Asian American Identity Essay -- Culture Race

Silence as Beauty, Silence as Self: The Asian American Identity The label â€Å"American† encompasses many different cultures and races. However, American society is often guilty of assuming there is only one true, certainly white, â€Å"American† face, voice, and behavior. Associate Professor of Sociology, Minako Maykovich, states that â€Å"the criteria for physical characteristics are generally determined by the dominant group in society,† thus â€Å"racial difference is the greatest obstacle to the process of assimilation† (68). In Traise Yamamoto’s nonfiction narrative, â€Å"Different Silences,† and Janice Mirikitani’s poem, â€Å"Breaking Silence,† the authors explore their Asian American identities as defined by American culture. The quest to eliminate stereotypes and expectations through visible behavior coincides with an Asian custom that â€Å"value[s] silence more highly then North Americans† (Donahue 265). Mirikitani’s poem, â€Å"Breaking Silence,† focuses on her mother’s experience testifying to the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Japanese American Civilians in 1981. Yamamoto, who is also a poet, takes a more assertive and personal stance in her autobiographical narrative, â€Å"Different Silences.† These Japanese American authors seek to reclaim their heritage by aggressively confronting their white American audience, while retaining an empowered, wise attitude that uplifts the seemingly invisible and silent Asian American community. Yamamoto’s â€Å"Different Silences† and Mirikitani’s â€Å"Breaking Silence† both recognize how Asian Americans in the past and present have used, or use, silence for protection. As Japanese Americans of the third generation, or Sanseis, Yamamoto and Mirikitani both reflect on their ethnic herita... ...icans; some are shameful silences that need to be â€Å"broken,† as Mirikitani observes, but the healthy silences are inherently part of the Asian American identity. Works Cited Donahue, Ray T. Japanese Culture and Communication: Critical Cultural Analysis. New York: University Press of American, Inc., 1998. Espiritu, Yen Le. Asian American Women and Men: Labor, Laws, and Love. London: Sage Publications, 1997. Leitner-Rudolph, Miryam. Janice Mirikitani and Her Work. Austria: Braumueller, 2001. Maykovich, Minako K. Japanese American Identity Dilemma. Tokyo: Wayside University Press: 1972. Mirikitani, Janice. â€Å"Breaking Silence.† Shedding Silence. Berkeley: Celestial Arts, 1987. 33-36. Yamamoto, Traise. â€Å"Different Silences.† Asian American Literature: A Brief Introduction and Anthology. Ed. Shawn Wong. New York: Harper Collins College Publishers, 1996. 45-50.