Out of Class Essay 2

Kaung Myat Tun

Out of Class Essay 2

11/19/2012

Brian Curran Lewis

 Eglish1B

Hopeless minorities in the past

California has many stories about its mystery,history and heritage. The beauty, rich in resources, multiculturalism are bonus reasons to create "the California" and stands out among other states in the country. The wealthiness in resource attracts people from nations to small towns and creates a hub of mankind from over the world. Multiculturalism brings different unique resources, but as well racial friction and violence. We can look back some of our history with honor and glory, but some we don't want to hear again. However,all of those past history and accidents stand important role to studyour mistakes and to reform the betterland.Many poets and artists reflect our history of good and bad we did. Though there are many poems that touch my heart on a certain level, two poems stays in my mind so strong and give interesting and deep though to me, a brand new immigrant. "Yuba City School" by Chitra Banerjee Divakarunireflects the story of an immigrant mother and son from India who are dealing with the ridicule and cultural differences faced in their new second home, United States. And "Indian Cartography" by Deborah Miranda tells us about the destruction on native culture and lives due to the newcomers" domination. Each poet works resemble each other in the point that they recall and use the history to show their old days with the nature before the foreigners" interference. However, two authors highlightthe post-Columbian period in different in terms of their historical references, but similar understandings,same hopeless tones and both poets portray their individual perspectives about the terrible events encountered by minorityin the past.


             Both poems tell us to feel the struggle and hopeless situation of minorities.Mrs. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni tells a story of an aging widow move from India to live with her son and his family in California and they faced racial discrimination and ridicule.In her poem, "Yuba City School". According to the poem, both the mother and son barely speak English and they had very serious language barrier to communicate with others.I connect this situation with "Indian Cartography". Native Californian father who talks to his child about the despair and wretchedness his people went through during wartime. "With eyes open, look down into lands not drawn"(25) from "Indian Cartography" touches me the imagery of his hopeless feeling brings the history alive and the share the pain she experienced. The words "look down" makes me feel he looked at the land hopelessly. I'm wondering "What if original Indian Americans speak English well, will the new immigrants, whites treat them well without wiping out from their own land"? Or at least will Whites acknowledgeIndians as part of their people without any bloodshed? It is highly possible that there will be more diplomatic and peaceful deals among them.

               Similar saturation I feel from Yuba City School is the change in culture and language barrier causemother and boy to isolate from the society and hopeless experiences.Different appearance from the rest of the class and unable to communicate well might drive the boy from being picked, target and bullied by other students. Author sadly tells us that even the teacher ignores the boy and let him sit with threatened students.This might be due to his inability toexpresshis feeling welland the original country where he came from. Another interesting lines in that poem,"Invisible hands snatch at his uncut hair/unseen feet trip him from behind"(48)tells me that the boy feels very small and helpless as well as the hopeless position. He feels abuse from unknown people around him. I think this is because of isolation and discrimination made him feel alone and that lonelinesscreateshopeless condition without help and support in hiscurrent second country, dreamland. Nearly end of the poem, author says, "He bites down on his lip/ to keep in the crying. They are/ waiting for him to open his mouth/ so they can steal his voice."(52) makes me feel deeper sadness. I sympathize him and can feel exactly what he felt, as I'm an immigrant minority in the United States, as have some common experiences throughout my life. I have a very curious question."If he were a white from the UK or other powerful nations, will the teacher help him out from the saturation? I would like to say there is pretty thin chance to get help from that teacher even he were a white. I have a good reason. I have to bring out that there is more or less color fever on most people. Although, most teacherscare their students, but some teachers don't care and it means don't expect to care whether student is a white, black or yellow. They just don't pay attention and consider any problem among students is not theirresponsibility to engage.Author carry on telling about the mother of that student who has similar situation. She has to see her son's teacher due to his poor performance in the class, but she doesn'tknow to defend for her son from being blamed.I hope weall aware the darkness as the mother tries to climb-out and face the hopeless saturation. She simply doesn't know how to fight back for her son. For some of us, the climb-out might take years, perhaps a lifetime. Although it can be pursuable, it is absolutely not an easy task for her as being hopeless in that time.

               The themes between "Yuba City School" and "Indian Cartography" have many similarities on expression, but on the other hand, there are a few interesting differences.First of all, We all could agree that the theme for both poems is the mistreatment and abuse and result turn out in deeply remorseful and hopeless saturation in minorities; butthe way of presentation is unlike.I would say "Indian Cartography" is a stronger version of "Yuba City School" when we compare the hopeless, sadness and discrimination. Although both stories are about the minorities Indians, but"Yuba City School" poem is the story about the Indian from India, but the "Indian Cartography" is about the local Indian Americans. Some more, the tone in "Indian Cartography" is gloomyway. The poem is about native Indian Americans"painful story and segregationby whites. Recollecting the peaceful memories of the old days when the thriving tribes made a harmony with the nature surrounding them.However "Yuba City School" is more about prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, but"Indian Cartography" is about disappearing the entire tribe and culture, massacres, and removal of the Native Indian Americans from their own land is such a thrilling part to read.Earlypart of the poem, "Places he was happy,/or where tragedy greeted him" and "he learned to swim the hard way" makes me feel like the change in their life was dropped inside the black hole. Loss and despondency is the point that poet might want readers to feel which has stronger and more desperate saturation., but in "Yuba City School","For him, the words are/muddy red, flying low and heavy,/and always the one he has learned to understand idiot, idiot, idiot" (31)narrates me even she knows her son is frightened by the dangerous students in his class, she couldn't help him rather than listen when her son cried hopelessly to her. "Yuba City School" tells about the specific minority who didn't speak English well, but"Indian Cartography" highlights about the colonizing the land and massive killing no matter the ability to communicate with new immigrant whites."Yuba City School"highlights me about the difficulties due to changes in culture, but"Indian Cartography" shows change in culture demolished the entire tribes. In "Yuba City School" both mother and son loss in hope, but there is still a hope in a distance future when they can speak English well, but in "Indian Cartography,"there is no hope for local Indians in their foreseeable future during that time.

            Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Deborah Miranda not only managed to show the tone and visuals, but also portrayed hopeless feeling, which is hammered deeply inside us. Somehow different in the background saturation and condition, but both poets reflect the minorities" saturation clearly. California is a land mixed harmoniously withWhites and Blacks;Yellow and Browns and different colored people around the world. The statehistory is shaped by every color, language and enriched by every culture.California has tasted the bitterness of racial discrimination and segregation, but the history shows us that hatred in the human heart can recede, and the lines between races and tribe fade away. What is left, then, is a simple truth: e pluribus unum; in America, out of many, we are one nation, we are one people."(President Obama's Speech at the University of Yangon, Myanmar(Burma))This is not easy to reveal and teach youth about the ugly truth history and mistakes that they had done. And I'm glad to learn about the history of the state and I'm honestly proud of being part of this civilized and open-minded civilization. Yes, in the past many of the minorities faced ridicule; many of them faced racism; but we have to admit that now there are lesser accidents than our past. Who dare to deny?This is how history shaped and mankind improved the land into better place for every people despite of the color or background.