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American identity is the idea that Americans identify themselves not by their race or heritage, but by their belief in the idea of individual freedom that America was created upon. Dwight Okita wrote a poem about a Japanese-American girl who was being displaced due to internment, even though she sees herself as an American. Sandra Cisneros wrote a short story about Mexican-American children who had grown up learning both English and Spanish, therefore they were not allowed in a Mexican church. "In Response to Executive Order 9066" by Dwight Okita and "Mericans" by Sandra Cisneros both explore the idea of American identity through the eyes of Japanese-American and Mexican-American children.
"In Response to Executive Order 9066" by Dwight Okita is a poem told from the perspective of a 14 year old Japanese-American girl who was going to be moved to an internment camp because of Executive Order 9066. In this poem, the girl explained how she had always felt funny using chop sticks and liked hot dogs. These are 2 examples of her identifying herself with her American heritage instead of her Japanese heritage. She did this in order to explain that she wasn't a Japanese spy, and that even though she wasn't white, she was just as much of an American as anyone else.
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"Mericans" by Sandra Cisneros is a short story about a Mexican-American girl who had grown up learning both Spanish and English.
In the story, she and her brothers had to wait outside the Mexican church that her "awful grandmother" attended. They weren't allowed in the church, but also weren't allowed to go explore the plaza. At one point, a woman and a man asked if they could take a picture with her brother, and gave him gum. They were surprised to learn that he spoke English. Even though the children weren't originally from the United States, they reffered to themselves as
"Mericans." The poem by Dwight Okita and the short story by Sandra Cisneros both have many similarities and differences. For example, they both have main characters who are young girls who have non-American heritage, but consider themselves just as American as anyone who does. The characters both believe that their heritage and physical appearance shouldn't determine whether they are able to be American or not. One of the main differences between these 2 stories is that the character in Okita's poem is Japanese-American whereas the girl in Cisneros' story is Mexican-American. Although this might seem like a very important difference, it doesn't change the fact that the messages between the two poems are very similar. In conclusion, Okita's poem and Cisneros's short story convey the theme of American identity through the eyes of two young girls. Cisneros does this by writing about a young Mexican-American girl who isn't allowed in a Mexican church, and her "awful grandmother" won't let her explore a plaza where there are things for her to do. Okita conveys this idea by depicting a young Japanese-American girl who is facing internment during World War II. This young girl writes a letter explaining how she isn't a spy and that she doesn't identify with her Japanese heritage as much as she does with American culture. Both texts use two young girls without American heritage to explain that being an American has nothing to do with someone's physical appearance or heritage.
In her speech “Undo the Mistake of Internment” Eleanor Roosevelt uses similes and allusions to situations well known to the reader to create an appeal using ethos that urges the American public to act peaceably towards Japanese Americans that may settle among them. Roosevelt supports this plea by first expressing sympathy to the plight of Americans whose families have died in the war, but then reprimanding them for being prejudiced against the Japanese. Roosevelt’s purpose was to deliver this speech in a way that remains relatable to Americans, hence the many mentions of how she understands them and their feelings are not unreasonable. However, at the same time Roosevelt explains that these same reasonable feelings are not acceptable, a reprimand
The exact idea on the American identity differs from each person. In Okita's poem, "Response to Order 9066," and in Cisneros's short story, "Mericans," they both touch on their own ideas on what makes an American. The poem tells of a young Japanese girl's experience as an American before and after Order 9066. It describes how the girl and her friend's relationship broke due to the negative views on Japanese-Americans soon after the order. In the short story, a young Mexican girl doe not enjoy or embrace her own culture and would rather do activities other Americans do for fun. Later in the the story, the girl and her siblings surprise an American photographer that they could speak English soon declaring that they are "Merican." Both Okita's poem and Cisneros's short story show that cultural heritage and physical appearances do not determine what it means to be an American.
Once Executive Order 9066 was signed, with no proof that sabotage or espionage had been committed by Japanese Americans, it allowed for the relocation and summary removal of “enemy aliens” from their homes to incarceration under guard in designated areas / camps. With just one pen and piece of paper, FDR suddenly made it possible for citizens of Japanese descent to be ...
Through the view of a young girl, this story really captures what it’s like to feel like immigration is the only option for a family. In the story, set in the 1960’s, Anita lives in the Dominican Republic, a country with a dictator named el jefe. One day at school, Anita’s cousin is called out of class, and Anita is asked to go with. She finds out that her
The United States of America a nation known for allowing freedom, equality, justice, and most of all a chance for immigrants to attain the American dream. However, that “America” was hardly recognizable during the 1940’s when President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, ordering 120,000 Japanese Americans to be relocated to internment camps. As for the aftermath, little is known beyond the historical documents and stories from those affected. Through John Okada’s novel, No-No Boy, a closer picture of the aftermath of the internment is shown through the events of the protagonist, Ichiro. It provides a more human perspective that is filled with emotions and connections that are unattainable from an ordinary historical document. In the novel, Ichiro had a life full of possibilities until he was stripped of his entire identity and had to watch those opportunities diminish before him. The war between Japan and the United States manifested itself into an internal way between his Japanese and American identities. Ichiro’s self-deprecating nature that he developed from this identity clash clearly questions American values, such as freedom and equality which creates a bigger picture of this indistinguishable “America” that has been known for its freedom, equality, and helping the oppressed.
interesting conversation because there were a lot similarities in adjusting to living in the United States . This book shows a viewpoint of the sisters coming to America . I classify this as American literature because the book was written in a style that would make it easy to read for a people to read here . There is mixed language , and there is really no strong presence of Spanish being spoken . Alvarez is a interesting writer because she uses writing as a tool to find out what she is thinking , and to understand things ,while developing books that are fun to read . If you take this book for example , it’s what she thinks about immigration and her understanding of the subject . This book was made for everyone to see what the immigration experience is like . Immigration appears to be an experience of struggle , and change shared by immigrants no matter what the origin .
The opening section of this story is a third person narrative. The narrator immediately introduces a poor Chicano family with two young children. A few initial facts that the reader picks up in the opening paragraph are that both parents have to work, the children often play by themselves in back allies and carry their own keys, and the father has warned the children to always avoid the police.
In the essay "It’s Hard Enough Being Me," Anna Lisa Raya relates her experiences as a multicultural American at Columbia University in New York and the confusion she felt about her identity. She grew up in L.A. and mostly identified with her Mexican background, but occasionally with her Puerto Rican background as well. Upon arriving to New York however, she discovered that to everyone else, she was considered "Latina." She points out that a typical "Latina" must salsa dance, know Mexican history, and most importantly, speak Spanish. Raya argues that she doesn’t know any of these things, so how could this label apply to her? She’s caught between being a "sell-out" to her heritage, and at the same time a "spic" to Americans. She adds that trying to cope with college life and the confusion of searching for an identity is a burden. Anna Raya closes her essay by presenting a piece of advice she was given on how to deal with her identity. She was told that she should try to satisfy herself and not worry about other people’s opinions. Anna Lisa Raya’s essay is an informative account of life for a multicultural American as well as an important insight into how people of multicultural backgrounds handle the labels that are placed upon them, and the confusion it leads to in the attempt to find an identity. Searching for an identity in a society that seeks to place a label on each individual is a difficult task, especially for people of multicultural ancestry.
Julie Otsuka's The Buddha in the Attic is at heart a novella about the establishment and destruction of an immigrant identity in America. Upon arrival, the Japanese immigrants must create a new identity for themselves to integrate with the American population or be branded as outsiders. However, even the most willing to assimilate can never truly leave the outsider status behind as they will always be considered as 'other'. When fear begins to accumulate, this outsider status will leave the blame on the Japanese people's shoulders. Particularly, in the chapter "Traitors," Otsuka highlights the ever-present anonymity and otherness of the Japanese immigrants that leads to the erasure of their collective American identity.
Throughout the novel, When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka, American culture permeates the lives of Japanese American children. Thousands of Japanese-American citizens were sent to internment camps across the country. The government felt that this was the only way to secure the homeland from the possibility of an internal attack by Japanese American citizens. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the detained Japanese did not identify as any nationality but American. In Otsuka’s novel, her characters cherished uniquely American items. Their reintegration into society following their internment was made difficult by the way, their peers now viewed them. This confusion in their identity highlights the unfair internment of people who were American citizens, rather than the enemy, by the United States.
In the academic article, That Child Is a Yellow: New Immigrant Children's Conceptions of English Language, Literacy, and Learners' Identities in the NCLB Era by Sultan Turkan and Ana Christina DaSilva Iddings they both illustrate how many children of immigrants and who are spanish speakers trying to learn english are motivated to succeed due to the pressure of fitting in and getting an education for upward mobility. Sultan Turkan a doctoral student during the course of this study at the university of arizona, Ana christina dasilva iddings an assistant professor at the same university. They conducted a study in which they drawed observations on three new immigrants who are also native speakers (Gabriela,Juan,and Maria). Turkan and Iddings observed
American Identity is what one represents as common value and their belief in individual freedom. It is not about where you come from or what color skin you have, it is about who you choose to portray based on your personal strong beliefs. In the writing of both Okita and Cisneros it is clearly stated how they both experience American Identity in similar yet different ways. In Okitas' poem it is shown how her heritage affects the way people look at her. On the other hand Cisneros' short story it is stated that Micaela does not show interest in her cultural background but instead towards the American culture, and how that effects her and her family.
When women migrate from one nation or culture to another they carry their knowledge and expressions of distress with them. On settling down in the new culture, their cultural identity is most likely going to change and that encourages a degree of not belonging; they also attempt to settle down by either assimilation or biculturalism. Consider identity issues of women from the borderlands like feminist Gloria Anzaldua. Her life in the borderlands was a constant battle of discrimination from the Anglo, she was caught in a world of two cultures, various languages, and male domination, “She realized she had two options, to be the victim or to take control of her own destiny” (Borderlands). In her book, Borderlands/La Frontera, she discusses conflicts of linguistic, sexual, and ethnic identity that exists on the border of Mexico and the United States. Gloria Anzaldúa articulates in one of her chapters, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, that “ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity;” the languages she possess wield extraordinary influence over her cultural identification (Borderlands). In her book she combines both Spanish and English to emphasize the significance of the position from which she writes, yet Anzaldúa also depicts the near impossibility of reconciling the cultures her speech reflects. When she speaks English, she speaks “the oppressor’s language” (Borderlands); when she speaks Chicano Spanish, she speaks “an orphan tongue” (Borderlands). As a result, the implications of language on her identity are, at times, problematic. Since the English speakers she must accommodate deem her tongue “illegitimate,” she deems herself illegitimate (Borderlands). Her life struggles in the borderlands compelled Gloria Anzaldúa to be resilient and even hopeful. She will use her native tongue to “overcome the tradition of
“America’s forced confinement of more than 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were held in camps that often were isolated, uncomfortable, and overcrowded” (Japanese Americans. (2015). National Park Service). For three consecutive years the Japanese people were in these camps their place where they called home were vandalized and sold. Until FDR finally realized he made a bad decision and retained all of the Japanese citizens “The order authorized the Secretary of War and the armed forces to remove people of Japanese ancestry from what they designated as military areas and surrounding communities in the United States” (Roosevelt, F. (1942). “More than 33,000 Japanese Americans played a major role in the war effort. Why did they serve the nation under these difficult circumstances? Many of them loved their country enough to risk their lives in combat. For others, it was the chance to prove their loyalty and the honor of their families; this they did as members of the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team fighting up the rugged Italian Peninsula and across Southern France” ” (Japanese Americans. (2015). National Park