Have you ever noticed the natural way of assimilation accomplished by immigrants? It is common knowledge that immigrants tend to assimilate naturally to American culture rather than forcing themselves to become an American. When immigrants from a culture come to America, they don’t tell themselves to act like an American. Instead, they naturally adapt to their new environment and begin eating American food, playing American sports, listening to American music, so on and so forth. Rodriguez’s claim of culture is fluid is true because as immigrants shed off the old and acquire the new, they gain skills for working positively and efficiently.
Rodriguez’s claim is true because even though the immigrants who are coming to the US might be too uneducated and poor to successfully integrate into society, their actions tend to be the actions presented by Americans on a daily basis. In other words, immigrants are an essential component of American identity and tradition. One piece of evidence of support is “In another 40 years, we will be prepared to say to the Vietnamese immigrant that he, with his breakfast tray, with his intuition for travel, with his memory of tragedy, with his recognition of peerless freedoms, he fulfills the meaning of America” (pg. 88). To clarify, this quote means that America is the land of freedom which makes it an essential component to be able to be your own culture. This quote is important because it proves that America is the land of freedom and therefore, they should have freedom of culture. All in all, settlers are a fundamental segment of American personality and custom.
Rodriguez’s claim is true because the fact that the United States is the idea of a land of opportunity where one could change their circumstances, immigrants tend to naturally migrate with their children to provide them a better quality of life and a future with success. Since they have a different cultural background, they have a native language, and it is known as mother tongue, which is a language that a person has been exposed to from birth. One piece of evidence of support is “But to me, my mother’s English is perfectly clear, perfectly natural. It’s my mother tongue. Her language, as I hear it, is vivid, direct, full of observation and imagery. That was the language that helped shape the way I saw things, expressed things, made sense of the world” (pg. 13). To clarify, this quote means that even though her mother doesn’t speak fluent English, she could still understand her and that will never change her cultural background. This quote is important because it shows that they are still following their native culture and just because the mother doesn’t speak fluent Enlgish, that won’t change who she is. All in all, the fact that immigrants have different cultural backgrounds won’t change the idea of culture is fluid.
A common argument against this position is assimilation doesn’t happen naturally however, when you look at the evidence it becomes clear that Rodriguez’s claim is true because immigrants provide to America in a million unique manners, from developing the food on our tables to making the innovations we utilize each day. They commit far fewer crimes than native-born citizens. One piece of evidence of support is “I never spoke the language of the old women visiting my mother in winters so cold they could freeze the tongue whole. Indian women, forgive me. I grew up distant and always afraid” (pg. 19). To clarify, this quote means that the Indian boy doesn’t feel welcomed as a result of his lack of ability to communicate in the important language. This quote is important because it proves that immigrants should be excused and not punished for not communicating with the dominant language as they weren’t given the same opportunities as native-born citizens. All in all, Americans have consistently been a heterogeneous population - racially, religiously.
In conclusion, Rodriguez’s case of culture is fluid is true because of the fact that as migrants shed off the old and obtain the new, they gain abilities for working optimistically and productively. Regardless of where you originate from, if you work hard, you can be successful.
