Ethnic Literature Essay

The term ethnic when in conjunction with the word literature in the academic discourse community of students, often brings out mixed zero(prenominal)ionings of excitement and dread. On the one hand, students understand that they will be getting away from the disregar seizeical American literature which can fair to middling boring in their eyeb tout ensemble on the other hand, students interpret the term ethnic literature to mean distinctive which can equal confusing or ambiguous and perhaps at times not relatable because it is outside their scope of experiences. possibly before jumping into why it matters, the term ethnic literature should be defined first and because I am still learning how to interpret this term myself, I searched for a suitable one I could agree with. I found one in an article entitled Assessing Teachers Knowledge of Multi-Ethnic literature, and the article actually used another source themselves to come up with a workable, laymans definition. Ethnic li terature as defined by D. E.Norton (as the articles source) is, Literature roughly racial or ethnic minority groups that be culturally and socially different from the white Anglo-Saxon volume in the United States, whose largely middle-class economic values and customs argon most represented in American literature (qtd. in Hager & Thompson 22). I think this definition works well to define what ethnic literature is on a surface level, but the more I dig in, I feel that this idea goes much deeper. I asked myself, who can print some ethnic literature?Can anyone comely pick up a pen so to speak and tell a bosh about a young Japanese boy, or a Hispanic family? Can an black writer write about Hispanic or Chinese batch and claim it is ethnic literature? And the answer to myself is no. Why? Because unless that African-American has been submersed in the Hispanic or Japanese husbandry from the time of childhood, how are they going to capture the very essence of being, thinking, and l iving day-to-day in that culture?And even if that African-American had, they would still most likely endure a different perspective from the average Hispanic or Chinese person because of being different themselves (i. e black) and perhaps are treated different by the community at large which corrupts the normal cultural thinking. At this deeper level I am nerve-wracking to get at, I find John M. Reillys article Criticism of Ethnic Literature beholding the Whole Story helpful in acquiring this.He states that, the assertion of ethnicity in literature can be made only through a procedure by which the writer resolves formal problems what moves from fruition of identity to creation of a strategy for handling reality still is not literature until the unmarried author sustains her or his ethnic identity through a sequence of formal choices (4). I am interpreting this to mean that as a reader of this literature, I should see and feel throughout the story (perhaps subtlety) that in some way, the characters mindset (and perhaps actions) in the story differ from my own specifically because of the culture they have grown up in in, which has shaped that characters thinking.There are thoughts and feelings ideas, I dont understand without further explanation from the author, which is sometimes provided, and sometimes not. An exemplification of this is in Brando Skyhorses novel The Madonnas of Echo Park, I find myself wondering what the significance of the jacaranda trees mentioned in different separate of the concur. Looking up what they are, it becomes apparent to me as jacaranda trees are native to Central America root back to their homeland. The blossoms from the trees fall and are scattered everywhere. Felicia in chapter 2 states that theres no way getting away from them (25).Basically meaning, you cannot escape who you are and where you come from. I would not have understood this had I not explored the history of that tree to uncover the significance in the boo k. Another example is in Seventeen Syllables in the story Seventeen Syllables. The story about a Japanese family is thriving to read, but is hard to connect with as I dont share the same philosophies about a womans place in the Japanese culture. A specific instance in the story was when Mrs. Hayashi, Rosies mother received her the first place prize for her stellar Haiku.When the man from the composition presented her with a package, Mrs. Hayashi, stating she knew it was unorthodox, asked if she might pay it because she was very curious. (Yamamoto 17). At this point, I am thinking to myself, I dont get it why wouldnt she open it? but upon reflection, I considered the patriarchal society that is prevailing in this culture, and perhaps it is the wifes obligation to consult or have the husband open the gift, even if it is not specifically for him. Yet another example is in Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.To come specifically to the point, I do not understand this idea of why it is understo od that Dominican men are supposed to be these manly men that women flock to and fall on their knees for. That the sexual appetite along with innate sense of charisma from Dominican men is expected, and when its lacking, it doesnt go unnoticed. Anywhere else his triple-zero hit average with the ladies might have passed without comment, but this is a Dominican kid were talking about, in a Dominican family dude was supposed to have Atomic Level G, was supposed to be twist in the bitches with both hands (24).Why is this idea so indoctrinated in this culture according to the book? This is perhaps something I will neer understand, except that it is a part of their culture. All of these examples are all good and well, but the important question is why is ethnic literature important? What can be gained from reading it? From a most basic viewpoint, it is a highly effective vehicle for helping people understand themselves and the world around them.Thompson and Hager in their article state that, multi-ethnic literature mirrors and validates the experiences for minority groups and juxtaposes the beaten(prenominal) with the less familiar for mainstream children (22). In other words, through reading ethnic literature, readers can find slipway to connect with others around them that are different. The article also states that when readers are exposed to divergent thoughts, language patterns, value systems, and different ways of living, that it can open up awareness about others and create compassion and sense towards them that might not have happened without the literary exposure (23).To sum it all up, I will never argue against the instruction of ethnic literature in the school setting. In fact, I think belief it should begin right from the beginning in kindergarten, and perhaps one day we wont indispensableness the designated term ethnic literature perhaps one day it can just be American Literature and part of the regular American canon of literature. Works Cited Diaz, Junot. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. new-sprung(prenominal) York Penguin, 2007. Print. Reilly, John. M.Criticism of Ethnic Literature Seeing the Whole Story. Critical Approaches to Ethnic Literature. 5. 1 (1978) 2-13. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. Skyhorse, Brando. The Madonnas of Echo Park. New York Free Press, 2010. Print. Thompson, Deborah L. and Jane Meeks Hager. Assessing Teachers Knowledge of Multi-Ethnic Literature. Yearbook of the American Reading Forum. 1990. 21-29. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. Yamamoto, Hisaye. Seventeen Syllables. New Brunswick, NJ Rutgers University Press, 2001. Print.