Unit 12 MIGRANT STRUGGLE The Bounty of the Land in Twentieth-Century American Literature, 1929–1995 Authors and Works an American? What other factors should one con- sider? Featured in the Video: I How do these works “give voice” to those who John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (novel) do not usually have a voice in our society? Carlos Bulosan, America Is in the Heart (autobiogra- I What are the distinguishing characteristics of phy or creative nonfiction), “Be American” (short the many works depicting the migrant story? What story) cultural values are reflected and promoted in them? Helena Maria Viramontes, Under the Feet of Jesus I What historical events and cultural anxieties in (novel) the United States helped to inspire these works? How have economic booms and busts affected the Discussed in This Unit: literature about the American landscape and its Henry David Thoreau, Walden (nonfiction), “Walk- farmlands? ing,” “Resistance to Civil Government,” “Life I What role do politics and environmental condi- Without Principle” (essays) tions play in these works? Upton Sinclair, The Jungle (novel) I In what ways can the stories of migrants and Robinson Jeffers, “Birds and Fishes,” “Hurt working people represent the stereotypical “Amer- Hawks,” “November Surf” (poems) ican” experience? In what ways are these stories Muriel Rukeyser, “Alloy,” “The Conjugation of the similar to and different from the stories of earlier Paramecium” (poems) settlers of the United States, such as the Puritans or Tomas Rivera, . y no se lo tragó la tierra/. And those who settled at Jamestown? the Earth Did Not Devour Him (novel) I What negative effects of technology and indus- Rudolfo Anaya, “The Christmas Play” (short story) trialization are portrayed in these works? What pos- Albertos Ríos, “Advice to a First Cousin,” “Refugio’s itive effects? Hair,” “Day of the Refugios” (poems) I How have the plots of these literary works helped to preserve and comment on important moments in U.S. history? I Is the theme of “social justice” present in every Overview Questions work? What distinguishes its various treatments? I How is the land or the environment used as a I How do the writers in this unit reflect the dis- repeated symbol in these works? tinct cultures and experiences of different ethnic I Though most of the characters depicted in and socio-economic groups, including Sinclair’s these works are considered outsiders or are margin- portrayal of European immigrants, Bulosan’s depic- alized by society, how can they also be considered tions of Asian immigrants, and the Latino/a repre- universal? How do their struggles and dreams relate sentations in the works of Viramontes, Rivera, and to all of us? Ríos? I How do these works participate in or challenge I How do these works represent gender? racial stereotypes, especially concerning Filipinos I How do we have to expand our definitions of and Latinos/as? what is considered American after we read these I How is class-consciousness present in migrant works? Is citizenship the only thing that makes one representations of American life? What classes of 2 UNIT 12, MIGRANT STRUGGLE people are depicted in these texts? How do the dif- of America informs many of these works. Much of ferent classes treat each other? the literature of the migrant struggle explores hu- I Do these works demonstrate that everyone can man relationships with the environment and the achieve the American Dream? land, especially in the West. Though modern eco- nomic systems tend to look at nature only as a com- modity, writers from Thoreau to Viramontes resist or reject that view. Indeed, they are part of a tradi- Learning Objectives tion of writers and thinkers who, since the earliest days of the United States, have emphasized a strong After students have viewed the video, read the head- bond between people and the land. In the later nine- notes and literary selections in The Norton Anthol- teenth and twentieth centuries, however, this bond ogy of American Literature, and explored related gradually loosened, as technology and inexpensive archival materials on the American Passages Web labor allowed those who owned or controlled the site, they should be able to land to work it less themselves and turn their en- ergies toward increasing its productivity. Unfor- 1. understand the various expressions of migrant tunately, these changes had negative consequences. workers and the conditions they lived in and Poor land conservation practices and a long and labored under; severe drought eventually led to the environmental 2. discuss the impact on American literature and disaster known as the Dust Bowl during the 1930s. culture of these writers’ emphasis on natural geo- The writers in this unit share an interest in the graphical settings and distinctive regional and effects of economic and political systems on work- ethnic customs; ers, writers, and activists. In their works, the losers 3. discuss the importance of race, class, gender, cul- tend to be ethnic immigrants and unskilled workers, ture, and socio-economic position in migrant those at the bottom of the hierarchy of business, workers’ stories; industry, and American society itself. Many of these 4. discuss the cultural values and assumptions that workers have been, and remain today, lower-class inform the differing migrant struggles examined laborers of color; some are not U.S. citizens. Mi- in this unit; grant workers labor at back-breaking picking and 5. understand the basic economic and environmen- planting jobs few white middle-class Americans tal causes that led to a rise in the number of would want, and even today they are often denied migrant and displaced workers in twentieth- basic employment benefits and rights. century America; In many ways, the cultural and literary contribu- 6. understand eco-literature and the influence of the tions of those labeled “migrants” are just now environment and the land on writers, literature, becoming more broadly recognized. Though Carlos and society in relation to the rise of industrializa- Bulosan gained national popularity during the 1940s tion and technology. as a spokesperson for Filipinos and other immi- grants, the House Un-American Activities Committee blacklisted him in the 1950s for his socialist activi- ties, and he died in relative obscurity. Other writers Instructor Overview in this unit enjoyed more lasting acclaim. John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath, for example, The writers and works in Unit 12 explore the unful- still resonates in the American consciousness with filled promises of the American Dream for segments its story of a family of “Okies” looking for a better life of the population of the United States, especially on the West Coast. Steinbeck’s reshaping of the immigrants and impoverished, dislocated workers. American epic around the family and the worker, These “migrants” have the greatest confidence in the instead of around the solitary male hero, marked an promises the United States has to offer; yet, ironi- important turning point in American literature. cally, these are the very people often denied access As the writers in this unit show, the stories of to its bounty. The coexistence of the migrants’ disil- the migrant struggle in American literature and lusionment and their continued faith in the promise American culture are as diverse as the people who UNIT 11, INSTRUCTORMODERNIST PORTRAITSOVERVIEW 3 live such struggles every day. Helena Maria Vira- Student Overview montes graphically reworks Steinbeck’s story of migrant workers in Under the Feet of Jesus, this time The writers and works in Unit 12 explore the unful- through the eyes of a young Latina woman. Vira- filled promises of the American Dream for segments montes offers a totally different cultural perspective, of the population of the United States, especially but she also demonstrates that conditions have only immigrants and impoverished, dislocated workers. slightly improved for migrants in the fifty years These “migrants” have the greatest confidence in since Steinbeck’s novel first appeared. Henry David the promises the United States has to offer; yet, Thoreau’s ecological writing celebrates America, ironically, these are the very people often denied while his call for civil disobedience criticizes its access to its bounty. The coexistence of the faults. Robinson Jeffers’s works convey both his love migrants’ disillusionment and their continued faith of the American landscape and his concern about in the promise of America informs many of these the encroachment of civilization upon this land- works. Much of the literature of the migrant strug- scape. This unit also explores works by leftist poet gle explores human relationships with the environ- Muriel Rukeyser as well as those by Rudolfo Anaya, ment and the land, especially in the West. Though Tomas Rivera, and Alberto Ríos, who portray the modern economic systems tend to look at nature lives of Latinos in the United States. only as a commodity, writers from Thoreau to The literature of the migrant struggle often Viramontes resist or reject that view. Indeed, they depicts characters with much stronger connections are part of a tradition of writers and thinkers who, to the land than those who own it. From Thoreau to since the earliest days of the United States, have Steinbeck to Viramontes, these writers provide keen emphasized a strong bond between people and the observations of the cultural changes occurring in land. But in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the United States, with the rise of complex social this bond gradually loosened, as technological and structures made more and more possible by emerg- labor changes allowed those who owned or con- ing technologies such as railroads, factories, and trolled the land to work it less themselves and turn large corporate farms. These writers ask what is lost their energies toward increasing its productivity.