Stereotypes and the Single Story

TEdS: LLCE-AMC
Entraînement pour épreuve écrite N°1 :

Stereotypes and the Single Story:

Theme 3 Relations with the World
Axis 3 Common Heritage and Diversity
 
Doc A: Excerpt from Chapter 18: The Book of Unknown
Americans, Cristina Henriquez, 2014
Doc B: Speech by Barack Obama at a naturalization
ceremony in 2015
Doc C: Mural Painting from Pilsen, a Latino neighborhood
in Chicago, 2020
Questions for analytical essay of 500 words:
Write a commentary on the three documents. Use the following
guidelines and take into account the specificities of the documents and
the different points of view.

1. Compare the different documents (type, characters, tone, dates)

2. Explain the artist’s, the orator, and the author’s intentions.

3. Demonstrate how the documents are related to theme “relations with

the world”, how they are linked to the ideas of both a common heritage
and diversity.

4. What do these documents tell us about the danger of a single story?

First reading:
Document A: The Book of Unknown Americans (FICTION)
Chapter 18: Nelia Zafon (the first-person narrator: “I”): Boricua, Puerto Rican, dancer,
seventeen (at the beginning),
New York, Broadway, Wilmington Delaware, the Parish Theater
1964, Twenty years later
Document B: Barack Obama’s speech (NON-FICTION: a speech)
Former President of the USA, still president when he made this speech (2015)
Immigration = the origin of the USA (Pilgrims, Chinese, Irish Catholics, the Middle-East, the
Mediterranean, Asia, Africa, Ellis Island, Angel Island)
Document C: Mural
All Latinx people painted.
Famous people (in the clouds), unknown people (“White collar” Graduates, Doctors,
Teachers, chefs/ “blue collar” workers, farmers, construction)
 Document A: The Book of Unknown Americans
Cristina Henriquez: A contemporary Latinx writer of fiction. You know the first
chapter where she describes a Mexican family’s disappointing arrival to their
new home in Delaware.
Document B: Barack Obama’s speech
You know he was the first African-American president of the USA. Maybe
you know his father was from Africa, a foreign student in the US. Maybe you
know he is a Democrat. This is a speech congratulating newly “naturalized”
American citizens from 25 different countries.
Document C: Mural
You know that this is a painting in an inner-city Latino neighborhood in Pilsen,
Chicago. That’s about it 
Type
Doc. A: Excerpt from a
novel
1st person narration
Narrator’s point of view
Very little dialogue (ll.9-
10)
Doc. B: Excerpt from a
speech
Examples of
immigration’s hard reality
and hopeful success
Doc. C: A mural painting,
colorful, figurative, many
people, all Latinx
Characters Tone Dates
Doc A: Narrator, Nelia Doc A: a memoir, short Doc A: 1964,
Zafon, her sentences (adds 1980’s
energy/metaphor for the
grandmother, mami, character’s hard work and
Doc B: Historical
a man organizing the energy towards her new overview of
auditions, Latinx stars life. Building blocks to her immigration
in the USA (Rita story. Spanglish words (1600’s – current
Moreno) showing the two cultures. day)
Doc B: Inspirational
Doc B: different stories, encouragement,
Doc C: Iconic
immigrant groups inclusive language. portraits from the
Doc C: Latinx Doc C: Most eyes looking past, current
members of the upwards towards the everyday members
community and icons future, bright colors, of the community
flowers, optimism
Intentions
Author’s: Cristina Henriquez wants to show how despite the stereotypes the mainstream
in America uses to judge her Puerto Rican character, the difficulties she encounters in her
quest of the American Dream (ll. 22 – 26), and the fact that she has to become more
realistic in her goals, she seems to have managed to find her place in “this country” and
to create “her life” in the USA (l. 33).
Orator’s: Barack Obama wants to congratulate these newest members of the American
society in showing how through diverse experiences we all share the same goals and we
all can relate to a common heritage, to share the same values. We should all be proud of
our country because of its exceptional origins and story (ll.13 – 28).

Artist’s: The iconic Latinx are watching over the present day members of this community,
all united, all can be proud of their integration into the American way of life through their
education or their professions as doctors, teachers, farmers, workers.

Link to “relations with the world” :
Definition of immigration
Geographic location as motivation
Needs of the immigrants
Needs of the welcoming country
Doc A: Immigrant looking to
become a “star” (ll. 4 – 5)
Doc B: Immigration is the starting
point of the USA (ll.6 – 10)
Doc C: Latinx are needed by the
USA to do many jobs
Link to “common heritage and diversity”
Common heritage includes values, dreams, hopes
Diversity is the consequence of immigration
Common heritage:
Doc A: Hard work pays, leads to integration (ll.26-29)
Doc B: Difficult stories show the attractiveness of the
American Dream (ll. 30 – 35)
Doc C: Education and employment are common values
to all Americans
Diversity:
Doc A: Latinx grouped under a stereotypical umbrella
and have trouble accessing a mainstream dream (ll.9-10)
Doc B: The strength in America comes from the
diversity and the tenacity of immigrants, and their
cultures have enriched American culture (ll.19 – 29)
Doc C: Latinx have diverse skills and all are needed to
make the community strong.
Danger of the single story:
Doc A: In this excerpt we read the story of one Puerto Rican immigrant told by her. We see
how many latinx immigrants arrive in the USA to follow a dream, or their single story about
the USA, and how mainstream America rejects these immigrants, limiting them to a
stereotypical role of servant or waitress or housekeeper, what their single story about Latin
Americans immigrants tells them. (ll.6 – 11)

Doc B: In this speech, President Obama reminds us that every American is an immigrant or
the descendant of immigration. He says that all the stories are part of America’s common
history and what makes this country strong is the rejection of the single story, the acceptance
that each American story has equal worth.

Doc C: In this mural, the stereotypical idea of Latinx being a culture apart is rejected. These
immigrants are shown to be an integral part of the American society, a contradiction of the
single story about Latin American immigration as uncultured refugees in search of a handout.
Introduction:
Define the terms (Relations with
the world, Common heritage,
diversity, single story)
Name the documents
Ask a key question
Give your outline
Immigration has always been at the basis of relations among
different countries in the world, and no more so than in the United
States. Throughout the history of this country, the different waves
of immigration have led both to diversity and to a shared common
heritage of these new Americans who often risk everything to
move to the US in order to pursue the promise of a better life. In
the three documents we will be studying, immigration is a focal
point and we see clear illustrations of the reasons people decide
to move from one country to another. We also see how the
needs of a welcoming country can be an invitation to people from
a foreign land, especially when geographic location lends a
helping hand, as in the relationship between the people from
Latin America and North America.
The first document, an excerpt from Cristina Henriquez’s 2014
novel The Book of Unknown Americans tells the story of one
such immigrant and her quest for the American Dream. The
second document, a speech given by former US President
Barack Obama in 2015, claims the origin of the attractive ideals
at the basis of this dream has always been found in the stories of
people who have arrived from other countries. The third and final
document, a photograph of a mural painting from the Latinx
neighborhood of Pilsen in Chicago, shows how immigrants both
aspire to share in the common heritage of a better life and how
they have succeeded, despite the stereotypes present in
mainstream America which limit them.
These three documents lead us to wonder how a
stereotype, a single story about people, can be a
hindrance to successful integration by immigrants
to the US. We will first examine the dangers of a
single story as seen in the documents, and then we
will show that, despite these stereotypes, or
sometimes even because of them, immigrants have
enriched and strengthened the United States.
Part 1: The difficulties immigrants encounter because of stereotypes

As Barack Obama says in his speech, “we are born of immigrants…immigration is our
origin story.” (ll. 3 – 6). But despite this, he also reminds us that life in America was not
always easy (l. 34), and this because of the single story the “welcoming” population
believes about the new arrivals. In document A, Nelia Zafon, a Puerto Rican immigrant
to New York, tells the story through first person narration of her thwarted attempts to
become a star on Broadway. Through her voice, the reader experiences first-hand the
metaphorical doors being shut in her face because of stereotypes about Latinx: she
could only play a housekeeper (l. 7), and even then, those in charge make no distinction
between Spanish-speaking countries (l. 10), placing them all in the same box,
uneducated, uncultured, incapable of being more than a servant or waitress. As Nelia
discovers, “that’s how it works. Americans can handle one person from anywhere…but
as soon as there are too many of us, they throw up their hands.” (ll. 23 -25). Through the
writer’s use of prolepsis, or fast-forward commentary, we realize fairly quickly that Nelia
will never achieve her dream of becoming a star (ll. 10 -11; l. 19), that despite her pride
(l. 1) and her youthful ambition (ll. 4 – 5), she will have to find a different way to break the
chains of discrimination.
The mural painting in Pilsen also focuses on the
stereotypes connected to Latinx through the different
“blue collar” and service workers portrayed on the right
side of the building. Though the left side show us iconic
Hispanic-Americans at the top in a heavenly position,
graduates and respected professionals in the center, we
can see that the majority of the people painted represent
the working class. But they, like Nelia, like the
immigrants President Obama is honoring, all seem to be
looking towards the future, looking towards a better life.
Part 2: Disproving the stereotypes

So we can wonder if the difficulties immigrants encounter because of their

different stories and the discrimination they face because of America’s single
story about them is not a challenge which makes them stronger. In document B,
President Obama details the hardships most immigrants face in their struggle to get
to “the Promise Land” (ll. 19 -29). He highlights the diversity of their stories and
reminds us that though they all share a common heritage of hard work and hope in
the future, they are responsible for the revitalization and renewal of the American
Dream (l. 37). The paintings in document C illustrate this point and go even further:
The left side show us Latinx who inspire and encourage their community and the right
side honors the immigrants who are the backbone of American society, the everyday
American man or woman. The mural seems to be saying that America needs all
people who are willing to work hard, whether they be the teachers, doctors, the
educated, or the working class: being American is about believing in a basic idea,
echoing the words of both President Obama and the Spanish words painted on the
walls of Pilsen, “Si, se puede”, Yes, we can.
Finally, in document A, the reader is presented with more proof
that immigrants build strength and ingenuity through their
struggle to overcome discrimination. The style of Nelia’s
narration, short, choppy sentences, tell of the tiring efforts to
reach her goals and reflect the energy she needs to survive in
her new land (ll.12 – 19). Despite the stereotypical barriers and
the doubts they create for her, she says “I was always aware of
some other part of me saying, there is more. And you will find
it.” (ll. 17 -18). And she does: She adapts her dream, starts her
own theater company, and integrates the American society
through helping others reach their own goals (ll. 29 -33).
Conclusion:
Redefine the terms
Answer the key question
End with a quote or an open-ended question

In conclusion, the writers or painters of these documents remind us that

the common heritage of all immigrants to the United States is the belief
that a better life awaits them. Their diverse backgrounds and hard work
are in complete opposition with the single story limiting access to their
goals. Overcoming the discrimination of stereotypes to create a new life
and, in turn, welcome others, seems to be part of the American tradition.
In the words of President Obama, “It’s who we are. It’s part of what
makes us exceptional.”
Translation N°3: Excerpt from The Book of Unknown Americans – Chapter 18 Nelia Zafon
Once I was on my own again, I found a place in the cellar under a corner grocery store. Really a cellar. It had damp stone
walls and one window no bigger than a squinted eye. I danced all day and took trains and buses all over the city to
auditions, and at night I carried around trays of food and flirted with the men I waited on for bigger tips. On my walk home
sometimes, and as I stepped down into that cellar apartment, my eyes heavy from exhaustion, I would think, Is this what it
is? This country? My life? Is this all? But even when I thought that, I was always aware of some other part of me saying,
there is more. And you will find it.