Be American and The School Days of an Indian Girl

Bulosan’s Be American describes the struggles that Consorcio faced as a foreigner in America. I found the events in this story to be interesting and inspirational yet so concise that the significance of the message got lost in the narration. For example, little detail is given of Consorcio’s daily struggles as an aspiring American citizen. Also, the narrator does not describe why Consorcio wants to become an American citizen in the first place. To the reader, Consorcio’s desire to become an American seems spontaneous because little insight is given on Consorcio’s beliefs and thoughts. However the story’s rapid pace starts to slow down towards the end. The last two paragraphs of the narration put emphasis on the idea that Consorcio finally becomes an American after his death. His death symbolizes his legend as an achiever of the American Dream. Consorcio has a humble beginning but eventually overcomes obstacles and becomes a citizen not only physically on paperwork but also mentally with his tenacious mentality.

The School Days of an Indian Girl tells the story of Zitkala-Sa as a young Indian girl assimilating into a Christian lifestyle. However, unlike Bulosan’s Be American, Zitkala-Sa goes into great detail of the struggles that she faced throughout her childhood. For example, she could not speak English and as a result was confused about her cultural identity. Zitkala-Sa makes these emotions clear in her autobiography, allowing the reader to know exactly what she was thinking and thereby also allowing the reader to understand the reasoning behind some of her actions. Towards the end of the autobiography for example, Zitkala-Sa is torn between her Indian culture and her newly acquired Christian culture. She goes into a detailed description of her feeling of rebellion and visions of her mother’s revenge. I found this event particularly interesting because it shows that even though she felt rewarded as the winner of the oratorical competition, she still felt guilty for leaving her mother. The autobiography ends abruptly and seems unfinished because little is known of whether Zitkala-Sa will return home or continue with college.