Multicultural Literature

The Dong article on mulitcultural literature in the classroom addresses some true problems that exist in the teaching environment. Being an engineering major I cannot completely relate to the teaching perspective that dominates the article, however I did find that some of the issues that were discussed are concurrent with me. I think that it is very common to just brush aside the social and cultural implications and influences of literature and use the individual approach that was introduced. This is a mistake. One cannot disregard the cultural aspects of any piece of work and fully understand it. When using an individual approach that takes out cultural context, one only considers their own experiences, agendas, misconceptions, ideals, and generalizations. I have sometimes found myself guilty of this tact when reading or discussing something that I have read. Discussion that includes all the cultural and social contexts of a work is essential and can provide for a more complete understanding of the characters in a story, as well as that particular culture. To achieve this type of understanding and to successfully examine the cultural factors of a book, one must, as Dong points out, have some background knowledge. I agree that correct factual information is necessary in this situation so as not to reinforce stereotypes, further dividing groups of different cultures and social backgrounds. An ultimate goal of teaching multicultural literature should be to bring people together by facilitating understanding and empathy.
I am all for bringing more multicultural literature into the classroom but would like to point out one concern. Coming from a middle to upper class anglo background, I could forsee problems from high school students who are forced to read books that they feel serve no point. Clearly there is a point to multicultural reading that is worth teaching, but this resistance that may occur has the potential to cancel out some of the good effects of multicultural reading and learning. I think that attention must be payed to the strategy that is employed to teach multicultural literature. Just as in the article, some of the students in the class were against approaching the books with some other than their usual individual approach. With time and discussion though, they came to understand that context plays a major role in these types of works and is worthy of being taught.
Both Copper Sun and Esperanza Rising bring different cultural views, as compared to the norm, to literature. In both books, some knowledge about the character's background is needed to understand the actions and thoughts that transpire. Both of the cultures that are depicted are different from the American culture that we live in today. Amaris tribe is what I would consider kind, humble, and very in touch with nature. They accept the visitors to their village with open arms and celebrate their arrival, no questions asked. They seem naive to the danger that they face, but what needs to be understood is that they have never experienced anything like what they will in this book. Throughout the story Amari references the ocean and the sun, powerful symbols, when she has meaningful experiences. This goes back to her life in Africa, where natural symbols mean so much to the tribe. In Esperanza Rising, Esperanza is also taken from her comfort zone and thrown into a different world with things she has never experienced. One aspect of this story that stuck out to me was the emphasis on family that Esperanza's culture displays. The characters in this story do not have their own motives, they act as a family and value family over all else. Both of these stories have something to offer in terms of sharing a different culture with readers. The understanding, or at least acknowledgement of these differences, allows the reader to empathize more with the characters and their situations.