Americans versus the Spanish Culture - Essay Example

Americans versus the Spanish Culture Pedro Pietri, in his poem “Puerto Rican Obituary,” outlined the hardships and hopelessness of the Spanish community in America in comparison to the Americans. Pietri compared the hopes and dreams of the Spanish people with the achievements of Americans, their employees in America. In his comparison, he showed the cultural differences of the Americans, blacks and the Spanish people by virtue of their wealth and the colour of their skin. He pointed out that most of the humiliating things that the Spanish community went through were a result of the differences in their colour and language. When he brought the issues of resources allocation into the equation, the situation appeared worse. The inequitable distribution of the resources was a result of the cultural arrangements, according to Pietri. To him, Americans culturally were superior to the Spanish in any describable way. On his part, Rodriguez (8) sought to explore the cultural differences of the Spanish community in America by virtue of their colour and their language. In his story, he narrated his life experiences as an American dweller of Spanish origin. His choice of plunging into the experiences of people of different races showed the discrimination that was wide spread. This was an indication that the cultural problem cut across all races and was not directed at the Spanish people alone. Rodriguez, for example, talks of black Americans who expressed their sentiments of dissatisfaction on the issue. He revealed that he had to struggle very hard to learn good English, the American language of identity, despite having known his original language at initial stages of this life (Rodriguez 1-6). Both writers explored the issue of cultural differences between the Spanish community and the Americans, although each one opted for a different method of doing this. Rodriguez, in the narration of his life story, chose to do so in a book while Pietri settled for a poem to air the issues that affected Spanish people. Of particular importance, however, was the fact that the message was conveyed to the intended audience successfully. This paper compares and contrasts the works of the two writers, who vividly discussed the issue of Spanish and American cultures, points at who of the two was the more successful in delivering his message to the readership. Through the works of these two writers, the cultural differences of the Americans and the Spanish people are portrayed. Pietri managed to illustrate the actual state of the cultural rivalry and the differences between the American and the Spanish communities in America (5). The poem clearly showed the differences, mostly due to his decision to use a number of issues such as differences in language, skin colour, and economic differences. Culturally, people of the Spanish community were considered slaves of the Americans and were supposed to work in their fields, industries and homes, ultimately dying with the poverty they came with to the country. The poem explored their deplorable conditions, their lack of ambition and their high level of suffering. Pedro Pietri revealed that hardly could the Spanish escape poverty that ravaged their masses (3). Instead, they died in hope for a better life, like owning some form of property, for example, a piece of land or a house. In their efforts to impress their bosses, they frequently died. He sympathized with them, for he never saw a possible end to the problems in the foreseeable future. The scolding and demeanour of the race is evident, with the writer noting that some workers wished death would befall their supervisors so that they could get a pay rise. He actually sympathized with the troubled race of the Spanish and their hopeless condition (Pietri 1-11). Rodriguez (7) gave his reasons for believing in the existence of cultural differences between the Americans and the Spanish. However, he did not vividly highlight the effects of this difference, just like Pedro Pietri did. His is a story of his life as he struggles to fit into the American community by learning to speak good English. At one time, he felt embarrassed when he un-dressed since the sight of his skin tone made him dislike himself. He envied the American skin tone and resented his own. He compares his case with several other people who disliked their culture, too, due to the American brainwashing, such as Shirley. She had been employed as a waitress in an American hotel but later opted to quit after she realized the open ridicules she used to receive from the Americans. The reason why Rodriguez’s story does not to make an impressing impact on me in comparison to Pietri’s is the fact that he overlooked the effects of the cultural discrimination of Americans on the Spanish and emphasized more the discrimination of the Spanish race. The similarities in the content of the two pieces of literature lie in the authors’ decision to focus on the cultural differences of the Americans and the Spanish people living in America. Both writers succeeded in pointing out the defining characteristics that differentiate both nationalities. The skin colour and language, according to the writers, is the biggest distinguishing feature of the two. The Americans were considered culturally superior, with increased opportunities and unlimited freedom, and contrary to the Spanish, who had limited freedom and were denied opportunities. The American language was seen as the best in comparison with the Spanish, with every character struggling to learn and fluently speak beautiful English. As a demeanour of the weaker Spanish race, the two literary pieces portray the Spanish as servants of the Americans. According to them, culture is what defined the unfortunate reality they faced. Pietri revealed that for a long time in history, the Spanish race had been facing the American oppression patiently. Their names did not raise eyebrows, just like their work was not valued. This is the biggest reason why they were hired as laborers and support staff. Their skills were seen as insufficient when matched with those of the Americans, a reason why they never qualified for good jobs. However, there are differences between the two. While Richard Rodriguez opted for a personalized form of narration and elaborated personal experiences to show the discrimination of the culture, Pedro Pietri took a general overview of the Spanish community. Both writers chose different types of genres for narration, with Pietri’s choice being a poem while Rodriguez chose a novel. For Pietri, what mattered most were the experiences of the Spanish people in America (5-6). To him, the humiliation of the general community in the hands of Americans mattered more than individual experiences. He used an imagery of people who perished in the service of Americans, thus successfully showing the effects of the cultural rivalry, with Americans never sympathizing with the Spanish. It is evident from the article that cultural economic disparities were the major cause of the Spanish suffering. The Americans had little respect, without any intentions of giving the Spanish people an opportunity to develop and be in a similar position with them. On his part, Rodriguez opted for a personalized narration of how he came to know about the existence of the cultural problem between his race and the Americans. He could not miss it even at a tender age, not with the open scorn and ridicule from American children. He was aware of this, mostly because of the colour of his skin and the language he spoke. Before he accepted who he was, he had to undergo nasty challenging situations. To match up with the Americans, he struggled hard to learn fluent English. To the author of this article, cultural discrimination from the social perspective is what mattered most, especially language, while skin colour was a part of the integral. Works Cited Rodriguez, Richard. Hunger of Memory. Paw Prints, 2010. Print. Pietri, Pedro. Puerto Rican Obituary: Poems. New York, 1973. Print. Read More