"Mericans" by Sandra Cisneros and "In Response to Executive Order 9066: All Americans of Japanese Descent Must Report to Relocation Centers” by Dwight Okita are two short stories that depict two different young women, both overcoming adversity of cultural identity and stereotyping. While the girls have different ethnic backgrounds, both are characterized to be vulnerable and effected by their negative surroundings. In "Mericans", the young girl and her siblings is in the care of her grandmother, whom she characterizes as awful. She describes her surroundings, as familiar, from the language to the rituals at her grandmothers church yet the familiarity is interpreted as though she is visiting. Her grandmother spends her time in the church praying for all the members of her family while the children are to remain in the doorway of the church, under strict orders not to stray far. When a couple, clearly American, approached the children, offering them gum in weak Spanish and …show more content…
asking for a picture. In addition to asking the children for a picture, they quickly find out the children are also "Merican". The couple treated the young girl and her siblings as a tourist attraction, something to gawk at and take photos of. The young girl in this moment is being faced with ethnic stereotyping and is forced to examine her cultural identity. The short story of "Relocation 9066", depicts a 14 year old Japanese girl, who doesn't understand then severity of the events going on around her and how different her life is about to become.
She identifies as an American, vocalizing her love for American food and even her uncomfortability using Japanese eating utensils. She wants to take tomato seeds with her on her relocation but is told by her father that the place they are traveling to is so different, her plants will not grow. However, through her sadness, she finds happiness in knowing she has her best friend at school, whom she usually sits next to, due to their closeness in alphabetical name order. The young girl recounts their friendly banter and jokes but the banter abruptly changes to hateful persecution from her former friend, who is now sitting on the other side of the room from her. The struggle of cultural identify is evident and the ethnic stereotyping is crystal clear as she is berated with racially insensitive
slurs. Both stories examine lives of young woman who are experiencing internal struggles of American multi-cultural identity. The stories depict woman of different age and ethnic background, both being exposed to ethnic stereotyping from people outside of their family. The young girl in "Relocation 9066" however, is confronted with hostile confrontation from a former friend based on current events in the world, possibly in connection with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In conclusion, both short stories effectively portrayed the struggles and hardships that surround American multi-cultural identity and the impact it can have on young members of society. Whether the person struggling is in the United States or another country, when they identify as an American and are treated differently, the struggle deeply impacts their daily lives and emotions. The young woman in both "Merican" and "Relocation 9066" faced trials and tribulations in relation to American multi-cultural identity, even though they faced them in very different ways.
We dread the thought of school because to us it is a chore, it’s a hassle, it’s something that messes with our sleep schedule, it is something that gets in the way of lounging around and binge watching Netflix. Pashtana doesn’t take her school and education for granted because she does not have the same liberties we do. While we enjoy driving into the city and shopping over the weekend, Pashtana unwillingly makes wedding arrangements with her cousin. While we complain about our mom nagging us to clean our room, Pashtana is getting beaten by her father because she wants to learn more about the world. While we have stocked fridges and pantries and
In "Mericans," the girl narrating thinks that her grandmother is awful. Her grandmother does not like America and prays for it because it is "barbaric." The narrator does not agree with her grandmother, and feels very disconnected to her grandmother's religion and culture. Throughout the story, the narrator is vicitimized by the boys for being a girl, and they often make fun of her. Instead of crying, she acted tough. Towards the end, a tourist couple thinks that she only speaks Spanish just because she is Mexican, she proves them wrong by responding to them in perfectly fluent English.
Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston is a riveting about a women who endured three years of social hardships in camp Manzanar. Jeanne Wakatsuki was born on September 26, 1934, in Inglewood, California, to George Ko Wakatsuki and Riku Sugai Wakatsuki. She spent her early childhood in Ocean Park, California, where her father was a fisherman. On December 7, 1941 Jeanne and her family say good bye to her Papa and her brothers as they take off on their sardine boat. The boat promptly returned and a “Fellow from the cannery came running down to the wharf shouting that the Japanese had just bombed Pearl Harbor” (Wakatsuki, 6). That very night Papa went home and burned anything that could trace them back to their Japanese origins paper, documents, and even the flag that he had brought back with him from Hiroshima. Even though Papa tried hard to hide his connections with his Japanese heritage the FBI still arrested him but he didn’t struggle as they took him away he was a man of “tremendous dignity” (Wakatsuki, 8) and instead he led them.
He shows respect and kindness for his students (who eventually love and appreciate him) while using humor on occasion to find common ground and a new attitude about race relations. The knowledge he offers dampens the oppression of their ignorance and instills pride in who they are and what they know about the outside world and about themselves. The school principal perpetuates ?? her disdain ?? for what she calls her "babies" as she prepares them for the hard knocks of the world she experienced and envisions for them. She tells Conrack, "I don't have your advantages. I've always known I was colored. When I was a negro, I knew I was colored. And now that I'm black, I know which color that is" (Conrack, n.d., "Did you know?"/Quotes section). Vineberg (2015) characterizes her as "a formidable mixture of African American resentment and righteous superiority and black self-hatred." Eventually, she tells him she sees that he loves the
The grandmother is a very cruel, bossy, and grumpy and the narrator was just a normal kid and was also frightened of his grandma. In page 3 of the story, it emphasizes their relationship at the beginning of the story between the grandma and the grandson in the following quote " In fact, nothing I did seemed to impress her, and she referred to me as el malcriado, causing my mother to shake her head" (Haslam 3). It is indeed that this quote refers to the relationship between the grandmother and the grandson which it pretty seems that they don't get along each other. To demonstrate, the following quote, it makes an emphasis about the grandma's attitude of the relationship between his grandson "Oh, so you wan' some candy. Go to the store an' buy some" (Haslam 4). To emphasize, the quote explains their relationship and also emphasizes her attitude towards the grandson, when Haslam asked for candy to his grandmother and she refuses to and tells him to buy
Now I wished that I could pen a letter to my school to be read at the opening assembly that would tell them how wrong we had all been. You should see Zachary Taylor, I’d say.” Lily is realizing now that beauty comes in all colors. She is also again being exposed to the fact that her way of being raised was wrong, that years and years of history was false. “The whole time we worked, I marveled at how mixed up people got when it came to love.
Upon returning to the Dominican Republic after many years, Yolanda decides to take a trip across the island––something her family views as ridiculous. “‘This is not the states’ . . . ‘A woman just doesn’t travel alone in this country.” (9) This quote highlights the sexism inherent in Dominican society. Yolanda’s family is asserting that women are not individuals capable of taking care of themselves. On another hand, Yolanda’s close friendship with Mundín causes tensions as their mothers confront them about crossing gender lines. “My mother disapproved. The outfit would only encourage my playing with Mundín and the boy cousins. It was high time I got over my tomboy phase and started acting like a young lady señorita. ‘But it is for girls,’ . . . ‘boys don’t wear skirts.’” (228) This is an example of how Dominican societal norms and gender roles have impacted the sisters. Yolanda and Mundín were the only boy-girl playmates out of all the García children, yet this was frowned upon by both of their parents as to not impede the seemingly inevitable growth of Yolanda’s femininity, and conversely, Mundín’s masculinity. Moreover, this shows how societally-prescribed gender roles were instilled in Yolanda at a young age. However, this is not the only way in which women’s freedoms are
She’s just so weak. If she would stand up for herself, no one would bother her. It’s her own fault that people pick on her, she needs to toughen up. “Shape of a Girl” by Joan MacLeod, introduces us to a group of girls trying to “fit in” in their own culture, “school.” This story goes into detail about what girls will do to feel accepted and powerful, and the way they deal with everyday occurrences in their “world.” Most of the story is through the eyes of one particular character, we learn about her inner struggles and how she deals with her own morals. This story uses verisimilitude, and irony to help us understand the strife of children just wanting to fit in and feel normal in schools today.
The fourteen-year-old girl is a round and dynamic character with great depth. The round characteristics are seen within her broad and complex emotions. She has developed an aggressive temperament in response to abuse from her Apa and teasing from her sisters who call her “bull hands”, laughing at her masculine features. This temperament has led her to state: ”I began keeping a piece of jagged brick in my sock to bash my sisters or anyone who called me bull hands.” (Bausch) Her temper...
Nevertheless, Cisneros’s experience with two cultures has given her a chance to see how Latino women are treated and perceived. Therefore, she uses her writing to give women a voice and to speak out against the unfairness. As a result, Cisneros’ story “Woman Hollering Creek” demonstrates a distinction between the life women dream of and the life they often have in reality.
The author explains different situations she has been exposed to throughout her life. The main factor that differentiates her case from the others is her level of education. She has been educated and has been exposed to two different cultures. Due to these factors, she knows how to behave under different circumstances. A good example is when a drunk man offended her and she reacted by walking away instead of creating a big discussion. Maria’s friend complemented her for the cool handling of the situation. Another reason why she feels so proud of herself is because she took advantage of that education chance and does everything possible to keep growing up. She explains that sometimes she is sent to that “kitchen” where she belongs. Her genes will follow her everywhere and not matter where she is at, people will keep asking her where is she from.
The tone right away reduces the Japanese student to a coconut-headed Jap, sly and cunning, and must have cheated his way through life, although the boy is obviously intelligent, being head of the class. Stratton-Porter bars no discriminatory remarks by portraying the American girl, "Sweet Linda" spouting against the Japanese boy who heads the class: "Before I would let a Jap, either a boy or girl, lead in my class, I would give up going to school and go out and see if I could beat him growing lettuce and spinach." (Doc 6) It goes on to protest the foreigners' success, fearing that it would bring in "greater numbers, better equipped for battle of life than we are." (Doc 6) Another public source that also feared a sort of a revolution was the anonymous "Because You're a Jew," generalizing the Jew as a cheat and a swindler, always winning contests, sly speaking and greedy. "The Jew is winning everywhere. By fair means or by foul means he wins.
Jeanne Wakatuski is a young girl who had to endure a rough childhood. She thought herself American, with a Japanese descent. However, with WWII and the internment camps, Jeanne struggled to in understanding who she really was. It started with Manzanar, at first she knew herself as a Japanese American. Living in Manzanar gave her a new perspective, “It (Manzanar) gradually filled me with shame for being a person, guilty of something enormous enough to deserve that kind of treatment” (Houston and Houston 161). Jeanne faced the problem of being someone who was not wanted or liked in the American society. A good section that shows the discrimination at the time was when Jeanne tried to join the Girl Scouts, which is on page 144. She was turned
It would appear that Ann is behind in this developmental stage. Ann is fearful and anxious around her classmates. Ann is too afraid of the other children to make friends. Culture and race could play a role in Ann’s social anixety. Ann is a Native American women from the Seneca. Ann’s mother had grown up on a reservation. There could be a culture barrier at Ann’s school and Ann may feel out of place due to the differences in culture. Ann could be feeling as though she is different than the other kids that she goes to school with and she is fearful that will reject her for being different. Ann’s parents are not home often. Ann’s grandmother appears to be the primary caretakers, and that her parents are absent. Ann might feel rejected and nejected
Northrup, Mary. "Multicultural Cinderella Stories." Offices of the American Library Association. American Library Association, n.d. Web. 11 Sep 2013.