Gary Soto and Cathy Song, the authors of Black Hair and Lost Sister, along with so many other ethnic backgrounds in the United States have had to come to terms with their culture. Living in America, it’s hard to think outside the box because of stereotypes and pre-dispositions. In order to find you’re self and come to terms with who you are as a person apposed to what the rest of the world may view you as, you have to approach the stereotypes head on and grow from them.
Both of the speakers in Black Hair and Lost Sister has had to recognize the short comings of their culture to be accepted and grow in the American Culture. Gary Soto was born in a third-generation Mexican American family in Fresno, California (Criticism 368). He was first inspired by Robert Creeley’s anthology The New American Poetry and began to attend workshops with poet Philip Levine, who mostly wrote about urban living (Criticism 368). Even as a young boy Mr. Soto has recognized two totally different cultures in his life. Most of Mr.
Soto’s poetry documents his life growing up as a Chicano in California. In most of his poetry he emphasizes on the typical Mexican American life- such as the “frustration over discrimination and limited opportunities and the appreciation of Hispanic culture (Criticism 368). ” In Black Hair, the young narrator talks about his childhood or immediate life. The speaker is infatuated with baseball and idolizes Hector Moreno, a fellow Mexican American who broke barriers when he became a professional baseball player; becoming the symbol of hope and new opportunities for his fellow Mexican Americans.
I came here because I was a Mexican, a stick of brown light in love with those who could do it (Legacies 148). ” This excerpt tells us that he didn’t only come to the game because he loves baseball, but that a Mexican was playing, and that he was supporting a fellow Mexican’s success. In the late 1970’s around the time Mr. Soto was a teenager, Mexicans along with other ethnic nationalities were on the brink of being widely accepted, not because of their culture, but on the different talents and achievements that they brought to the United States.
This is clearly shown in the next excerpt, “When Hector lined balls into deep center, in my mind I rounded the bases with him, my face flared, my hair lifting beautifully, because we were coming home to the arms of brown people (Legacies 148). ” Cathy Song was born in Honolulu Hawaii, her father was a Korean American and her mother was a Chinese American (Criticism 330). While in high school, Mrs. Song became interested in writing and was supported by poet John Unterecker. Song’s work usually was centered on family; “The moral ties that bond children to women and parents, their communities, to tradition, and to the land (Criticism 330).
As a girl Song was bombarded with different ethnic nationalities. Growing up in Hawaii, although not a main home for Caucasians, it was for other foreign settlers. In Lost Sister, the speaker talks about China, and how the Chinese lived their lives. “In China, even the peasants named their daughters Jade the stone that in the far fields could moisten the dry season;” the speaker also talks about how the landscape looks and how the people were separated by class (Legacies 162).
After the speaker explains the landscape, and how China preferred women with small feet, the speaker tells us of a sister. Not a real sister, like blood related, but of a fellow Chinamen. The speaker tells us that the sister immigrated to America where she accepted as a woman, with equal rights to men. Also how the sister begins to loose her identity or culture to adapt to the American culture, “You find you need China; your one fragile identification, a jade link handcuffed to your wrist (Legacies 164).
In the end the speaker explains to us that you need your culture, that it is who you are, whether you like or not, as a person. In order to find you’re self and come to terms with who you are as a person apposed to what the rest of the world may view you as, you have to approach the stereotypes head on and grow from them. That doesn’t mean to rein act the stereotypes, but identify and notice what they are and try to become more positive and steer away from them.
In this day in age, most people aren’t concerned with your nationality or background, but more with who you are as a person. Always remember that one can ruin it for the whole. If you find yourself acting, or becoming a stereotype, stop, and think to yourself “Is this the way I want to be viewed, not only for me, but for my whole culture. ” When you prove to yourself that your are more than a stereotype, statistic, a dub, recount or revision, you will find the you can achieve more than what was predetermined at birth.
