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Date Posted: 19:51:52 05/02/07 Wed
Author: Caroline
Subject: Task Two

Immigrants Literature in U.S.

The United States is a country made up of many peoples. Immigrants from Europe, Asia, Africa, South and Central America went to U.S. Even though immigrants reached the shores of North America, they did not abandon their ethnic traditions. Daniel Patrick Moynihan in his essay “A Nation of Nations” said that each ethic group had its own customs and traditions, and each group brought different experiences, accomplishments, skills, values, styles of dress, and tastes in food that lingered long after its arrival, and this profusion of differences created a singularity, or bong among the immigrants. Moynihan believe that the American culture is a kind of melting pot, a “place” where you put all the ethnicity and mix all together, and this gives a “new product”. The literature produced by immigrants in U.S. was an innovation in American literature because it contains aspects of American culture and other cultures. The majority of writers were born in U.S., but their parents or grandparents were immigrants. The immigrant’s literature can be separated in Arab-American, Latino-American, Asian-American and African-American.
Arab-American writers inhabit multiple cultures and write for multiple audiences: American, Arab-American and Arab. Lisa in her article “New Directions: Arab-American writing at century’s end” argued that the negotiation of cultures results in a form of split vision: “even as we turn one eye to our American context, the other eye is always turned toward the Middle East (…) as we turn our gaze in two directions at once, we sometimes lose sight of the ground beneath our feet.” This contrasts and comparisons are often expressed in Arab-American literature. The thematic content of Arab-American literature has a dual context, in one hand, the domestic affirmation of ethnicity, and on the other hand, Middle Eastern political events. The literacy production includes poetry and prose, but poetry is much more published than prose. Majaj explains this fact “as a small and beleaguered ethnic group we have only recently begun to feel established enough to turn to serious literary endeavors, and we have not, therefore, set in place for ourselves the kind of support systems, both economic and social, needed for the writing of fiction.” Another explanation that Majaj gives is the fact that poetry uses the lyric and this is particularly suited to moments of intensity and illumination. She also states that the lyric provides a ready vehicle both for nostalgic celebrations of family and community, and for anguished depictions of war and suffering, both of which have played a large role in Arab-American poetry.
Even tough Arab-American literature focus more on poetry and nostalgic aspects, the Latino-American literature is centered in politics aspects. Cherríe Moraga a Latino-American writer in “Art in América con Acento” states that she is not a Mexican-American writer but a Chicana writer “To be a Chicana is not merely to name one’s racial/cultural identity, but also to name a politic, a politic that refuses assimilation into the U.S. mainstream.” Chicano literature is always in contact with the community, its involved in lesbian, gay and feminism concerns. The majority of Chicanos writers became a product of that era of activism. As they become tiny Latino elite, their literature became a personal employment, it became more distant of the community and they insist that they are American writers. Moraga believes that write is a form of resistance, against prejudice, poverty, politics, and specially a movement against the European and American literature that is viewed as “universal”. Moraga also states that “writing is a confession because it is the admission of our vulnerability, our weakness, our tenderness of skin, fragility of heart, our over-whelming desire to be relieved of the burden of ourselves in the body of another, to be forgiven of our ultimate aloneness in the mystical body of a god or the common work of a revolution.” She believed that all immigrant writers should maintain their racial memory.
Asian-American writers always write about prejudice. Kesay Noda in “Growing Up Asian in American” states that she was always treated as an alien, and that the prejudice against the Asian-Americans was huge: “I can see myself today as a person historically defined by law and customs as being forever alien.” Asian-American writers felt the need of maintain their identity even though they were treated as aliens, and during the war, every Asian descendent was seeing as a danger to the country.
African-American literature themes are basically African-American culture, racism, slavery and equality. Characteristics of these themes changed during the time. In the late 18th century, slave narratives were the main theme. At the turn of 20th century, writers debated whether to confront or appease racist attitudes in U.S. During the American Civil Rights movement, authors wrote about racial segregation and Black Nationalism. Professor Albert Raboteau, from Princeston University, said that African-American literature speaks from de deeper meaning of the African-American presence in U.S. This presence has always been a test case of the nation’s claims to freedom, democracy, equality, the inclusiveness of all. African-American literature explores the issues of equality that is denied to black people in U.S. This literature has also oral forms, which are rich of poetry, as sermons, gospel music, spirituals, blues and rap.
In conclusion, immigrants from all continents had brought a huge contribution to American literature. Each ethnic group with its customs, traditions, sense of community, has changed the American culture, presenting new things. Immigrant’s literature is a very reach contribution to the gigantic melting pot that is the United States of America.

Reference:
Moynihan, P. Daniel. A Nation of Nations. From: The Immigrant Experience. A Series by Chelsza House Publishers.
Majaj, S.Lisa. New Directions: Arab-American writing at centurie’s end. From: Post-Gibran> Anthology of New Arab-American Writing. Syraeuse,1999.
Moraga, Cherríe. Art in America con Acento.From: Roberta(ed.) In Other Words: Literature by Latinas of the U.S. Houston: Arte Publico Press,1994.
Noda, Kesaya. Growing Up Asian in America. From: Lester, J.D. Diverse Identities: Classic Multicultural Essays. McGraw Mill.1996.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_literature.

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