The American society is acclaimed by its citizens for its endless ability to integrate various ethnicities. It combined every nationality with various ethnicities to form a unified whole; renowned as a melting pot. The melting pot metaphor is supported in the articles, “Leave Your Name at the Border,” by Manuel Munoz, “Selections from Once Upon a Quinceanera,” by Julia Alvarez, and “Paper Tigers,” by Wesley Yang. Munoz focuses particularly on Hispanic people who have to change their cultural name into something more American for the convenience and adaptability of their new environment. Alvarez is concerned with whether the girls having a Quinceanera actually know the cultural meaning behind it or if they are just having one to brag about how these …show more content…
Asians are ridiculed for their facial characteristics and their inability to express themselves due to the language barriers. An Asian wants to be recognized for his accomplishments not his looks; however to the society he is looked upon as “an invisible person, barely distinguishable from mass of faces that resemble [him]” (Yang 533). Asians aren’t looked upon as an individual; in fact they are looked upon as being just like the rest. The first impression Americans have of Asians is that “[they] are good at math, [and] play the violin;” these stereotypes make them feel like “quasi-robots who simply do not matter, socially or culturally” (Yang 533). Their eyes and physical appearances keep them from fulfilling their goals in life which forces them to break the barrier and assimilate into the American culture. Portraying oneself as anything other than American automatically lowers an individual’s chance of succeeding in life. Once again, the “melting pot” metaphor is supported because Asian immigrants are forced to adapt to the American way of living which leads them to leave behind their heritage and
Alvarez demonstrates generational boundary when discussing,“The quince tradition has always been important, but there’s this retroculturation going on right now” (56). Alvarez illustrates that retroculturation is a pattern within the Hispanic community where loss of culture is present for a generation. Alvarez explains how the first generation wants to assimilate in America with their culture, while the second generation has adapted to American norms so they have lost their culture and no longer speak spanish; however, the third generation is born and bred in America and now wants to learn about their hispanic culture by learning Spanish. Teens shop at popular American malls but listen to Spanish radios to embrace diversity (56). Similarly, Munoz is confronted with the issue of generational boundaries when he admits, “I was born in 1972, a generation that learned both English and Spanish” (308). The generation before Munoz grew up speaking only Spanish which causes a barrier between one families generation to the next. Munoz speaks Spanish at home and English in public along with his other cousins who serve as translators for their household. While the second generation before Munoz have no way of following Spanish because they have already adapted to American norms and in some ways lost an important cultural aspect (308). Alvarez and Savan are interconnected because each
To conclude, this essay has looked at several ways in which the melting pot myth has been represented in Once Upon a Quinceañera by Julia Alvarez. Practicing one’s cultural beliefs is a very noble idea because it keeps ones culture alive and passed down from one generation to the next. This is what Alvarez describes in her book regarding the quinceañera tradition. However, these coming of age celebrations in America have encountered the MTV era where festivities focus more on the extravagance than on the real coming of age Hispanic culture. Quinceañeras have now become corrupted because they teach girls how to behave irresponsibly when they become women. Furthermore, the ritual itself has now become a show off. It is for these reasons that Alvarez fears the future generation will totally deviate from the original intent of holding quinces.
of the native tongue is lost , certain holidays may not be celebrated the same , and American born generations feel that they might have lost their identity , making it hard to fit in either cultures . Was is significant about this book is the fact it’s like telling a story to someone about something that happened when they were kid . Anyone can relate because we all have stories from when we were kids . Alvarez presents this method of writing by making it so that it doesn’t feel like it’s a story about Latin Americans , when
...silenced in this country, in order to have voice and be visible in society, one must strive to be a white American. They feel the need to embody and assimilate to whiteness because the white race has a voice and is seen, rather than silenced and unseen, in society. They are privileged with the freedom of not having to cope with the notion of being marked, silent, and unseen in society. This creates pressures for Asian Americans and immigrants to suppress their own cultural identities and assimilate to whiteness in an attempt to potentially be able to prosper and make a life for them in America. Asian Americans feel as though being who they truly are and express their unique cultural identities will alienate themselves even more than they already are.
We’ve all heard it said that Asian Americans are good at math; anything involving science, technology, and medicine. They study all the time, work really hard, and live a version of the American dream many of us never thought to dream of. And of course, we know these stereotypes are dangerous and often untrue, but perhaps we still find ourselves buying into them. Ronald Takaki”, the ethnic studies expert, writes about the idea that Asian Americans are more successful than any other American minority group in his article “The Harmful Myth of Asian Superiority. Takaki refutes this idea by strategically, and somewhat effectively, using reason, statistics, and word choice to show that Asian Americans still face some of the same hardships and barriers
...able they really are with overtly racist stereotypes; and even with all the “human right”’ movements that spring about there is still the need for long-lasting solution against combating prejudices. By displaying stereotypes jokingly, especially ones that pertained for the Asian population, Yang proves not only do people hold prejudice against other groups with his examples of Asian stereotypes, but that stereotypes are still prevalent in today’s society.
In the early years of my life, adapting to the foreign customs of America was my top priority. Although born in America, I constantly moved back and forth from Korea to the US, experiencing nerve-racking, yet thrilling emotions caused by the unfamiliarity of new traditions. Along with these strange traditions, came struggles with accepting my ethnicity. Because of the obvious physical differences due to my race, the first question asked by the students in elementary school was, “Are you from China?” These inquiries were constantly asked by several of American students until middle school which transformed to “You must be good at math” referencing the stereotypical intellect that Asian are perceived to have. Through continuous insult on my Asian heritage, I began to believe and later hate the person I was due to criticism made by teenagers which I started to see true despite all the lies that was actively told. This racial discrimination was a reoccurring pattern that
I also researched instances of counter actions taken by Asian Americans to protest against these negative images. My research also has examples of Asians that have succeeded in breaking through the racial barriers in the media. The results show that even though racial stereotyping still exists in various forms of mass media, there are signs that show noticeable improvement in allowing a more balanced image of Asian Americans. Statement of the Problem There are close to 12 million Asian Americans living in the United States (U.S. Asian, 2000). Asian Americans are considered one of the fastest growing minorities (Pimentel, 2001).
When people are forced to make a choice between keeping their own roots and blending into the mainstream culture, many people tend to assimilate into the mainstream culture. Blending into the mainstream means new opportunities and better lives, but keeping old identities make them get the sense of belonging. There are numerous ways for people to keep their roots. In the essay “Once Upon a Quinceanera”, Julia Alvarez follows the female “coming-of-age” tradition known among Hispanic communities as quinceanera. In the end, she finds in order to give young Latina women a sense of empowerment and individual importance, the tradition must be redefined in a way that reflects and embodies the values and desires of
According to Harold Blum, "If we think of Asian-Americans through the stereotype of the 'model minority' - hard-working, academically achieving, responsible - we forget that AsianAmericans like to relax, to party, to go to movies, that they fall in love, have sexual desires, care about their friendships, sometimes flout standards of propriety, and so on." As model minority stereotypes, it is not fair to place limits on Asian-Americans.
In the Essay the author addresses the stereotypes Asian Americans face in society in regards to education, in the work field, and language. In our society today Asian Americans are considered to have “broken”
For decades, Asian-Americans are characterized by the media as a successful minority because of their intelligence, hard work, and emphasis on education. However, an ongoing debate whether the model minority stereotype is a myth or reality has surfaced as a growing concern for Asian-American students because it puts an unnecessary pressure of living up to the stereotype. A prudent analysis of Asian-American stereotype and myths along with a thorough understanding of the realities could assist Asian-American students to fulfill higher education opportunities and overcome academic barriers.
There is a stereotype associated with Asians about being “perfectionists.” We always need to do everything so “neatly”, “perfectly” with ease. Everyone expects us to be super-smart and when we do our jobs, we do it to perfection; just like Janice cutting the cucumber precisely, exact, even, and quick slices. My roommate always praises me for being so “studious” and constantly makes stereotypical comments like “Of course, you should know that, you’re Asian” when it comes to anything that deals with math, or “Of course you would (referring to a job I did) you’re Asian.” There is a big burden that instantly comes with being born an Asian. We are always harassed by this stereotype, and people always have displayed these types of actions towards Asians.
“No, where are you really from.” (Lee 9) This statement, in my personal opinion, sums up how the society views Asians. This is also the reason why I believe the author’s statement is also somewhat biased. Do we expect a Polish immigrant from the 18th century to feel cultural link with the Polish immigrants of the 21st Century? The statement is from a biased understanding on Asian Americans that Asian Americans are not true Americans and they share more similarity with their deep origin Asia?
“Asians are smart” stereotype is about how Asian immigrants are successful and smart when they go to other countries and what efforts do they put in order to succeed. Films and articles are major resources to show that Asians are smart because it portrays the various situation where the Asian people are able to achieve their aims and make them look as a highly talented person in the society.