pass and everything is still the same. She can see the airplane bombers flying over her head which suggest that maybe she lived over an air force base. For thirty-six years she lived under communist power, but when the Japanese were defeated everyone followed them to the South without packing a single thing, no clothes or portraits, nothing that evoked their memory. They abandoned all to see the nation’s greed which depicts a communist country in my opinion. Moving forward, she is now in a crowd of prisoners and the soldiers are moving them to a particular area as if in training camps, rounding everyone up into one spot because the soldiers then set off gas bombs since she says, once she felt the tightening of the crowd and heard sounds ripping from both sides of her. The amount of imagery she uses when describing when she saw the explosions, and the bodies and different pieces of rubble found scattered throughout while the streets so thick with blood not even the rain could wash it away. She goes back another eighteen years to reflect on the same day when her brother wanted to join the group of protestors and their mother was begging him not to go. She sent her to retrieve her uncle for help and sadly they did not succeed and her brother died. Shortly after their loss the communism ended. This poem abstracts a short story of her life expressed by her inner most feelings, expressing what she went through and witnessed growing up.