Out of Class Essay #2: History and Poetry

The Losing Voices in California

            There are a lot people who migrate to California every day from all over the world. All immigrants believe that California is a wonderful state; it has beautiful beaches, fascinating landscapes, and great career opportunities. But immigrants forget about the obstacles that they have to face once they move in. Immigrants experience many struggles because of their poor English skills, and some lose their voices and California dream. Native Americans have also lost their voices in California since they have been forced to move off their own land. For them, the California dream is different compared to the immigrants; all they want is to live their own lifestyle and pass on their culture. Many people have been tortured and smothered while trying to achieve dreams that they have in this land. In “Indian Cartography” by Deborah Miranda and “Yuba City School” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, both poems have shown that by taking away the voices of the protagonists, life in California is suffocating and unwelcoming to immigrants and Native Americans, depriving them of their California dreams.

At the end of the 15^th century, the naïve Native Americans helped the Europeans explored the treasure land: California. For most Native Americans, their land meant everything. They used everything from nature in their daily life, and their dream was contained in the relationship between humanity and nature. Unfortunately, Europeans betrayed them by taking control of California and forcing them to move out of their homeland, and for the Native Americans, taking away their land meant taking away their voice.  In “Indian Cartography,” the father mentioned, “the government paid those Indians to move away, he says; I don’t know where they went.” The Native Americans tried to fight the Europeans to get their land back, but the Europeans had strong weapons. So many Native Americans died during the war, that they had no choice but to leave their homeland behind in order to survive. Native Americans lost their voices since the Europeans are had the power to control their land. The father in “Indian Cartography” had a harsh childhood from watching his homeland being taking away, and by observing the missing lands on the map, he knows that he has lost everything; his people, home, culture, and that there is no way he can get his voice back ever again. Same thing happened for Neeraj and his mom, both of them have also lost their voices in this dreamland.

In “Yuba City School,” the young boy Neeraj and his mom moved to California for a better life, but things did not go as well as they expected. Neeraj feels insecure while he is at his American school, and “All week the teacher has made him sit in the last row, next to the fat boy who drools and mumbles, picks at the spotted milk-blue skin of his face, but knows to pinch, sudden-sharp. When she is not looking.” Neeraj has no choice but to sit in the last row in his class. He is also scared of the American kids, since he cannot speak English, making it really hard for him to make friends. American kids have also bullied Neeraj, and when he is at the playground “invisible hands snatch at his uncut hair, unseen feet trip from behind, and when he turns, ghost laughter all around his bleeding knees.” Neeraj’s mom wants to talk to the teacher but she cannot stand up for her son because she does not speak English either. “She will pluck them from me, nail shut my lips. My son will keep sitting in last row among the red words that drink his voice.” There is nothing Neeraj’s mother can do since her voice has already been taken away, and for her and Neeraj, having their own voice is equivalent to being treated the same as the other Californians.

For the Native Americans, their California dream is to reunite their lost tribal lands and people. Compared to immigrants, their California dream is to find good opportunities, have a better future, and have their voices treated the same as Californians. Both of their California dreams are difficult to accomplish, and the people that want it really have to work hard to get their own voices back. The immigrants and Native Americans are really having a difficult time living in California, and it is also depressing that a lot of Californians are treating the immigrants and the Native Americans unfriendly. Some Californians feel that it is unfair that Native Americans get more benefits in education, but, even though they have more educational benefits, they can never get their voices back because they cannot get their land back. Some Californians also dislike immigrants because they are taking more job opportunities away, but all immigrants just want is to be treated as equally as everyone else.

Immigrants can feel the pain of the protagonists in both of the poems because almost everyone loses their voices when they first move to California. I understand the hardships that the protagonists have gone through. The father in “Indian Cartography” suffered to leave his homeland. Same thing happened to me when I first move to California, I missed my homeland China so much because I grew up in that country, and it is bound so deep in my blood that I will never forget all the memories that I have about it. It is even harder for the father because he was been forced to move out off his own home. For Neeraj and his mom, both of them feel unpleasant living in California since they could not speak English. Neeraj has to sit in the last row in his class, is bullied by his classmates, and his mom cannot help him out because she does not know how to talk to the teacher. I totally understand their situation because it took my parents about three and four years to learn English, and for me, I also had a hard time in my English class because I was afraid that my classmates would laugh at my “Chinglish.” But luckily, I got back my own voices because I stood up for myself, and even though people laughed at my accent, but I never gave up and kept asking more questions.

Many people lose their voices when they first move to California. In order to get their voices back, people have to stand up for themselves and push themselves harder to get out of their comfort zone. I used to think that American teenagers were arrogant and unfriendly, but time after time, things turned out differently than I thought. After about six months, I began to understand more English and I found out that American teenagers were very nice and that they are welling to help me out with my English. People feel insecure when they are move to a new place, and are scared of their new environment and the new people that they have to deal with. It is difficult for people to live in a place where they do not speak the native language, but the only way that people can get their voice back is to learn and study. People have to know that the reality is always unpleasant, and when people are stuck in a bad situation, they have to know that the only person that can help them out is themselves. In Neeraj’s case, he has lost his voice because he cannot speak English and has been teased by his classmates. No one can help him out, not even his mom, only himself.

            Sometimes, people have to push their own limits, and instead of losing their voices, they have to stand up and protect themselves with their own voices. “Indian Cartography” has shown that for Native Americans, taking away their land is the same thing as taking away their voices. The only way that they can get their voice back is to live a better life in their own land: California. They should remember the past but also move on to the future. In “Yuba City School”, Neeraj and his mom have lost their voices because they were been treated unequally comparing to the others. The only way that Neeraj can get his voice back is to get himself out off his own comfort zone, learn how to speak English, and to talk to his classmates, so that he can protect himself; he should also teach his mom more English. People need to be fearless to face their struggles, find their own voices, and know what it means to them.