Indian- American, Hyphenation & Identity

What does it mean to be an American? My Jido (Grandfather) often said that it meant adapting to the cultures in America.  My Jido recently passed away, but before he died, he used to talk to me about how it was growing up in Lebanon, and coming over to America when he was young.  He grew up in Beirut, Lebanon.  He came over to American by ship when he was about seven years old, and boarded dock at Ellis Island. Because, his family and his last names could not be represented as American, it was changed.  When my Jido arrived to America, he couldn’t read or write in English, nor could he speak the American language.  He had to go to an English speaking school, where he was held back two years, before he was allowed to continue on with his education.  As he grew up, he became one of the most powerful men in Stockton, California, where he was in charge of providing the beverages for every event in the county, sat on the board of directors for the Bank of Stockton, was politically influential with the politicians, owned several business and restaurants, and also served in the army. Even as my Jido continued on to accept the American traditions of speaking the language, adapting to the culture, and creating a new live for himself as an American, he never forgot his traditions in Lebanon.  He and His ten brothers and sisters still continued on with their Lebanese customs such as speaking Arabic when they were together, cooking traditional meals from their old country, and remaining a close family as most do in the Middle East.  He can be summed up by nothing more then hyphenation as a Lebanese-American man who lived and learned to adapt into the country where he immigrated to.

In the novel, Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee, the main character Jasmine, is too a woman who came from India into America, not knowing the customs of the country.  She can also be defined as nothing more then hyphenation, where her journey leads her into becoming a true American. What does it mean to her to be American? As we read on in the novel, Jasmine and her adopted son Du have very different opinions on what it means to be American. Their strategies and choices for living in America are completely opposite.  For example, Du had decided that he was going to go to L.A. to visit his sister, where she was going to take care of him.  Du wanted to start his own identity in America, and experience the rest of the world on his own.  Jasmine says, “Blood is thick, I think.  Du, my adopted some is a mystery, but the prospect of losing him is like a miscarriage.  I had relied on him, my silent ally against the bright lights, the rounded, genial landscape of Iowa.  I want to say- to be able to say- you’re wrong” (221). 

“…I haven’t spoken to an Indian since my months in Flushing. My transformation has been genetic; Du’s was hyphenated.  We were so full of wonder at how fast he became American, but he’s a hybrid, like the fantasy appliances he wants to build.  His high-school paper did a story on him titles: “Du (Yogi) Ripplemeyer, a Vietnamese- American…,”( 22) but yet they are much a like in the sense that they are hyphenations of Americans. Every immigrated culture that comes into America will also be seen as hyphenation. 

Jane, as she is referred to by Bud Ripplemeyer, creates her own identity of what a true American must be, she develops a sense of fluid identity.  She is an American, who is fact never forgets where she came from, never forgets her past.  She is constantly running towards her life in America, creates her own meaning of what it means to become American.  Through all the experiences in her life like becoming a widow, getting raped, and feeling that sense of change has really helped her create the person she wanted to become. “Time will tell if I am a tornado, rubble-maker, arising from nowhere and disappearing into a cloud.  I am out the door and in the potholed and rutted driveway scrambling ahead of Taylor, greedy with wants and reckless from hope” (241).