One passage that stood out to me in the chapter 5 reading was a short paragraph written by Marcus Eli Ravage, a Romanian immigrant. The passage, found on page 102, reads:
"The alien who comes here from Europe is not the raw material that Americans suppose him to be. He is not a blank sheet to be written on as you see fit. He he has not sprung out of nowhere. Quite the contrary. He brings with him a deep-rooted tradition, a system of culture and tastes and habits-a point of view which is as ancient as his national experience and which has been engendered in him by his race and his environment. And it is this thing- this entire Old world soul of his- that comes into conflict with America as soon as he has landed."
What I found so interesting about this passage is that it directly addresses one of the 'myths' that we learned about in class, the melting pot myth. This is the notion that once an immigrant settles in America that they become 'American' and all their history and culture fades. As Ravage points out, the individual does not lose their culture, but in fact brings it with them. This transition would be difficult on the immigrants and I am sure would cause some inner struggle to adjust to their new life in America. Thankfully the individuals held tight to their roots and made America what it is today, and gave us a diverse selection of cuisine!
I find the melting pot myth to be interesting. Whoever thought about it had a vision for what would happen when people from all over the world migrated to the same place, it makes me think about what would have happened if the myth became a reality.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It's a myth that we here about even today when it comes to immigration. But it's safe to say that immigrants do keep their own cultures and sometimes even mix it with the American culture.
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