Essay on "Identity and the Immigrant Experience"

Essay 7 pages (2308 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

The other path a new immigrant might follow is to delve deeply into the new culture. This would entail aggressively learning the new language in whatever way is most suitable. Clearly, the first option might pose fewer problems related to identity construction because the person remains firmly entrenched in their past. The second option will cause the person to have one foot in one culture, and the other foot in the other culture. Yet in the end, it may be worth the effort because of the social opportunities multiculturalism can offer.

Different people will grapple with language barriers and learning new languages. Richard Rodriguez experienced a "disconcerting confusion" when he became fully bilingual (35). He reports losing his confidence when speaking Spanish, his mother tongue, and the social and psychological consequences that losing his native language entailed. Rather than promote bilingual education, Rodriguez claims that mother tongues should remain in the home as the most natural way of preserving ethnic identity and culture. Another immigrant might have taken the opposite point-of-view and advocated strongly for bilingual education because of the way it helps the new immigrant children to keep up in their scholastic subjects, without having to simultaneously master a new language.

Yiyun Li does not discuss her experiences with bilingualism, but does admit to becoming passionate enough about language to abandon her science studies in favor of becoming a writer. The decision perplexes her family and friends, but she follows her dream. Li struggles more with existential issues like time and the meaning of life than she does with her identity as a Chinese-American. Nevertheless, the author continually weaves imagery of China and her past with that of her present in America. In short, she achieves the goal of demonstrating the "before and after" pictures that she was so fascinated with when she first moved to the United States. The "before and after" pictures in weight loss magazines made Li question the meaning and methods of the passing of time. Psychological struggles will differ, depending on the person's personality. Some, like Rodriguez, might be extraverted. Others seem introverted like Wi, and yet others may focus more on how to construct an identity based on social class status, gender, or career orientation.

At what point did Li "become American?" At what point does any immigrant first realize that they have "succeeded" in their goals to become a part of the new culture? For Rodriguez, his "becoming American" hinged on his becoming bilingual. English was the "public language," and the language he needed to speak in order to have access to social and cultural capital, upward social mobility, and opportunity. He became American by learning the public language, but never forgetting that he is Latino. Li is less clear about the moment she felt American. It is possible that by using the overarching metaphor of "before and after" images, Li is suggesting that the process of "becoming" is not as important as the "before" image and the "after" image. In other words, it does not matter what happened in between, so long as the person is comfortable with who they are now and who they were in the past. Some immigrants might view their new country less as a new home or an "after" image, and more as a temporary place to stay until they can return home. Is the process of "becoming" critical to the immigrant experience?

Developing a bicultural identity means transforming from one stable identity into an identity that is forever in flux. People who are bi-cultural or bi-lingual develop complex identities. A person can be simultaneously Jewish, Latina, and American. That same individual can be gay and an engineer. Yet even people who are not first-generation immigrants can struggle with the emotional, social, and psychological implications of identity formation. Identities can also shift dramatically over time, as the person learns new languages or becomes involved in a certain career path that influences the sense of self.

The immigrant experience therefore offers tremendous insight into identity psychology as well as identity politics. The ways people construct identities has to do as much with the community they inhabit in their adopted society as with the community they left behind. Immigrants who choose not to assimilate and to retain not only language but also custom and culture may be missing out on the opportunity to grow and learn about a new culture, just as those who assimilate fully miss out on the chance to teach their children about their heritage. Being "in between," or "in flux," or as Rodriguez puts it, full of "disconcerting confusion," is not necessarily a bad thing.

Works Cited

Li, Yiyun. "Dear Friend, From My Life, I Write to You in Your Life."

Rodriguez, Richard. "Aria: A Memoir of… READ MORE

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