James Baldwin's Visions of America and Richard Rodriguez's Memory HungerMany immigrant and minority stories focus on the positive side of the American dream. These particular stories chronicle a person's struggle and climb the ranks of America's hierarchy by focusing on the opportunities that seem to abound in this country. While these stories are beautiful and good. they actually seem to be peddling the other side of the coin of this country's attitude toward immigrants and minorities. America is a land of milk, honey and opportunity, but unfortunately, most new officials or reluctant participants in American culture face an American nightmare that leaves its effects on individuals, families and cultures for generations to come. America has its own deeply ingrained prejudices and stereotypes about people outside its wall5 and these prejudices force some immigrants and minorities to either abandon their old cultural ties to assimilate or to strap on the baldric of equality that changes their lives forever. Two authors, in particular, will help explore this idea that an immigrant or minority experiencing the trauma of bigotry must somehow attempt to reconcile their own cultural heritage with the demands of a new society that is opposed to its very cultural difference. James Baldwin and Richard Rodriguez experienced this type of immigrant and minority anxiety regarding their own connections to their cultural and racial origins. Baldwin struggled with the desire to be a writer, not just a black writer, amid the chaos and protests of the 1960s political movement and Richard Rodriguez struggled between the pull of assimilation and the success it achieved. promised and their own feelings of family betrayal... ... middle of paper ......d, as their very words echo their communities' cries for equal and peaceful coexistence. However, as Baldwin and Rodriguez recognize and proclaim, these types of experiences will always be necessary, for it is only through the loss of their cultural identity that they have realized the precious gift it represents. Works Cited Baldwin, James. “No names on the street.” Visions of America. Ed. Wesley Brown and Amy Ling. Persea 116oks: New York, 1993. 284-290. Harris, Trudier. New tests in progress, say it on the mountain. Ed. Trudier Harris. Cambridge UP: New York, 1996. 1-28. Leeming, David. James Baldwin: A Biography. Alfred A. Knopf. New York, 1994. Porter, Horace. Steal the fire. Wesleyan UP: Middletown, 1989. Rodriguez, Richard. Memory Hunger: The Education of Richard Rodriguez: An Autobiographyv. Bantam: New York, 1983.

Essay / James Baldwin's Visions of America and Richard Rodriguez's Memory HungerMany immigrant and minority stories focus on the positive side of the American dream. These particular stories chronicle a person's struggle and climb the ranks of America's hierarchy by focusing on the opportunities that seem to abound in this country. While these stories are beautiful and good. they actually seem to be peddling the other side of the coin of this country's attitude toward immigrants and minorities. America is a land of milk, honey and opportunity, but unfortunately, most new officials or reluctant participants in American culture face an American nightmare that leaves its effects on individuals, families and cultures for generations to come. America has its own deeply ingrained prejudices and stereotypes about people outside its wall5 and these prejudices force some immigrants and minorities to either abandon their old cultural ties to assimilate or to strap on the baldric of equality that changes their lives forever. Two authors, in particular, will help explore this idea that an immigrant or minority experiencing the trauma of bigotry must somehow attempt to reconcile their own cultural heritage with the demands of a new society that is opposed to its very cultural difference. James Baldwin and Richard Rodriguez experienced this type of immigrant and minority anxiety regarding their own connections to their cultural and racial origins. Baldwin struggled with the desire to be a writer, not just a black writer, amid the chaos and protests of the 1960s political movement and Richard Rodriguez struggled between the pull of assimilation and the success it achieved. promised and their own feelings of family betrayal... ... middle of paper ......d, as their very words echo their communities' cries for equal and peaceful coexistence. However, as Baldwin and Rodriguez recognize and proclaim, these types of experiences will always be necessary, for it is only through the loss of their cultural identity that they have realized the precious gift it represents. Works Cited Baldwin, James. “No names on the street.” Visions of America. Ed. Wesley Brown and Amy Ling. Persea 116oks: New York, 1993. 284-290. Harris, Trudier. New tests in progress, say it on the mountain. Ed. Trudier Harris. Cambridge UP: New York, 1996. 1-28. Leeming, David. James Baldwin: A Biography. Alfred A. Knopf. New York, 1994. Porter, Horace. Steal the fire. Wesleyan UP: Middletown, 1989. Rodriguez, Richard. Memory Hunger: The Education of Richard Rodriguez: An Autobiographyv. Bantam: New York, 1983.

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