2. Group C---jsmith27

In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz, none of the main characters struggle with language or assimilation as they were raised young in the United States. One of the problems in the book stems from how they are sort of disconnected from their heritage as they grew up in American culture. “He was seven then… before Washington Heights was Washington Heights” (Díaz 1). The main character, Oscar, was very young when he was moved to the U.S. and had no trouble assimilating and embraced American culture.

The book The Sun is also a Star by Nicola Yoon is about two teenagers in New York City named Natasha Kingsley and Daniel Bae. Natasha is a practical, science loving girl whose family is being deported back to Jamaica. She doesn’t believe in fate or love–she believes in facts and logic. Natasha is spending her last day in New York trying to find a way to stop her family’s transportation. Daniel is a Korean American boy whose parents immigrated from South Korea. His parents want hom to become a doctor, but Daniel secretly wants to be a poet. Natasha is trying to save her family, Daniel has an important college interview that could decide his future. Natasha and Daniel meet by chance in New York City. Daniel instantly feels a connection and believes it’s fate. Natasha doesn’t believe in love at first sight, but Daniel challenges her to spend the day together to see if he can make her fall in love with him using science. The character Natasha Kingsley knows she is different from the people around her because of the way she thinks about life and love, which is completely different from her peers. While Daniel believes in fate and destiny, Natasha has her roots in science and facts. As the day goes on, Natasha and Daniel spend more time together, visiting different places around the city and having deep conversations about their lives, families, and beliefs. Even though Natasha is determined to stay logical and not get emotionally attached, she slowly begins to feel something for Daniel. Daniel, on the other hand, becomes even more convinced that their meeting is not just a coincidence but something meant to happen. Natasha continues her mission to stop her family's deportation, holding onto the hope that something will change. At the same time, Daniel struggles with the pressure from his parents and begins to question whether he should follow his own dreams instead of the chosen path from his parents. Natasha finally reveals that her family is being deported that night to Daniel, and it creates tension between the two, as Daniel feels hurt that she didn’t tell him sooner, and Natasha is overwhelmed by the reality of her situation. Their time together begins to change both of them. Natasha starts to question whether love and fate could be real, while Daniel begins to confront the pressures his parents have placed on him and what he truly wants for his future. They form a strong, emotional bond. A social contract that is being pushed onto the two main characters, Daniel and Natasha, is the expectations and pressures regarding identity, relationships, and the paths their lives are supposed to take. For Daniel, the pressure comes from his family and cultural background. He’s expected to follow a stable, predictable path in life and attend Yale, maintain a serious relationship, and meet parental expectations. He’s supposed to conform to a model of success that his parents value. For Natasha, because of her family’s sacrifice to give her a better life in America, she feels obligated to protect the family’s well being. This means putting practical survival over personal desire, like dreams or impulsive decisions, which weighs heavily on her choices throughout the story, ‘“We’re put here to evolve and survive. That’s it.” I knew she’d bring science into it. She can’t really believe that. “You don’t believe that,” I say. “You don’t know me well enough to say that,” she says. “Besides, dreaming is a luxury and not everyone has it.”’ (Yoon 194-195). She’s intelligent, ambitious, and curious, but the constant pressure to follow the rules, plan for survival, and avoid risk conflicts with her natural impulses. Meeting Daniel introduces a moment where she feels the pull to explore love and connection even though societal pressures tell her she shouldn't take risks–-especially since the day could disrupt her future. This is harmful because it limits Natasha's freedom and forces her into constant anxiety and suppresses her personal desires for the sake of protecting her family. In the TedTalk “What’s missing from the American immigrant narrative” by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez talks about a similar situation, by how immigrants put survival first before anything else because they aren't as privileged to do so, “In case of an emergency, put your oxygen mask on first before helping those around you. Now I understand that this means different things to different people. But for me, it meant that immigrants couldn’t and would never be able to fit into any one narrative, because most of us are actually just traveling along a spectrum, trying to survive.” (Gutierrez). For Natasha, survival comes first. She prioritizes her own safety before she can think about anything else, like her dreams, desires, or relationships. Her undocumented status means that survival is always her first responsibility, just like how Gutierrez explains in her TedTalk.

Thanks for your response, I found this very interesting as I am reading the same book! What do you think things would look like if Natasha wasn't helping her family?

Thanks for your response! Did Oscar ever feel like he wanted to know more about where he originally came from?

In my book “How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents” By Julia Alvarez, the first section focuses on the girls' adult lives and their return to the Dominican Republic, while the second section looks back to when they were younger and had just moved to New York. The first part showed more of them dealing with struggles at work and in marriage. While the second shows the girls struggling to fit in socially, in this part of the book, they struggle with a lot of bullying. The Garcia girls began to lose their Native language when they moved to the United States, slowly losing who they truly were as they tried to fit in with others around them. Another type of social contract that is expected is for immigrants to provide some sort of work once they get here; these do way more harm than anything. A quote I found in my book is “He, who had paid to straighten their teeth and smooth the accent out of their English in expensive schools.” 

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao focuses on Oscar de Leon, a very nerdy and overweight Dominican boy who struggles to find a girlfriend and loves writing and novels. When he finally falls in love after being alone for so long after he moves to the Dominican Republic. And the boyfriend of the girl that he is in love with “captain” who ends up having Oscar killed in a field because he wouldn't stop seeing her.My character never really struggles with language problems because he grew up in new jersey and the Dominican Republic so none of these places are new to him. “But if I’ve learned anything in my travels it’s that a person can get used to anything.”(Diaz 289)