We have seen racism in the books we’ve been reading this
semester. A lot. It particularly struck me as we read “Negocios”, an account of
a Mexican man’s struggles in America. He just wants honest work so he can
support himself and his family. Sound familiar? Since I lead student discussion
for Baldwin’s “Previous Condition”, it was particularly easy to see the
parallels.
Peter, the main character in “Previous Condition” was a struggling
actor already in America. He didn’t have to worry about being deported or
anything, just such petty things as being thrown out of his apartment for
simply being black. He also dealt with people thinking he had naturally violent
tendencies, people using racist slurs to describe him, and people being scared
of him, again for no reason other than his ethnicity.
On the other hand, Ramon in “Negocios” had to deal with very
different, but very real problems as well. He had to worry about being caught
by Immigration Authorities, since he wasn’t in America legally for a good part
of the story. He had to work extremely long hours to make ends meet, and even
then there wasn’t much excess. Also, while he didn’t worry about being kicked
out of his temporary residences because of his ethnicity, there were problems
that definitely only applied to someone in his situation. Namely, being duped
out of $800 by people saying they would find him a wife, who actually just
conned him and gave him nothing but false hope.
It’s very interesting (and humbling) to see the various struggles that come
with being in various ethnic groups that are discriminated against in various
ways. I’ve just presented the most obvious examples. I’m sure there are plenty
more you all can find. J
I really enjoyed these portrayals that we have seen both in "Previous Condition" and in "Drown." I have often found that it is rare to see very realistic depictions of the struggles of people and their battles with oppression in fiction and so I found these stories to be quite refreshing. I feel that when readers are met with these illustrations of people's struggles with racism, oppression, discrimination, etc, it is very thought provoking, especially since most of the readers have never dealt with anything like this.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there are similarities between the two stories, such as having a protagonist that's a different race, I would say there's an important difference in that Peter isn't really struggling the way Ramon is. He turns down well-paying acting jobs because they conflict with his ethics, after all, and has a wealthy sponsor. Ramon really is struggling to make end meet and send money to his family. "Previous Condition" presents race as a central struggle. "Negocios" presents race as a facet of the struggle.
ReplyDeleteAspects of his story are likely common to those of Mexican immigrants, but we should be clear that Ramon is coming to the US from the Dominican Republic, and this means that his experience is different in some particular ways from someone coming from Mexico. He arrives by plane, for example (and thus has to save more money in order to make the trip in the first place); he does have a work visa, but that expires at a certain point, so he needs to establish himself and get legal status, and this makes marrying a naturalized citizen appealing (although I don't see that factor influencing him much in Nilda's case). He does get help from Cuban immigrants in Miami, and his best friend in NY is Puerto Rican--there's a general portrayal of immigrant communities helping each other out. And Diaz elsewhere implies a lot about the role of the US military and foreign policy in creating the conditions that have made so many young men in the DR want to come to the US--his references to the US invasion in 1965, after the US-supported dictator Batista was ousted. There's a cyclical logic to the wave of immigration from the DR, as it's presented here--the US plays a decisive role in creating the conditions that make these people choose such a hard life in the United States over the profound lack of opportunity in Santo Domingo.
ReplyDeleteI found both stories to be very enlightening as well. As the offspring of two immigrant parents, I've been exposed to a number of the challenges people along those lines typically face (not directly, but vicariously). Reading stories like Negocios brought these same struggles to life in narrative form, making them easier to both visualize and interpret. Just as Joaquin said, such accurate portrayals are rare in modern literature, but I too found Diaz's story, in particular, to be quite refreshing.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to figure out which character, Peter or Ramon, that I have more sympathy for... Peter doesn't give us as many reasons to dislike him, he isn't conducting affairs or abandoning families, as far as we know, but the more I think about it, I might have more respect for Ramon. I'm not diminishing Peter's struggle, because Baldwin makes it clear that Peter feels trapped by expectations, and as you point out, he declines a high-paying role just because he doesn't want to play a stereotype -- and I don't disagree with his decision in theory, and yet, I still feel like Ramon deserves a tip of the hat, because he worked so hard for many years, just to get by, and he did whatever he had to do, and if he had been offered a high-paying job, he would have taken it, regardless of whether it was a stereotypical job/role. It's complicated, because for Peter, it's not all about the money. But nonetheless, I'm less inclined to be sympathetic about his complaints.
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