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“Don’t think that because we are here you can act like those fast American girls” the girls mother screamed. She did not want her daughter, a recent Puerto Rican immigrant, to resemble other American teenagers. She wanted her daughter to keep her Puerto Rican heritage, even as they immigrated to the U.S. and her daughter attempted to fit in with the other girls in school. This story, discussed in further detail later, describes the real challenge of assimilation for immigrants of different immigrant generations. This paper will discuss the assimilation of various groups of Latinos and different generations in the U.S. The level of assimilation of these different groups of Latinos to U.S. mainstream society depends on the location from which …show more content…
Latino Immigrants”, socioeconomic, social, and cultural factor affect the ability of Latinos to move into Anglo neighborhoods.Within these categories, factors such as the level of income, the fluency in English language, and the embeddedness in Anglo cultural values are main determiners for geographic mobility. This is based on the classic sociological model of assimilation, which states that the minority adopts the attitudes and cultural traits of the majority, which then leads to assimilation. In the case of U.S. Latinos, the authors state that Latinos experience segmented assimilation, meaning that Hispanic groups of different origin have different rates of assimilation. This is evident when comparing ethnic groups such as Puerto Ricans and Cubans. In his article “Adjustment and Assimilation the Cuban Refugee Experience”, Michael Wenk ascertains, based on data collected, that Cubans adjusted quickly to life in the U.S. and assimilated successfully into new communities. The author sent out a questionnaire to Cuban families asking them to self-report on their educational, economic, and occupational status. The survey found that most families were well-educated, middle to upper class, and felt well integrated in their communities. The survey also found that most families tended to move to cities based on their occupation and therefore could assimilate better within the community. Because of all these factors that made the Cubans more similar to average Americans, according to the author they could assimilate easier. In contrast, the Dominicans do not fully assimilate like the Cubans. The article “Competing Identities? Race, Ethnicity and Panethnicity among Dominicans in the United States” by Jose Itzigsohn and Carlos Dore-Cabral argues that Dominicans identify as Latino in the U.S. in order to better assimilate, however they still retain a strong
The Europeans who claimed what was to become America chose to integrate the land's present inhabitants and future immigrants in order to become the dominating race and, consequently, made other cultures feel inferior to their own. The Angel family, Mexican-Indian immigrants and the subject of Arturo Islas' Migrant Souls, becomes victim to the Americans' forceful demands for conformity. While Sancho, the father, never complains about assimilation, yet never becomes fully "assimilated," his wife, Eduviges, strives to be a part of the American culture. These conflicting reactions and the existing prejudice in the community leave their daughter, Josie, uncertain of her true identity.
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
Harvest of the Empire is a valuable tool to gaining a better understanding of Latinos. This book helps people understand how varied Latino’s in the United States are. The author also helped give insight as to how Americans reacts to differences within itself. It does this by giving a description of the struggles that every Latino immigrant faced entering the United States. These points of emphasis of the book were explained thoroughly in the identification of the key points, the explanation of the intersection of race, ethnicity, and class, in addition to the overall evaluation of the book.
Just like other immigrating Latino groups, Cubans share the same stereotypes when they are categorized as criminals, violent and others as well as having to face barriers for employment, housing and economics. However, most of the discrimination that Cuban Americans face is due to their ties to their home country. For example, most Cubans are stereotyped as extremists who despise Fidel Castro. The main push factor for Cuban immigrants was the regime of Castro in their home country. In contrast, other Latino immigrants are mainly pushed out of their country because of economic reasons. Therefore, while Cuban immigrants are seen as extremists or anti-Castro activists, most other Latino immigrants are merely seen as immigrants who come to “take jobs”. As mentioned, Cubans are not categorized as immigrants who come to the United States in hopes for a better economic life, they are seen as political refugees who are in search of better political conditions. This is one of the main differences between Cubans and other Latinos, because of this, Cubans are thought to be more prosperous than other Latino groups. However, this is a faulty stereotype because, although some Cuban Americans are better off economically than most other Latino groups, the majority of them still face countless amounts of
Although our society is slowly developing a more accepting attitude toward differences, several minority groups continue to suffer from cultural oppression. In her essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldúa explores the challenges encountered by these groups. She especially focuses on her people, the Chicanos, and describes the difficulties she faced because of her cultural background. She argues that for many years, the dominant American culture has silenced their language. By forcing them to speak English and attempting to get rid of their accents, the Americans have robbed the Chicanos of their identity. She also addresses the issue of low self-esteem that arises from this process of acculturation. Growing up in the United States,
Throughout the semester we touched on several topics, but one topic that stood out for was immigration. We watched and discussed movies like “Sin Nombre” and “El Norte” which depicted the process of migrating and the risk factors associated with it. On a personally I more interested in it because been an immigrant myself I can relate to Sayra in “Sin Nombre” and Pedro and his sister in “El Norte” to some extent.
Two forms of Segmented Assimilation can be used to explain these instances. The second form follows a pattern that is a downward-mobility of acculturation and integration with the new or hybrid customs of the new country, yet is being trapped in the bottom rungs of society. Similar to the way Bryan had grown up in poverty and nearly lost touch with his mother tongue. The third form being socioeconomic integration into mainstream America, where selective acculturation and deliberate preservation of ethnic community’s values, norms, and social ties. This falls in line with Eric’s family who immigrated already being relatively successful economically and education wise retaining their culture and language within their family. Both families did adopt certain nuances and values that can be described as “American” while still retaining their own culture. Both of these subjects also maintained the concepts of family and education as being of great importance. Education is also stressed in order to find a job that offers stability and security as well as enough money to live comfortably. This stems from their parents wanting their children to be auspicious and so that their immigration to the United States served a purpose. What stood out though, was that these subjects did not face much pressure to achieve exceptionally well in their education. Instead their
Latinos have struggled to discover their place inside of a white America for too many years. Past stereotypes and across racism they have fought to belong. Still America is unwilling to open her arms to them. Instead she demands assimilation. With her pot full of stew she asks, "What flavor will you add to this brew?" Some question, some rebel, and others climb in. I argue that it is not the Latino who willingly agreed to partake in this stew. It is America who forced her ideals upon them through mass media and stale history. However her effort has failed, for they have refused to melt.
The subject of this paper is Liz, a 52-year old, 1.5 generation female immigrant from Hong Kong. What this means is that she immigrated to the United States when she was a child, around 7-years old (Feliciano Lec. 1/4/2016). As a child of a family that consists of five siblings and two parents that did not speak any English prior to immigrating, the focus of this paper will be on the legal processes that the family went through to become legal immigrants and the various factors that aided in her path towards assimilation.
Moreover, Patel gave illustrations in his article that described how hard it was for him being an Indian national, to embrace assimilation without affecting his own culture. He writes on how he greatly desired to be ‘part of the crowd’. He experienced the benefits of assimilation first hand when he learned how to relate to his peers. Hispanics and other immigrants have also gained benefits from assimilating such as earning themselves employment and getting admissions into various learning
Many people in America want to assimilate to the U.S. because they think that being American is a better option. People such as the Italians in the 1870s tried to assimilate in order to become an American to not become an enemy in the U.S. Also, the Mexicans today are constantly coming to the U.S. to have a better life because they know being American is the best solution for their problems at home. What assimilation mean is when a person leaves one’s own culture to join a different culture the person wants to be. For the purpose of this essay, an American is a person who has commitment to succeed in what one wants, able to speak english, to love the pop culture in the U.S. at the time one is living such as the hit songs, games, T.V. shows, etc. but not to other cultures, and be a citizen in America. People throughout history must assimilate to become a true American
Kanellos, Nicolás, Felix M- Padilla, and Claudio Esteva Fabregat, eds. Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States: Sociology. Houston: Arte Publico Press, 1994. Print.
This model examines the relationship between the dominant culture and one with minority status, such as Latinos. Attitudes towards self, same minority group, different minority groups, and the dominant group are examined through five stages within the model. These include conformity, dissonance, resistance and immersion, introspection, and integrative awareness. The stage most pertinent to Antonio at this time is the Dissonance stage. During this stage, one starts to acknowledge the existence of racism, that he cannot escape his own heritage, and experiences conflict between shame and pride felt for his culture. This same shame versus pride conflict is also extended to members of his own minority group. Held stereotypes about other minority groups are now questioned as well. One in the Dissonance stage is also starting to realize that not all beliefs held by the dominant group are valuable or even accurate (Sue & Sue, 2003). Because of the two incidents Antonio endured during his freshman year and their emotional impact on him, he is becoming aware that even though he has “assimilated,” others of the majority group will still identify him as different. Antonio is also experiencing conflict between what members of the minority group (his parents) and the majority group feel are important; his parents believe he
Because of the concept of the word race, wars have been started and millions of people have been discriminated against. To me, it appears to be simply another evil in the world that we, as humans, must deal with and potentially overcome. Since the beginning of time, race has done nothing but give people a reason to argue, fight, and discriminate. It gives people reason to not associate with their fellow man. It causes a fear of the out-of-the-ordinary. Without education, race can be a barrier separating us.
Often America is referred to as “The large melting pot.” The idea that the United States is a land of opportunity, where anyone can come and blend into a new breed that is uniquely American. However, the cultural diversity in America is clearly evident, from physical characteristics to different religious beliefs and customs. As minorities immigrate to America and attempt to assimilate in society, they are forced to live a pluralistic lifestyle of blending with the current society, while struggling to maintain their heritage and identity “Minority individuals must learn to function in two environments: their own culture and that of the mainstream society” (de Anda, 1984: p101). There are some who successfully leave their