Effect of Relocation on Second-Generation Immigrants
When a family relocates to the United States of America, their hope is to live a happier life and more potential. However, one factor that is often ignored is the effect of their relocation on second-generation immigrants. They also encounter both foreign and traditional cultures at the same time. This distinguishes them from the first generation, who encountered the two cultures separately. In this article, I would use the book Unaccustomed Earth to demonstrate how future generations will establish deep roots in a foreign community and become assimilated into the American way of life. At the same time, I will illustrate how the characters born to Indian parents living in the United States encounter difficulties reconciling elements from both cultures.
The Struggle to Maintain Cultural Heritage
For the second-generation immigrants, there is always the struggle to maintain the cultural heritage that their parents were born into, which is their traditional way of life. They are more likely to become influenced by the American culture. This is because they are surrounded by Americans, which exposes them to their foreign mannerisms. Unlike their parents who are already grounded in their traditional culture, the second generation finds that they are simultaneously exposed to the American and Indian cultures. The only way that the 2nd generation can become exposed to their cultural heritage is in the confines of their homes and communities. In this case, only Indians who practice their traditions can enable them to become fully assimilated into their cultural heritage. In Jhumpa Lahiri’s story, the narrator’s mother is worried that the narrator may meet someone she likes who is American and one thing may lead to another like in Pranab Kaku’s case. “Don’t think you’ll get away with marrying an American, the way Pranab Kaku did,” she would say from time to time. (p. 75). The conflict in the second-generation children increases significantly as they encounter difficulties finding a single identity when they are torn between two different cultures.
Damned if They Do, Damned if They Don't
Accordingly, the second-generation immigrants often face difficulties when they try to become assimilated in either their countries of birth or where their parents were born. When they leave the comfort of their homes, they are expected to act and behave ‘American’ by those around them. At the same time, their parents also expect that they conform to their traditional cultures. In this regard, these children are damned if they do and damned if they do not remain in their cultural cocoons. They grow up in a constant state of conflict because they like aspects of both cultures but integrating both the American culture and their traditional cultures is said to bring shame to their families. “...her straight hair that she let me manipulate into all sorts of silly styles. I longed for her casual appearance; my mother insisted whenever there was a gathering that I wear one of my ankle” (p. 69). The second generation does not have the liberty to choose what they desire. However, they are expected to follow the cultural norms that were put in place long before their parents migrated to the United States. As a result, their birth in America, and their exposure to the American way of life enables them to accept cultural hybridity, which is considered problematic as their parents tend to cling to the traditional way of life.
The Need for Bilingualism
Ultimately, second-generation immigrants are more likely to learn more than one language if they are to become properly assimilated into America. They are required to speak English to communicate with other people, besides their family members. However, they also have to speak their native tongue while they are at home. This means that anyone, including these children’s friends, are considered as enemies of the culture. Usha’s mother did not approve of Pranab’s desire to marry an American girl. According to her, “she was the enemy, he was her prey, and their example was invoked as a warning, and as vindication, those mixed marriages were a doomed enterprise” (p. 75). In this regard, Usha’s mother refuses to forgive Pranab for attempting to abandon his Indian roots.
Navigating Marriage and Cultural Heritage
Members of the first generation had a traditional marriage arranged for them before they moved to the United States. They also insist that their children marry fellow American Indians so that they can safeguard and pass down their ethnic cultural heritages. While most second-generation individuals choose to accept their parent’s choices, they are not guaranteed happy marriages. Contrary to her parents' wishes, Usha immerses herself in the American culture. She also loved to speak English with Deborah as she was forced to speak only Bengali when she was at home. She often thought that “their two identical girls who barely looked Bengali and spoke only English were being raised so differently from me and most of the other children” (p. 75).
Striking a Balance between Assimilation and Cultural Heritage
On a recap, assimilation is tied to immigration, and it includes the process through which new citizens try to integrate themselves into their new society. However, they are also required to carry on their family’s heritage. This encompasses concepts of unity, loyalty, love, and compassion, which are not only shared by blood relatives but also by non-blood relations. This creates a need to strike a balance between assimilation and maintaining familial heritages.
