- Apr 2024
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La canadiensa, my father said asifannou • h,nc1ngerWedup toher work table. •moveAre you goingtointroduce me? the Canadian th .h eraptstaskedc eerfully. I could see that she knew exactly how to w k c. . ormy rather'sattempted charm intoanimmediate testofhis recall d. anresponse.She raised her hand at me almost imperceptibly when I dstarteto an-swer for him.Whois he? she asked.Inthe long moment beforemyfather responded, theword stuckinmythroat.Myimpatience to answer something so obviouswasmore about me thanabout my father's confusion. He hadsomuchto come back from, rehabbing in English.Myson, he said finally.That was going to be my guess, said the Canadian therapist.Sheplaced an unplugged telephone on the table. Here, she said, pointingat the phone. Can you show me how to dial for help?La canadiensa, my father said, pointing her to me. My son,hesaid, pointing to her, joking and smiling, trying to hide that he didn'tknow what to do with the strange object in front of him.
This passage expresses how assimilation in the U.S. is often associated with the acquisition of the English language; the father who is most comfortable and natively speaks Spanish is expected to recover from a stroke in English. The son (who is seemingly fluent in English) waited anxiously while his non-fluent father struggled to utter the words "my son", creating excitement and pride for the father of his recovery especially in the English language, given that English is considered the dominant and mainstream language in the U.S., explaining why it is associated with assimilation.
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Assimilation can be understood as the process of crossing boundaries for a person/group from the minority to the mainstream, often associated with immigrant groups in the U.S., simultaneously reflecting power dynamics and inequalities between various minority groups and the majority (Ramírez 2021, 1).
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isther,like mine,ispragmatic, with little patiencefordreami. .ng.f11Sfather,like mme, had comeupfrom Mexico, the poorest of thepoorJ•ustasmany Mexican fathers had come before them. Andhe'reWasmyfathernow:still not dreaming, but sleeping deeply in thefluores-cent dullness of a county rehab center, recoveringfromastroke,andme,out ofwork,taskedbymymother to look after him.Wehadbeenalternating overnights at therehabcenter, my motherandI,sleeping inmyfather's room and then switching off afterthemorningmeal. Thisvigilancewascompletely unnecessary, Ithought,butmymother had a fear that the nurse wouldbeEnglish-only.They'retrainedforthis, I told herinSpanish, embarrassedbyourconstantpresence,but near the end of the firstfew weekswithhim,I witnessed his alarm when a nurse awakened himinthemiddleofthe nightformedications and a blood withdrawal. Hisdisorienta-tionwas sostrong that it could onlyhavetranslated intopain.Hestruggled torise from the bed,asifhe sensed thathewasbeingkeptin theroomagainst his will, and the English-speaking nursehadnowordscocaJmhim. Tranquilo, cranquilo, I keptsaying to him,butmy voice wasnothinghe recognized. Heseizedagainst both ofusfora good long while before the nurse tapped the call buttonandsomeone came in to assist,drawing the curtain around thebed, andleaving me to listen to him whimper quietly back intosleep.
This passage reflects assimilation as I've defined it as it describes the work that Latinx people, particularly Mexican men do, to be accepted by the mainstream, as the sentence "just as many Mexican fathers had come before them" reflects a pattern of Mexican men (and Latinx immigrants in general) accepting the work they are given, unallowed to dream to cross the boundaries and fit in (Muñoz 2022, 124). The emphasis that even during the stroke, the father was "still not dreaming", reflects that even when ill there is an inability to dream, immigrants are expected to provide expendable bodies for labor, reflecting inequalities between immigrants/minorities and those in the mainstream–who can dream (Muñoz 2022, 124). The fear the mother has of the nurses knowing only English reflects my definition of assimilation with how English is considered the unofficial dominant language, which demonstrates the power dynamics between the majority and minority groups; to assimilate, immigrants are expected to know the dominant language, English, and can be at a disadvantage if they do not know it. This language barrier from the power dynamic of assimilation is exemplified in that no English words calmed the father when he was uncooperative, and he could barely understand his son's words.
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It'strue, my father said,thathe came to the Valley only becauseochershad talked about it.Ifenoughpeople had said go to Texas in-stead, hewould've gone.Orifenough people had reported that goodchingscould happen in Los Angeles, he would've gone. As long aswordcame back. As long as word reached him. It was his bad luckchat he had neverknown anyone who could have toldhim aboutDenveror Chicago.OrNew York City. NewYork City, he marveled.Imagfnate...He said the word with a mixofbitterness and regret that made mesnapcoattention, prepared to see him edge into agitation.Tranquilo-1hadthe word on the tipofmy tongue, but he softened his voice whenhesaid, Look at your mother.I thought she had entered the room, but he was beginning a newstory.Look at yourdawith eleven kids to feedand not enough workinTexas. Work chat other people were too proud to do, eveniftheirkids were hungry.But when you came here, you didn't have mouths to feed, I toldhim.He had his mother in Mexico and plentyofcousins, he told me,young ones who couldn't do for themselves
What this passage says about assimilation is that to assimilate, immigrants move to the areas they are first told of through word of mouth, given limited resources and options as a result of their lower position in the power dynamic of minority and mainstream–in the father's case, he could've gone outside the valley, emphasizing and repeating his regret of not having heard of New York City. The father's pained, regretful, and nearly angry expression "imagínate" (imagine) shows with assimilation, immigrants are expected to accept the work they get and sacrifice dreaming/their dreams because it is how they may be accepted by the mainstream (Muñoz 2022, 127). The sacrifices of assimilation are also expressed in the father's storytelling of even before having kids, he was expected to support his family in Mexico that needed assistance, knowing that his only option was to work wherever he could find it in the U.S.
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Thattime, I said.Whenyouhadpapersandeverything.Yeah,myfather said. Papers don't mean anything.Didthey listen to you when you told them you had papers?Onchetelevision, a suitcase fullofmoney was clicked open andcwodetectives glared at themanwho had been holding it.Dad,you did tell them, right?Helaughed. Youthinkanybodyever believed me? Youthinkpeoplebelieve you just becauseyousay something? Youthinkallyouhaveto doissay you have papers? Here, my father said, thrust-inghishands out asifin offering. Here, my papers
This passage reflects how assimilation is not limited to naturalization or formal citizenship, as when the father had documentation, he would still get deported. The father's humorous note–to the ridiculousness of his circumstances–that being willing to tell or directly hand immigration enforcement his documents would be pointless since immigration enforcement wouldn't believe him, exemplifies that having citizenship does not mean one is considered fully assimilated. The father's story, although reflecting on it lightheartedly, shows when immigration enforcement ignored his documentation, he was not considered as part of the mainstream, presumably reinforcing power dynamics such as racial ideas of who belongs and is a "true" American citizen.
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