Native Speaker the Evil Called Assimilation Assimilation Essay

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Native Speaker

THE EVIL CALLED ASSIMILATION

Assimilation has been one of the most burning questions of debate in the U.S. since immigrants became a dominant part of American population. The question that arose was: to assimilate or not to assimilate? Most immigrants especially the second generation immigrants were given lessons in the evils of assimilation and they were asked to stamp their individuality on American social fabric by staying true to their roots. Chines, Italian, Indians and almost every minority learned that assimilation was somehow akin to being a traitor. If they assimilated, it would mean loss of their own culture, heritage and identity and this would lead to loss of an entire ethnic group. Eric Liu however feels differently. Being a second generation Chinese immigrant, he felt that assimilation was considered evil simply because it was considered synonymous with white power. Those who tried to assimilate were considered poor soul who wanted to be white, they wanted to behave like whites, and they wanted to become a part of the white power.

THESIS

Liu feels that assimilation wouldn't be such a curse if we separate it from "being white." America is such a huge conglomerate of so many identities that it is no longer white and assimilation doesn't mean one is trying to be white, it only means one is trying to be an America and America is no longer white.

ESSAY

What it means to be an immigrant who has assimilated well? This is a question worth digging into because the answer might reveal a lot more than what we expect. We often connect assimilation with someone forgetting their roots and acting like whites. But deep down, assimilation has little to do with being white, and a lot to do with being an American.

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And America is not white alone. The American way of life is not white way of life; it is hugely influenced by variety of cultures, values and beliefs. Eric Liu has become an America but not necessarily a white. We in the U.S. need to understand that being an America is no longer synonymous with being white. "In every assimilation, there is a mutiny against history -- but there is also a destiny, which is to redefine history. What it means to be American -- in spirit, in blood -- is something far more borrowed and commingled than anything previous generations ever knew. Alongside the pain of migration, then, and the possibility, there is this truth: America is white no longer, and it will never be white again."

The Hispanic population alone is so dominant that Spanish has become the second most spoken language in the U.S. right after English. Who is to say that with such dominant Spanish population, American society has not been affected by Spanish culture or values? Thus we could just as easily say that someone who has chosen to assimilate has chosen to become more Spanish. The choices we make after coming to the U.S. are our own. After getting higher education, some people might not want to stay close to his or her illiterate relatives but is that assimilation? What if the person feels more connected with more educated people than with his less educated relatives? The same is happening with Liu. "Here are some of the ways you could….....

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"Native Speaker The Evil Called Assimilation Assimilation" (2012, March 12) Retrieved May 20, 2025, from
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"Native Speaker The Evil Called Assimilation Assimilation", 12 March 2012, Accessed.20 May. 2025,
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