Assimilation
Some of the major similarities Zitkala-Sa’s The Schooldays of an Indian Girl and Sui Sin Far’s Leaves from the Mental Portfolio of an Eurasian are that they both tell stories of two non-white girls trying to fit in, or being forced to fit in, with a white world and European/American ideas and culture. They both go through many accounts of discrimination. Some being misunderstandings of their culture, such as how Zitkala-Sa feels when her hair is cut because of the meaning it hold with her people, and others out right racism, such as the flag held up at the contest, and the racial stereotypes used around Sui Sin Far.
A difference I saw between the two was that Zitkala-Sa had pride in her culture from the beginning. This is partially because she had been raised in and taught about her history and culture. This is in contrast to Sui Sin Far. She was raised without much knowledge of her mother’s culture and history, and therefore, it seems to have taken her some time to develop a pride for her heritage. This difference could also come from the fact that Sui Sin Far was able to blend in because her father was European. Because of this, much of the racism she endured was much less direct than that faced by Zitkala-Sa.
posted by Jim Holmes at 8:44 AM
5 Comments:
I totally see everything you said. At first I felt like it would be worse to not have been taught about your culture than it would be to at least know where you came from and be discriminated against. I'm curious as to what people thought about the benefit or drawback of relating to a difinite culture but being discirminated against versus not truly identifying with any race but being able to pass as part of the majority?
I think Tracee poses an interesting question in response to Jim's post. First of all, I agree with Jim in that it took a lot longer for Sui to embrace who she was. And even at the end, I felt like she did it in a much less dramatic way. I think it speaks a lot to the fact that when we don't know who we are, or if we have been forced to believe we SHOULD be something that we aren't, there is a lot of pain and confusion involved. In response to Tracee's question, I think there would be a lot of benefit in being able to pass as part of the majority, especially when it comes to security. But I think when it comes to inner acceptance and truly owning up to who you are, I would think it would be easier to be of a definite culture.
I also agree with you about the fact that Zitkala-Sa was raised in her culture. She knew everything about it and I'm sure that made it harder for her to leave and try to conform to what she was being taught at the boarding school. As for Far, she was never really taught about her culture. When she overheard the woman talking with disgust about Far's mother being Chinese she was shocked and upset. I agree with you that the racism Zitkala-Sa experienced was more direct than Far's.
I completely agree with you. I hadn't thought about it in that way. But it makes sense that Sui Sin Far hadn't learned about her culture, and that made her uncomfortable almost in the way it made others who don't know about foreign cultures uncomfortable. her lack of knowledge is really displayed when she and her family go to Chinatowon and she sees the Chinese men in traditional garb- she wonders if that's the way she is, which just shows that she isn't used to seeing or having to deal with traditional Chinese customs. It's good though, that although she's uncomforable and unfamiliar with her ancestory, she would still rather be herself than somebody else of another, more solid race (Japanese) when her fiancee suggests it.
I also commented on the fact that there seemed to be a difference in the way that each girl was discriminated against. I think you are right about why, one having a better understanding of her culture than the other. Maybe the difference of discrimination was just the way in which the girls reacted towards its. I think that having a better understanding of ones own culture would make it easier for the to defend it and not take to heart other peoples ignorance.
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