Views of Sherman Alexie and Bharati Mukherjee on Being American Journal

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American, and what it means to be American. Two of the papers were written by Sherman Alexie. The third paper was written by Bharati Mukherjee, a Calcutta native who immigrated to the U.S. At the age of 21. The story of This is what it means to say Phoenix Arizona became the movie Smoke Signals that was made quite a few years later. The papers are narratives -- Bharati's is autobiographical and Alexie's have some autobiographical elements . The stories ask questions of belonging, in particular to a larger society that is quite different.

The stories are similar in terms of the ways that the different narrators and characters seek to find home. Bharati and her sister Mira are juxtaposed against each other in their quest to define home. They both have lived in the United States for decades, but they have different perspectives on the relationship that they wish to have with the country. Alexie's characters, especially in Indian Education also have trouble defining their relationship with the U.S. As a whole. In Phoenix, the two boys have a brief discussion about the meaning of the Fourth of July, and what relevance it should have for the two of them as natives. The discussion highlights that there are mixed feelings. While these are different than the mixed feelings that the Mukherjee sisters have, they are mixed nonetheless. Victor in Indian Education enjoys success growing up attending a white school, but there is always the underpinning of knowing that he is different, and because of this he will have a different path.

To belong in America is an interesting question, and of course using the two completely different minority narratives shows this. Mukherjee's experiences are trying to fit in to a country, and these are juxtaposed with her sister's experiences as also fitting in on a socio-cultural level (more or less) but not having taken out the paperwork (citizenship) to prove it.

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This is difficult for both of them, and gives both of them pause. Mira wanted to retain her Indian identity, and this ultimately caused her a tremendous amount of grief after the immigration rules were changed.

By contrast, Alexie's characters seem to have America as this cultural thing that swirls around them. His character live in a sort of a bubble on the reservation, and then they have a fairly unique experience anytime they leave the reservation, almost like travelers. They are not particularly interested in adopting an American cultural identity, even in a situation like in Indian Education it means that there is some sacrifice involved in maintaining their self-identity. Mira, arguably, never wanted to lose her self-identity, and in that respect was only an economic migrant to America. While engaged with her work and community, she is different than her sister who had sought to specifically integrate as an American, and was less interested in maintaining any sense of purity about her Indian roots. Indeed, Bharati Mukherjee notes that she has strongly advocated and is proud of….....

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