A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki provides an insight of America’s multicultural nation. He shares the history of the non-European minorities who have settled and contributed to the growth in America. However, many do not view them as Americans today because they still follow the Master Narrative. This teaching only focuses on the European settlement and their history in America, therefore, causing no acknowledgement to the minorities. Takaki challenges the Master Narrative as an incorrect teaching because it does not reflect America’s full history. America has always been racially and ethnically diverse. Thus, he hopes to move them away from the Master Narrative and learn from his teachings that non-Europeans are Americans despite their …show more content…
This delayed them from becoming American citizens as they had to finish their debt first. Even so, through the Naturalization Law of 1790 they were able to gain citizenship. This law stated that “Any alien, being a free white person, who shall have resided within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States for the term of two years, may be admitted to become a citizen” (1790 Naturalization act). This differs from the Chinese as the Chinese were blocked in every way possible to gain their American citizenship. Both immigrants arrived the same time and worked in similar jobs. They equally worked as hard when contributing to America, such as the building of the transcontinental railroad, but the Irish were given the first privilege because they were white. Having Takaki share this again shows how the Master Narrative does not provide the meaning of an American as being white should not be the main reason. The Irish were chosen because, as Toni Morrison observed, the Master Narrative states that “‘American’ has been defined as ‘white’” and “Not to be ‘white’ is to be designated as the ‘Other’- different, inferior, and unassimilable” (Takaki, 4). Therefore, the Chinese were seen un-American because they were different. This then caused the white Europeans to believe that they are unworthy to be involved in America’s history when it comes to the Master Narrative. Now this country consists of different races that have done a lot to build up what America is today. These minorities are Americans, like the Chinese, but the Master Narrative was not able to see that these
Islas, Arturo. From Migrant Souls. American Mosaic: Multicultural Readings in Context. Eds. Gabriele Rico, Barbara Roche and Sandra Mano. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1995. 483-491.
One particular ethnic group that suffered severe discrimination was the Chinese people. They first came to America for several reasons. One of them was the gold rush in California in 1849, in which they were included in a group of immigrants called the “Forty-Niners” (179). From gold mining, they switched to other jobs with resulted in the rise of anti-Chinese sentiments. People felt that Chinese people were taking the jobs away from them, because Chinese people worked for much smaller salaries that businesses preferred. This mindset gave way to the creation of The Chinese Exclusion Act passed in 1882, which prohibits more Chinese immigrants from coming to America. In addition, the act states “no State or court of the United States shall admit Chinese to citizenship”. Like the Naturalization Act, the Chinese Exclusion Act was created to hinder Chinese people from becoming citizens so that America could remain homogenously white (186). It also aimed to stop Chinese people from establishing a bigger community in the country in hopes of eliminating the threat of competition to their white counterparts (186). Like African-Americans, Chinese people were considered racially inferior and have struggled to prove that they were worthy to be called true Americans, rather than
1. What is the argument of Ronald Takaki’s A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America? How does Takaki make that argument?
In the first Chapter of the book ‘A Different Mirror’ by (Takaki, 1993) the author embarks on a descriptive narrative that tries to elaborate the concept of a multiracial America. The chapter begins with the author taking a taxi ride in which he is subjected to racial discrimination. The taxi driver questions the author’s origin owing to the fact that his English is perfect and eloquent. This incident prompts a discussion that transpires throughout the chapter as the author tries to explain to his audience that America is a multiracial country with different ethnic groups that moved from their homelands to settle in the United States. The chapter discusses the settlement of various racial groups such as; English immigrants, African Americans, Asian Americans, Chicanos and the Irish.
Chinese immigrants were often discriminated against because they were easy to spot. They spoke a different language and, looked different physically. Irish immigrants, however, had an easier time blending in because they had physical features similar to Americans. They were not so easy to pick out in a crowd. Erika Lee says, “Immigrants have been excluded and restricted on the basis of their race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, moral standing, health, and political affiliation, among other factors.” (Lee, p. 39) Lee is saying that Americans would do anything to discriminate against immigrants. If immigrants stood out because of physical features they could more easily be targeted by society. Those immigrants that could better blend in were more likely to be included within a society. Racially those who were different were not wanted in America, but why? Americans loved the idea of having one transnational race. When immigrants of another race would arrive and start reproducing with people of the white American race, cultures started to mix, racial lines became blurred. Erika Lee says, “It provided a powerful framework, model, and set of tools to be used to understand and further racialize other threatening, excludable, and undesirable aliens.” (Lee, p. 42) In this quote Lee is stating how with the exclusion of the Chinese, this further pushed Americans to be more discriminatory against immigrants solely based on race. This
Ronald Takaki is one of the foremost-recognized scholars of multicultural studies and holds a PhD. in American History from the University of California, Berkeley. As a professor of Ethnic Studies at the same university, he wrote A Different Mirror: a History of Multicultural America as a fantastic new telling of our nation’s history. The book narrates the composition of the many different people of the United States of America.
...at the Chinese were living outside of the work camps and Chinatown, "a small but ever-increasing number of Chinese came to view the United States as a country in which they could live, marry, and raise children. Living in America began to be accepted as a substitute for the traditional aim of returning to China."(Barth 212) If the Chinese never immigrated to the United States, we would not have what we have now.
Nakashima, Cynthia L. “Servants of Culture: The Symbolic Role of Mixed-Race in American Discourse,” Pp.35-57 in The Sum of Our Parts: Mixed Heritage. Ed. Teresa Williams-León and Cynthia L. Nakashima. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001.
Takaki, Ronald. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1993. Print.
In today’s world, you can easily recognize a Chinese man or woman while crossing a street in a busy town in the United States. The influx of Chinese immigrants nowadays has been straightforward acknowledged since many corporations established by Chinese men. This, however, was not a common scene you would see back in the late 1800s. In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion passed by the government had restricted free-immigrants to the US and emphatically prohibited Chinese immigrants. The question has been given: “Why did Chinese receive so many negative comments and critiques from Americans, particularly the nativists, that strong enough to force them to flee out of the US? What happened? Did they deserve to be treated poorly and non-defensively?”.
James Loewen wrote the book ?Lies My Teacher Told ME? to help the students of the United States become aware of their true history. This book attempts to show how and why American history has been taught the way it has without regard for the truth. Mr. Loewen had compared twelve different history textbooks they are: The Great Republic, The American Way, Land of Promise, Rise of the American Nation, Challenge of Freedom, American Adventures, Discovering American History, The American Tradition, Life and Liberty, The United States ? A History of the Republic, Triumph of the American Nation and The American Pageant. Loewen has argued his cases for Heroification, Euorcentrism and the first settlers, and Racism in our history. He has done this knowing fully that most people do not want to know the harsh realities of our nations past. The United States has tried to maintain a positive image throughout history. Unfortunately, it has many skeletons in its closet that need to come out to heal this great nation on many levels. If the public at large new the real role of racism in our nations infancy and how men tried to pursue their way of thinking as opposed to what is good for the country they would be ashamed at what the United States has stood for in the past.
During the early 1850s to late 1990s, the United States experienced an enormous rush of Asian immigration from various countries such as China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. For most of these immigrants, they traveled far and wide on dangerous journeys out at sea and away from their homeland of origin in order to escape the horrors of tyranny, discover wealth during the California gold rush, and create new opportunities of a better life for their families and future descendants. Countless bodies were lost at sea and many more of these immigrants died from starvation and disease. Although these Asian immigrants were overjoyed when they reached the main lands of the United States, their struggles were only beginning as many of them were not met with open arms of acceptance. Instead, most of these Asian immigrants were met with harsh racism, various amounts of mistreatment, and unpleasant living conditions from many Americans. In spite of all these hindrances, most Asian immigrants were able to adapt to their new environment, find occupations despite the undercut wages, and build homes for their families. (something here) . After a while, these Asian immigrants were able to learn English and understand the protocols of the United States judicial system in order to change certain laws which discriminated them. Even though some may group Asians into one large category, the fact of the matter is that there are many distinct ethnic backgrounds with different histories and methodology of persevering through hardships in order to reach the blissful freedom of the United States.
When many think of the times of immigration, they tend to recall the Irish Immigration and with it comes the potato famine of the 1840s' however, they forget that immigrants from the Emerald Isle also poured into America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The assimilation and immigration of the Irish has been difficult for each group that has passed through the gates of Ellis Island or South Boston. Like every group that came to America, the Irish were looked down upon; yet, in the face of discrimination, political, social and economic oppression, the Irish have been a testament to the American Dream as their influence in the political and business world increases with each generation. The tradition and family upbringings of the Irish culture has served as the bridge to allow the "great race" to both prosper and persevere through the hardest of times. Although Irish immigrants were mixed into and not originally part of American culture, they enriched their new country with their cultural contributions, active participation in politics, and their wealth of influential individuals.
The “paper son” phenomenon is not unusual in the history of the Chinese in America; it was a common way to get around the discriminatory immigration laws that prevented many Chinese from coming to the United States. Thus, the stories of “paper sons” should be told as we examine the racist attitudes and policies toward the people who built, shaped, and changed America alongside European immigrants. As former U.S. Congressman Norm Mineta so eloquently puts it, “When one hears Americans tell of the immigrants who built this nation, one is led to believe that all our forebears come from Europe. When one hears stories about the pioneers going West to shape the land, the Asian immigrant is rarely mentioned” (Takaki 6). We need to acknowledge the contributions of extraordinary individuals—“paper sons” such as my uncle, Stanley Hom Lau, who left their families and homeland behind to establish new roots and who made America the unique salad bowl it is today.
Raya’s essay is an informative account of life for a multicultural American, because it is told from an actual multicultural author’s viewpoint. It gives the reader a sense that the information is accurate. It would be harder to accept the viewpoint if the author were for example, a white male writing about how a Mexican, Puerto Rican woman feels. As Connie Young Yu points out, information retold by someone who didn’t live the experiences is most often falsely perceived. Yu uses the example of white American historians writing about the lives of Chinese immigrants. Yu says that there is no accurate account for the lives of the immigrants, because they didn’t document their lives themselves. The little information that there is in history books only tells about their obvious accomplishments. There is no official understanding of their personal lives or feelings (Yu 30).