Latino Immigration

Pro Immigration: http://latinospro.org/

Latino Progresando, an accredited organisation by the Board of Immigration Appeals (part of the Department of Justice, and the highest immigration court in the United States) state their mission is to help immigrants with the highest quality, and low cost legal immigration services as well as support from the community to help with education and to organise around policy that affects immigrants. The organization started in 1998 with just one volunteer, yet today, they are a diverse team based in Chicago to help the communities within the city (one of the largest Mexican communities in the Midwest), in immigration legal services, theatre arts, and community development. The organization express how they are '[working] toward the day when every person can live in a stable, respected and culturally-rich community.' This highlights one of the major issues with immigration in the United States, due to the fact that the Hispanic/Latino are now the largest minority in America, yet there are issues due to them being marginalised. The website outlines their three main principles which are part of their values which they are driven by. Firstly, that injustice needs to be recognised, especially within communities. Secondly, their supportive sense of community advocates that every decision they make must be good for the community, not the individual, nor the organization. Lastly, they signify that they do the best they can to help their communities by constantly and attentively working with the community to achieve the best results.

Luis Gutierrez founded and is currently the Executive Director of Latinos Progresando when he was just 24 years old, volunteering his time. Luis was the son of Mexican immigrants, yet was born and raised in Chicago, which the neighbourhood he lived in was one of the largest Mexican communities in the Midwest. Today, with Luis' initiative, Latinos Progresando reaches out to thousands of families annually within the issues of immigration in the US. LP has built the largest Latino-led family based immigration legal services programme in the State of Illinois, by providing specifically victims of domestic violence free legal support. One of the other encouraging aspects of this organisation is Gutierrez also created a theatre programme that performs stories of Chicago's Latino community, by showcasing Latino history, culture and ultimately to promote social equality and justice. This encourages people of all ages but specifically the young individuals as one of LP's other values is to help the future Latino generation.

 
 
Conclusively, Latino Progresando's main focus areas is to help families, the community and to help them all progress and to help increase social justice and strength within the community. They state that they made these theatre productions to help families due to the different legal matters, countries and languages that can make it hard for them to communicate and understand each other, therefore this organisation helps to serve families by offering them the resources they need to create a strong, unified community.

Anti Immigration: 'Save Our State'

The Save Our State (SOS) activist organisation is an extremist group, completely opposed to illegal immigration in Southern California. The organisation's website no longer exists, since in November 2009 it became inactive due to the response of the anti-immigration group. The origin of the group derives from California's 1994 Proposition 187, otherwise known as the 'Save Our State' initiative. The proposition advocated to deny taxpayer-funded health care and education to illegal immigrant residents in California, and although it was approved by the majority of voters at this time, it was then challenged in court and was eventually dismissed in a US district court a few years later. The organisation was set up by Joseph Turner who opposed immigration reform groups and believed that the United States would not have any problems with illegal immigration if their group succeeded enough. The organisation is renowned for its aggressive, extremist tactics, as many members of the activist group travel to other communities to protest with signs and weapons including the use of pepper spray and video cameras to record their activities and experiences that they would show on their website.

 

This video above shows a short depiction of one of the Save Our State rallies in Santa Clarita in February 2010. It showcases a snippet of the tense altercation between the activists who believe in anti-illegal immigration and the Hispanic/Latino activists who are also demonstrating their right to be in America. The difference so far in comparing the pro-immigration organisation and the anti-immigration activists, demonstrates how the extreme activists are the ones who are anti-immigration, by advocating violence and harassment to make their opinions and values known. The Save Our State group are labelled in the media as white supremacists by simply how they act aggressively to expose their beliefs. Some citizens say that the group is a disgrace to America due to how they express their beliefs and opinions and how they single out innocent individuals on the street just by associating a Hispanic/Latino person as an illegal immigrant which highlights the ignorance in the group. Overall, it indicates how the issue is still prevalent in America, and how it will continue with such a divide on the matter.

Latino Immigration

Pro Immigration - http://www.nclr.org/

The National Council of La Raza is the largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organisation in the United States which works to improve the opportunities for Hispanic Americans. This website can be said to be pro Latino immigration as the organisation wants to help Latino immigrants to have better opportunities in America so that they are able to have a better life in American than in their homeland and also be able to gain legal access to the United States.

The NCLR wants to fight for the right of young Latino's to be able to continue to work in America and contribute to the American economy without fear of being deported back to their home country. They support President Obama's executive order which introduced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) which has enabled young people to stay in the country and work. As you need to apply to this program, the organisation helps the community and individuals to apply and fill in the application form. In May 2015, it will be possible for parents of current US citizens to be able to apply for deferred action under the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability, which will enable the parents of the children who have already made it to the US to be able to join them and work.

The NCLR are in favour of Obama's Order as they believe it will try and partly solve the problems which the country has with immigration, as well as improving the country itself. They believe that by allowing people to more easily apply to work in the US, it will help stop people entering the country illegally, meaning that they can have background checks, which will in turn improve National Security as the government will have a better idea about who is coming in from where and turn them away if they can be threat to the country. They also believe this order will strengthen the economy as it means that immigrants will more likely be working legally and contributing to taxes and could stop employers being able to exploit illegal workers by not paying them a national wage. But overall, they believe that the order will try and stop the stigma about Latino workers and the belief that many work illegally and don't contribute to the economy, which makes integrating into American society a lot harder.

Overall, the website is very informative about many issues concerning Latino immigration and integration into American life. They provide educational programs so that it can help unskilled workers get jobs that are worth having and gives advice about CV's and interviews with prospective employers. It is obvious that this organisation supports Latino immigration and wants them to be able to thrive in the US so to have a better life.

Anti Immigration - http://www.americanworker.org/

This website is for the Coalition for the Future American Worker, which claims that it is an "umbrella organisation of professional trade groups, population/environment organisations, and immigrant reform groups". They are working and were formed to "represent the interests of American workers and students in the formulation of immigration policy". They believe that the current immigration laws and reform is having a detrimental effect on the American workforce as they believe that, not just Latino, immigrants are reducing the possibilities that an American has of getting a job as they are getting there first.

Their main argument is that they believe that American workers are better suited to American jobs as they are more creative and can do the job better than any other person. They believe that American companies need to focus more on the American workers and students for training and job opportunities as it would benefit American prosperity in a better way. To stop this from happening further, they are campaigning for tighter immigration laws so that unskilled workers and illegal immigrants are less likely to get into the country to take jobs from tax paying American workers. They claim that their goal is "to find solutions that will ensure that employers can gain access to workers they truly need, while protecting job opportunities for American workers and students and allowing them to advance their skills and maintain high wages".

Overall, I don't think that this website is completely Anti-Latino Immigration as they are just concerned about the loss of opportunities that mass immigration is causing in America. I think they just want large employers to stop giving jobs to low skilled immigrants just because they cost less to employ, and give more opportunities to Americans who, they believe, would be able to benefit the company of the organisation better.

Latino Immigration Websites

http://latinosunited.org/immigrationreform/

Th first website I have chosen can be described as being Pro Latino immigration in the United States of America. Latinos United for Immigration Reform is an unprecedented campaign led by Latino leaders and organisations from across the political spectrum, representing business, labour, community, faith and civil rights advocates coming together to urge the passage of immigration reform that is based on the following principles:

• Provides earned legalisation and a path to citizenship for hardworking undocumented immigrants and their families;

• Promotes economic growth by creating workable legal immigration channels aligned to the needs of our economy while upholding labour protections;

• Preserves family unity and reduces family backlogs;

• Restores the rule of law through smart enforcement that improves safety, prevents discrimination and respects due process.

One of their main arguments is that the detention and eventual deportation of illegal immigrants is not the answer to dealing with issues of immigration. The website provides useful information on the facts of immigration including the founders belief that the immigration system in American is broke. Each year, more than 350,000 people are incarcerated in detention centres, including people seeking asylum, legal residents, children, the mentally ill, and the chronically ill – sometimes in appalling conditions, often with no access to legal counsel.

Overall the website is filled with a lot useful information for those seeking to find out about whats currently going on in the immigration system. Although its not as sophisticated as other website i have seen, its sole focus on information rather than its appearance is rather interesting.

http://www.fairus.org/

The second website I have chosen in FAIR- the Federal For American Immigration Reform, on the websites "About Us" section it states that FAIR is 'a national, nonprofit, public-interest, membership organisation of concerned citizens who share a common belief that our nation's immigration policies must be reformed to serve the national interest.'

They argue that the United States is receiving more immigrants than at any time in its history. Immigration has become an important issue because it affects virtually every aspect of life in America. With more than a million legal and illegal immigrants settling in the United States each year, immigration has an impact on education, health care, government budgets, employment, the environment, crime and countless other areas of American life. It is evident to most Americans that large-scale immigration is not serving the needs and interests of the country.

In the list of immigration issues they list national security and societal issues. I found this interesting as they listed attacks similar to those that occurred in 9/11 as being a main issue, which i found extreme. They also argue that "hit-and-runs" are a result of immigration, which i found very odd because although statistically hit-and-runs are a result of gang violence, you cannot label immigration as the sole cause of this.

One interesting thing about the website I noticed is its use of the term 'illegal aliens', which to me seems like a discriminatory term and really negative. Although the website is sophisticated and states that many of its supporters are in high-ranking government positions, it is in a way in danger of creating negative stereotypes as many of the people pictured on the site as supporters are mainly middle-aged male Caucasians. However, it is undeniable that the site provides a wealth of statistics and information about the issues of immigration that are actually factual such as the rise of poverty in areas where the number of immigrants is high.

Pro/Anti Latino Immigration Groups

Pro - 'Latinos United for Immigration Reform': http://latinosunited.org/immigrationreform/

"Latinos United for Immigration Reform is an unprecedented campaign led by Latino leaders and organizations from across the political spectrum, representing business, labor, community, faith and civil rights advocates coming together to urge the passage of comprehensive immigration reform. The mission of Latinos United for Immigration Reform is to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform that includes a roadmap to citizenship."

This group believes that the U.S. "Immigration System is Broken" and presents, on a page labelled 'Facts', information as to why immigration reform is good for the country and points out the ways in which the current  regime for immigration is faulty and against Latinos. The use of these statistics and figures makes the page seem legitimate, however it doesn't actually state anywhere where these came from, so could potentially be bias and constructed to cater to the intended audience. The website sets out its ideas as to how it could be fixed, "Any comprehensive immigration reform passed by Congress should contain the following principles..." and goes on to list quite a few ideas. I believe this puts the group in quite good stead, as they actually have pro-active thoughts to help the argument, instead of constantly stating the faults as many other websites do they offer potential solutions.

The group's identity seems to heavily play on the idea of patriotism. Their logo is a red and white star on a blue background, obviously derived from the country flag, and the colour scheme of the entire website continues this. Pictures of young Latino-American people holding the flag are shown on the page, with focus on a youth wearing what looks like a navy uniform whilst clutching a small flag in a picture. This is clearly done to invoke a positive response from the readers of seeing these people as undeniably American, and not perhaps any other denomination, emphasising that there is no difference between, for example, Latino-Americans and White-Americans in their identities as American. There is also a heavy play on families, and the "devastating impact on vulnerable Latino families" that current legislation has. This again panders to the engrained values of America, but is sincere as it follows with more statistics about the impact.

Anti - 'NumbersUSA': https://www.numbersusa.com/

This group isn't necessarily against the immigration of Latino people, but instead focus on "choosing the right number of authorized immigrants for future years. To choose a lower number does not imply anything negative about the immigrants who already are legally in this country. We're talking about the future number that is best for both U.S.-born and foreign-born citizens." That quote is from founder Roy Beck. They seek to reduce the number of immigrants coming to the U.S. saying it is "pro-immigrant" in regards to permanent immigration. This however could be seen as contradictory, as they use an umbrella-like term but then focus only on one type of immigration. 

They also say "We oppose nativism in the law and private actions; Americans should be treated equally regardless of where they were born. Neither race nor ethnicity should be factors in setting or debating immigration policies." Which is a good motto and should be true, however they go on to show which immigrants they feel shouldn't be accepted to stay in America. "1.) Extended-family "chain migration". 2.) The visa lottery. 3.) Employment-based visas for foreign workers of non-extraordinary skills that can be supplied by our own population. (When a true spot labor shortage arises, it should be met by temporary—not permanent—work visas.)" This selective procedure follows their motto, however I'm also sure that there would be examples  of it being untrue if it were to be used. Yet they again show a more open-minded ideology compared to other anti-immigration groups by saying "Immigrant bashing, xenophobia, nativism, and racism are unacceptable responses to federal immigration policy failures. Race and ethnicity should play no role in the debate and establishment of immigration policy."

Comparing the two, their messages are made very clear from the first page of each respective website. As far as addressing the issues, both tackle them in quite articulate fashion, not patronising the reader. However, Latinos United relies to heavily on the togetherness aspect, constantly referring to family and using symbols of America a lot, whereas NumbersUSA focusses on just that, number statistics and the bare facts, but obviously with an agenda. They have also been criticised by the Southern Poverty Law Centre, calling the group nativist, however they also stated there was no evidence of this.

'The Bunchgrass Edge of the World' Script

Summary:

The story follows the Touhey family; the ninety-six-year-old Old Red, along with his Vietnam War veteran son Aladdin and family in the barren bunchgrass region of north-western Wyoming. Aladdin’s children Tyler and Shan, siblings of Ottaline, leave their home, proving themselves to be unreliable ranch workers. In contrast, Ottaline has little choice but to stay home and join her father as a worker on the ranch. The story follows her loneliness on the ranch and her weight, a problem which only accentuates her isolation. Her connection to the world outside the ranch is limited apart from listening to conversations on a police scanner. Her interior life diminishes to the point that she converses with a junked tractor. The story ends with Ottaline, who is required by her father to show the cattle to a buyer because of her father’s illness. In an ironic turn, the cattle buyer’s son, Flyby, unexpectedly shows up in his father’s place. He recognizes Ottaline’s knowledge of cattle, confesses his own loneliness, and decides to marry her. Shortly thereafter, Aladdin crashes in his plane and dies. Old Red understands then that Ottaline will take her father’s place and manage the ranch.

Themes:

The story itself is a mostly comic look at human madness and delusion, most evident by Ottaline conversing with the tractor, and with hints of outlandish tragedy as Aladdin crashes his plane fantastically.

Loneliness –

The titular character, Ottaline is the most evidently lonely character. On the ranch she has no friends and is rarely allowed to leave it as it mentions “Her weight, he said, ruined the springs on the passenger side” (p140). She is described as having a “physique approaching the size of a hundred-gallon propane tank” (p136) in reference to her weight, an attribute which plays a major role in her life on the ranch and subsequently as a reason she cannot leave. Her existence will continue to be defined within the parameters she has always known. This loneliness is somewhat helped by her fantasy relationship with an old, broken down tractor, which is a somewhat parodic way to exemplify the isolation she feels. As far as revising the myths of the west, this story contradicts the notions of the west signifying a place of freedom and prosperity. Instead of the family being in the open wilderness feeling liberated, ironically many of them show signs of remoteness. Be it Ottaline’s longing for love, Old Red’s age being a factor for solitude, Wauneta’s position in the home by herself or Tyler’s bad attitude and rebellious nature. This landscape was supposed to represent new beginnings for settlers, which it did for Old Red of the previous generations, however as time passes this idea becomes obsolete as the children all seek to move to locations with lots of people and areas they aren’t trapped by the vast acres of land, as Shan and Tyler do when they move to Las Vegas. Ottaline even goes as far as listening to other people’s conversations on a scanner which make her feel “sick, it made her jealous” (p146), because she’d rather feel these emotions than none at all. Prosperity for the younger generation isn’t in Wyoming, as it’s mentioned “Anyway, there were no jobs, she knew that” (p140), but in the more economically advanced area where technology prevails over agriculture. However in the end, Old Red sees Ottaline taking over the ranch, inevitably keeping her there for the foreseeable future, something which subverts the myth of the west. A woman running the ranch was something relatively unheard of in the western expansion era, and represents the modern ideologies of equality.

American Dream .vs. American Nightmare –

The idea of the American dream is a notion that runs deep in the country, as we know, and this story shows the two sides of it. Old Red again represents the older values. He worked across the U.S. and kept moving west, it reads “One salty morning, homesick for hard, dry landscape, he turned west again. He found a wife along the way and soon enough had a few dirty kids to feed.” (p132) This is the prototypical idea of the American dream as he eventually bought his own ranch and bit of land. This somewhat transfers to the next generation in Aladdin, as he lives by working hard “He went back to the spring, head down, picked up the shovel and dug until his hands went nerveless.” (p134) However, he dies quite brutally in the end, way before his father Old Red. This could signify a shift in the attitudes towards the American dream as time goes by, as Aladdin dies, so too does the American dream. This could also be interpreted as giving the dream a sense of reality, by displaying that even if you live by these thoughts, death is inevitably still there. This grounding realism is a constant through the book, not only the story. The next generation perhaps doesn’t hold these values to such a high regard, or perhaps the idea has evolved, with the west not being the ideal place for these people anymore.

Masculinity .vs. Femininity – Classic idea of male dominance being subverted by Ottaline’s control at the end of the story, as alluded to earlier. However, masculinity is craved by Ottaline all throughout the story, which brings her to the tractor with it acting for a while as this relationship to her that gives her a “thrill”. However the power is hers as she is in control of the tractor and its fate, moving into the role of the dominant male.

People in Hell Just Want A Drink of Water- presentation

People in Hell Just Want A Drink of Water  offers a revisionist interpretation of the mythology of the west and western settlement through the way Proulx makes no attempt to glorify the west, the descriptions used do not make the west seem desirable nor glamorous, as is the case with so many western films that were made in Hollywood between 1930 and 1960, the result being that this is essentially a story of tragedy. Rood argues that In People in Hell it is almost as though Proulx has created the landscape as the first character, which is harsh and unforgiving, setting the scene for the rest of the story, throughout which it becomes evident that the landscape has shaped the personalities of the other characters. In many films made within the western genre, you get the typical image of monument valley and a spectacular blue open sky, which has the effect of making it look as though it is a harsh environment to live and work in, but so many of the films are presented in a way by which it is not made obvious that the characters actually do live a hard life. However in People in Hell Just Want A Drink of Water, it seems to be that Proulx has made no attempt to conform to the expectations of the western genre. The stories of both the families in People in Hell are given a grimy reality, and the very opening of the story gives you the immediate realisation that it is not going to be an epic western adventure, through the description of the landscape in which the story is set. 

‘You stand there, braced. Cloud shadows race over the buff rocks stacks as a projected film, casting a queasy mottled ground rash. The air hisses and it is no local breeze but the great harsh sweep of wind from the turning of the earth. The wild country- indigo jags of mountains, grassy plains everlasting, tumbled stones like fallen cities, the flaring of rolling sky- provokes a spiritual shudder. It is like a deep note that cannot be heard but is felt, it is like a claw in the gut’. 

The use of such detailed descriptions here differs from the expectation of a western story because Proulx shows the reader the reality of the setting, and the description used here does not paint a picture that welcomes you to the west, but makes you realise that it was a very diverse and challenging landscape. 

The story is set in a time which is after the frontier was declared finished, and once most Indians had been put into reservations, so here the settlement of the west did not come with conflict, but the characters experience more of a struggle with the harsh environment more than anything.

 Throughout the story the male characters are portrayed in a way that presents a different type of masculinity to what we have seen so often in western film and tv. In the 1956 John Wayne film, The Searchers, the male protagonist, Ethan is presented as very masculine, but in more of an attractive way, as  the lone hero, who does not need a family around him, and through this he is seen as strong and as the all american hero. Whereas in People in Hell Just Want A Drink of Water, the male characters are not presented in this same style, they tend to be presented in a way that does not glorify the western settlement. The father of the Dunmire family, Isaac 'Ice', sets in motion the expectation of males throughout the story, which is why it comes as quite a shock that the men of the Tinsley family are so different,  and when they are first introduced, they are described as ‘a different kind’. The first section of the story about the Dunmire’s, show the entire family to be masculine, calling the children, who are all boys ‘hen-wranglers’, which could be seen to demonstrate the children are only there for one purpose, and that is to work and bring in money, whilst Naomi Dunmire appears to just be there to give Ice children, who he can use for labour. Ice ends up with nine boys, who he describes as ‘money in the bank’ and were ‘brought up to fill his labour needs’. In that sense, it can be argued that the Dunmire family actually does conform to the myth of the west and western settlement in the sense that the men are the hard workers, whilst the mother in the Dunmire family is just that, a mother and nothing else, having had his children, 'as quick as she could stand to make them' then left him in 1913. From this I get the impression that despite Ice’s hard work and determination to work the land, these are not attributes that are found attractive by Naomi, who perhaps needed something more than the Isaac’s supposed masculinity. 

Mr Tinsley appears to be a polar opposite of Mr Dunmire. Where Mr Dunmire’s family travel westward with the expectation of hard work, Mr Tinsley is not prepared at all for the harsh reality of being a rancher in the west. ‘Horm Tinsley had come up from St. Louis with the expectation of quick success’. His character is incompetent and is seen as much more caring and nurturing towards his children than his wife is, and is therefore seen as much less masculine than Mr Dunmire and certainly is not the image of a tough western rancher. 

Throughout the story it becomes evident that Wyoming is supposed to be representative of masculinity, because the hard work required to thrive there is work that can only be carried out by men who are willing to embrace their masculinity. Ras Tinsley who leaves Wyoming to explore the wider world and find more for his life, is seen to have missed out on his chance to develop his masculinity, purely for the reason that he did not spend his whole life in Wyoming so was not forced to embrace the hardships of Wyoming in the same way that the son’s of Mr Dunmire were. Ras only returns to Wyoming having been involved in an automobile accident leaving him in a very bad way. And once he is back in Wyoming, he is subject to criticism from the other people in the community. Through this it can be inferred that the implications of the western lifestyle can not be escaped, hence why Ras was forced to return to Wyoming.

In this story Proulx shows movement away from the myth of the west purely because of the time in which it is set. Though the year at the end of the story is not made clear, we know that it is either in the late 1930s or 1940s because of the mention of the years of the depression. It is set in a well established community of people, who are very set in their ways, and are not comfortable with people who they think do not fit their expectations of men, such as Ras, who is young and deformed and wants to express his masculinity in a dark way. 

The archetype of the western genre was visualised by Hollywood for so many years throughout the 20th century, and it tended to portray women in a way that had a clear association with civilisation, whilst the men tended to be associated with wildness and sometimes savagery. This stereotype is made completely null and void in the writing of Proulx in People in Hell, in which the females are not presented in the same motherly, nurturing way as they so often have been. One major example of this in the story is when Mrs. Tinsley quite literally got rid of her baby, whilst they are travelling westward, she could not take the listening to her baby crying anymore so she ‘stood up and hurled the crying infant into the water’. This is completely unexpected and comes as a great shock, and because of this, she is presented as savage and uncaring. However, after this event she becomes anxious take better care of her other children almost as a way of justifying killing her baby to herself and Arosteguy states that she ‘fails in the most basic maternal role of protecting her children’. Mrs Tinsley was already an unstable person prior to killing her infant, and goes onto be overly protective of her remaining children, ‘tying them to chairs in the kitchen lest they wonder outside and come to harm’, going from one extreme to the other. This can be seen to go against the western myth as Mrs Tinsley was unable to cope with the experience of travelling west and because of this proves to be completely incapable of being a proper mother, so we do not see her at all to be representative of civilisation. Another example of this is also seen in Naomi Dunmire who leaves her husband and children, showing no care for what happens to them.

I think that the quote which I found struck me most when I read this story, was the very last line, which reads ‘We are in a new millennium and such desperate things no longer happen. If you believe that you’ll believe anything’, this is in reference to the Dunmire’s castrating Ras and leaving him to die. I think this ties in quite nicely with the quote at the beginning that says ‘reality’s never been of much use out here’, because the Dunmire’s actions show just how isolated Wyoming was and how things were changing around them, but were not willing to accept difference and change. It is almost as though they did this to Ras because he had experienced life outside of Wyoming and they were afraid of things that they had not experienced themselves.

Overall, I think that People in Hell Just Want A Drink of Water shows very well a new approach to the western genre, and does very much so offer a revisionist interpretation of the west and the western settlement mainly through the landscape and also through the characterisation of the men. This story offers a very different version of masculinity, the portrayal of which in Hollywood, acted as a defining feature of the western genre, and subsequently, contributed to the myth of the west.  

The Half-Skinned Steer Presentation

Introduction:

• Impact of the western genre upon the story, how it includes some of the traditional aspects of the west including the seminal theme of the wilderness and civilization, the importance of space and place, and the presentation of gender in the story, looking at the all-American hero and subjection of women.

Summary:

• Narrative is told retrospectively, recalled in the third person with flashbacks – this heightens the story in comparison to a ‘tale’ traditional narrative of a Western genre.
• The story has various internal and external stories within the overall story – creates a different perception, different approach to a western genre story.
• Mero the main character – tells the story of him and his brother Rollo growing up on a ranch in Wyoming, although Mero left to go to war and later settled in Massachusetts whilst his family stayed on the ranch.
• The story then reverts to 83 year old Mero who receives the news his brother had passed away and makes his return back to Wyoming for the memorial.
• Throughout his tremulous journey, Mero flashbacks to his childhood and recalls a significant story about a man named Tin Head who whilst butchering a steer, pauses half way and goes in his house for dinner but when he goes back to the steer, it disappears. Tin Head eventually finds the half-skinned steer alive who stares back at his butcher. When Mero arrives in Wyoming trying to find his old home after a tough journey through bad weather, broken down car, he arrives during a bad snowstorm and not having been to his childhood home, he struggles to remember the road. As Mero becomes increasingly confused and disorientated as well as hungry and tired and stuck in the middle of nowhere, he tries to walk the last few miles but as he walks in the snow, a steer follows him and its until Mero dies in the snow due to the destructive conditions, it is the half-skinned steer who looks upon him with its red eyes.

Main Ideas:

• Showcase the importance of the space and place in the story – conventional attribute of the Western genre – American West has always been represented as a space of individuality, freedom and a new, fresh start, especially for settlers, often compared as a ‘New Eden’. So easily disregarded as a space so isolated and savage, yet it is the interior of America – has so much symbolic meaning and the main infrastructure for a western story.
• Description of the ranch that can no longer can be used or let alone to make a living off of – repetition of emphasis of the land, the physical landscape. “They called it a ranch and it had been, but one day the old man said it was impossible to run cows in such tough country where they fell off cliffs, disappeared into sink-holes, gave up large numbers of calves to marauding lions, where hay couldn’t grow but leafy spurge and Canada thistle throve, and the wind packed enough sand to scour windshields opaque.” P. 19 The description outlines the more negative aspects of the land, which reinforces the idea of this text redefining and interpreting the west and western genre by connoting the more savage, lack of rules and behaviour of the land and space, rather than its traditional depiction of the wilderness which encourages the individual with freedom and liberty to live in the traditional ‘frontier’
• In terms of the description of the land, the significance of this emanates the traditional western oppositions, however it can be argued that Proulx challenges this: “The sky to the west hulked sullen, behind him smears of tinselly orange shot through with blinding streaks.” P. 30 – This subverts the binary that is presented in terms of the space of the wilderness versus civilization. Conventionally, the sky to the west exudes the land of liberty, purity, new experiences, and referring back to the original idea of a new Eden, however the description and imagery of the weather juxtaposes this, due to the bright impact of civilization shining (behind him) which purports the traditional narrative and representation of the west and settlement.
• Ellen Boyd: “Oral History and Revenge in Annie Proulx’s The Half-Skinned Steer” - significance of the ranch in the story which is most important in analysing the symbols which are traditionally associated with the west. On Mero’s journey back to Wyoming, the narration describes how he is “Thirty miles out of Cheyenne he saw the first billboard, Down Under Wyoming, Western Fun the Western Way, over a blown-up photograph of kangaroos hopping through the sagebrush and a blond child grinning in a manic imitation of pleasure.” P. 31
• In response to this, Boyd states: “The ranch has become an invented version of the American West, known as “Down Under Wyoming” – invoking an Australian theme, a continent which is half-way around the world from this location.” – p.5
• Boyd stresses the significance of the term ‘half’ which is presented in the title of the story as well as specific junctures in the story. She discusses how: “… further evidenced by the fact that he [Tin Head] only skins the steer halfway before going inside to eat. Proulx repeats the word “half” or forms thereof several times: Tin Head quit ‘halfway’ through a job (26), and he only eats ‘half’ his meal before returning to skinning the steer (35). Tin Head’s problems, therefore, are not only caused by bad luck brought on by a mythical steer, but by his own behaviour.” – p.2
• Boyd reinforces the mythological element of the story, in terms of how Proulx describes the incident of the steer and its eerie impact upon the story, adding to the idea of a folklore tale-like story, highlighting the theme of the mythic and the epic, as traditionally viewed in the western genre re-establishing the quest narrative and the opposition between the wilderness and civilization.
• Presence of women in the story and western genre in general – not prevalent, genre highlights the American hero not heroine stereotypically – except it’s ironic since the only woman in the story is the narrator who narrates the main, important and significant, symbolic story of the half-skinned steer. ‘The old-man’s girlfriend’ – she is not named which reinforces the element of the subjection of women. The presence of the woman in the story highlights the connections between the land and women, perhaps wilderness versus civilization, the two spheres.
• Erin Walker: “Place Matters: An Evolutionary Approach to Annie Proulx’s The Half-Skinned Steer and Wamsutter Wolf”, the presence and representation of the only woman in the story, the old man’s girlfriend and how she fits into the paradigm of the west as an epic space and gender.
• “The old man’s girlfriend’s connection to the place is also expressed in the girlfriend’s horse likeness: “If you admired horses, you'd go for her with her arched neck and horsy buttocks, so high and haunchy you'd want to clap her on the rear”. More importantly, horses are animals of our Western landscape and imagination. The cowboys, Indians, and ranchers all ride horses. In popular culture, we often see images of wild horses running across valleys or through the dusty Western terrain. Wild horses are captured and tamed, but the old man’s girlfriend has not suffered that fate (yet). The old man’s girlfriend represents not only the physical environment of the ranch and Wyoming but also the meaning Mero attaches to those places, and neither the land or woman was available to him.” Pp. 22-23
• Interesting to note from Walker’s analysis - old man’s girlfriend represents the environment of Wyoming and the ranch since it is often stated that women belong to the domestic sphere of civilization, hence Proulx subverts this in her revisionist account of a western story or tale.
• Presence of the female – theme in Proulx’s work, specifically in Close Range, reinterpreting from her point of view, her discussion, her narrative, her recollection, herstory/his story.
• Katie Arosteguy: “’It was all a hard, fast ride that ended in the mud’: Deconstructing the Myth of the Cowboy in Annie Proulx’s Close Range: Wyoming Stories” establishes how: “Proulx rewrites the genre of the Western from a feminist perspective that deconstructs the figure of the cowboy – an iconic image of US masculinity.” P. 177
• The openness connotes the masculine figure which is associated with the west as a place/space signifying individualism, romanticising the image of a cowboy, an iconic hero.
• Gene Autry discusses in his ‘Cowboy Code or Cowboy Commandments’ that cowboys must be gentle, be a good worker, keep himself clean in thought, speech, action and personal habits, must respect women, the laws etc’ in turn, women represent the opposite – closed space/civilization – the restrictions and social responsibility. Erin Walker also establishes the difference in portrayal of traditional western characters, particularly the cowboy, stating “Proulx creates an alternate value system. For example, the Wyoming ranchers, who are often depicted in literature as noble, sympathetic, simple victims of encroaching change, Proulx depicts as complex, often stubborn, selfish and xenophobic.” P. 7
• Significance of the binary in terms of how Proulx subverts this which is evident in the original title of the collection of the stories, ‘Close Range’. Wordplay, emphasis on ‘close’ – poses the question is this a revisionist account of the western genre focussing on the underlying presence of the woman instead of the conventional presentation of masculinity and the all-American hero?
• Walker also explains how “Proulx is not interested in romanticizing Wyoming. Her narrative point of view does not glorify the dusty cowboy or noble rancher; she does not paint pretty pictures of big skies.” – p. 6 This reinstates Proulx’s purpose perhaps in reinventing the genre which ignores the conventional attributes of the West, perhaps inventing a more realistic account instead mythologizing the west.

Conclusion:

• Proulx’s representation and interpretation of the west in the story exemplifies how important the land and the space is which is conventional of the traditional western scene and settlement. 
• In the story, Mero outlines how: “Nothing had changed, not a goddamn thing, the empty pale place and its roaring wind, the distant antelope as tiny as mice, landforms shaped true to the past.” P. 31 This suggests how the west will continue to retain the sense of its individualistic qualities as the great frontier where people searched and settled to in the hope of a new beginning, although the east and civilization represents the future in advancement and technology, the west holds on to the freedom and experience which is communicated throughout the genre. 
• Erin Walker concludes in her article that “In Proulx’s Wyoming, the land always prevails.” – p. 24 this signifies Wyoming as perhaps a metaphor which reinterprets the ideological meaning of the west and its mythology, as it follows the quest narrative, because the flawed sense of the wilderness which ends up taking over the impact of the civilised i.e. Tin head and the steer, Mero losing to nature and its brutality (the snow) and ends up passing away.
• From Erin Walker’s article P. 14, she reveals Johnson’s analysis how: “The personal isolation and emptiness of the Western landscape permeates most of Proulx’s descriptions…In their attempts to replicate the lives of their ancestors, many of her rancher characters find that the core identity they hold in common with those who lived before them comes crashing down as the land does not provide, does not support” (Johnson 28). – This can be investigated in the story when: “…Mero had kicked down thoughts of the place where he began, a so-called ranch on strange ground at the south hinge of the Big Horns.” P. 19 this conveys how ultimately the west provides a space for people to reinvent themselves, but Proulx acknowledges the reality, therefore creating a revisionist account of the traditional western story.

Critics:

· Boyd, Ellen. “Oral History and Revenge in Annie Proulx’s The Half-Skinned Steer”, University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Journal of Culture and the Arts, 13 (2011): 1-8.

http://www.forumjournal.org/article/view/672/954

· Walker, Erin. “Place Matters: An Evolutionary Approach to Annie Proulx’s The Half-Skinned Steer and Wamsutter Wolf”. University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations, (2010): 1-39.

· Arosteguy, Katie. “’It was all a hard, fast ride that ended in the mud’: Deconstructing the Myth of the Cowboy in Annie Proulx’s Close Range: Wyoming Stories”, Western American Literature 45, no. 2 (2010): 116-136.

· Gene Autry, ‘Cowboy Code’.

American Studies Blog Post 9

Post and analyse the website of any American faith group or religious denomination. How does your choice define itself as particularly “American” in character?

Ghost Dance

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h3775.html (not an official website)

(Source from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Dance)

The Ghost Dance by the Oglala Lakota at Pine Ridge

The Ghost Dance was a new religious movement incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. The first report of the religion dates back as early as 1860 by Northern Paiute spiritual leader, Wovoka, later renamed Jack Wilson. The Ghost Dance provided a hopeful message to all Indians as performing the ceremonies and songs supposedly brought back dead Indians, returned buffalo herds and would stimulate a natural disaster, which would wipe away white settlers and restore the Indian way of life that existed prior to European settlement.

The movement spread through Nevada and parts of California and Oregon, however after the prophecies failed to materialize the religion subsided. Later, in 1889, Wovoka experienced a vision of a ‘Supreme Being’, which ‘he preached peaceful coexistence and a strong work ethic and taught ceremonial songs and dances to resurrect dead Indians’. The belief continued that if Indians practiced the Ghost Dance, they would become reunited with the dead Indians and the whites would begin to disappear. Despite the first movement of the Ghost Dance being rejected, the second movement gained support and acceptance from tribes in Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Texas.

“When the Sun died, I went up to Heaven and saw God and all the people who had died a long time ago. God told me to come back and tell my people they must be good and love one another, and not fight, or steal or lie. He gave me this dance to give to my people.”

Wovoka

(Source from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Dance)

Wovoka, creator of the Ghost Dance

The success of the religion was even more remarkable due to the geographical and language barriers among the various tribes, a lack of access to media or other technology and that Wovoka never left the Paiute land. The religion of the Native Americans would have been one of the first within America and this signifies how the religion represents America. The white settlers reacted differently to the new religion, where some travelled to observe their dancing, others feared the possibility of an Indian uprising. Eventually the Bureau of Indian Affairs banned the Ghost Dance due to beliefs of it starting a violent rebellion. The BIA did no recognize that in fact the Ghost Dance had many parallels with Christianity, with many Indians believing in one God, ironic as the agency wanted to convert the Native Indians.

(Source from: http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h3775.html)

The most enthusiastic supporters of the Ghost Dance were from the Lakota due to the intense suffering there. In 1980, President Benjamin Harrison ordered the military to take control over Lakota Sioux, and on December 29^th 1980; 300 Lakota men, women and children were killed in an event, which became known as the Massacre of Wounded Knee. The government destroyed what initially began as a peaceful, religious movement. After this the phenomenon disappeared, only continuing in several isolated places with the last known Ghost Dance being held in the 1950’s among the Shoshone.

The Ghost Dance presents itself as “American” as it is one of the first religions practiced amongst the original settlers. It furthermore portrays how the white settlers did not accept other unknown religions, when in fact there were many similarities between the Ghost Dance and Christianity. This religion questions the First Amendment of the United States, adopted in 1791, which states freedom within religion.

American Mormons

The Church of Christ of Latter-Day Saints

The Mormon Church is a denomination of the Christian faith, which was founded by Joseph Smith who was allegedly visited by a 'heavenly angel' in 1823, who instructed him on how to find some gold plates buried in a hill in western New York, which had the true word of God inscribed on them. From this came the Book of Mormon, which are the Mormons' holy scriptures, alongside the Holy Bible which is familiar to all Christians. After the Book of Mormon was available to the wider public, Joseph Smith became considered as a prophet of God. In the early days of the faith, Mormons were subject to much criticism and persecution, so many of them relocated to, what is now, Salt Lake City in Utah, which was founded by Brigham Young in 1847, and is quite often seen as the heart of the Mormon faith, being the headquarters of the Church of Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Upon arrival in Salt Lake City, designs for the first Mormon temple were drawn up, and upon completion 40 years later, Salt Lake Temple became an icon of Mormonism as well as a famous landmark.

Though the Mormon faith is a fairly recently established religion, it has developed considerably and spread across the globe, with over 15 million followers of the religion worldwide. Missionaries are a vital aspect of the Mormon faith, which is why a majority of young adult Mormons leave their homes and spend two years of their life going around the world, to try and convert people to Mormonism.

Upon first glance of the website, it is clear that the Mormon are a wealthy faith, just because of the the setup of their website. The homepage has slides showing a few examples of people who are Mormons from all parts of the United States, and on each slide it shows a small profile of each person, and to me, this seems like a way of Mormons reaffirming that they live a normal life, which is not changed because of their faith. These pictures are also showing that the Mormons are a diverse range of people, and to quote their homepage 'united by a commitment to Jesus Christ'. This could  be seen to reaffirm the notion of the 'melting pot', because the founding of the Mormon faith appears to have brought many different types of people together, first of all immigrants in the United States, and now people from all different countries across the world. The message that this website puts across is that being a Mormon enhances every aspect of your life, by living to work for God. Mission work is one of the main characteristics of Mormonism which most non-Mormons will immediately associate with the faith. However, this is not the only voluntary and humanitarian work that the Mormons do. Just from seeing the headings under the 'values' tab on the website, it is clear that to be a Mormon, you must be dedicated to your faith and be willing to help other people in various aspects of life.

In my opinion, it can be argued that the Mormon faith in general can be seen as very 'American'. This is mainly due to the fact that less than 50 years after the faith was established, they became renowned for their wealth and success within Salt Lake City, which became populated and vastly developed primarily because of the Mormons. The Salt Lake Temple is evidence of this wealth, because of its grandeur and unique design. The innovation and determination shown by the early Mormons demonstrates key values that were very much prevalent across the whole of the United States during the years of westward expansion and development. The faith was founded by Joseph Smith, essentially, on the basis of needing a fresh start, looking at Christianity in a new way, which is also why a lot of people migrated to the United States in the first place.

However, this being said, the website itself does not immediately strike me as overly 'American'. The only thing on the site that makes it American, is the mention of the origins of the faith, which are only actually specify as being American in the 'FAQs' section on the Book of Mormon, which briefly mention that Joseph Mormon was visited by an angel whilst living in New York State. The impression here is that Mormonism does not necessarily pride itself on being American, or the origins of it.

Jewish America

American Jewish Committee 

http://www.ajc.org/site/c.7oJILSPwFfJSG/b.8449641/k.BD8F/Home.htm

The AJC are a global Jewish advocacy organisation, formed in 1906. "With offices across the United States and around the globe, and partnerships with Jewish communities worldwide, AJC works to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and to advance human rights and democratic values for all." It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organisations in the United States. Besides working on behalf of the Jewish people, the organisation has a history of fighting against forms of U.S. discrimination and working on behalf of social equality. AJC was established in 1906 by a small group of influential American Jews concerned about pogroms aimed at the Jewish population of Russia. The official committee statement on the purpose was to “prevent infringement of the civil and religious rights of Jews and to alleviate the consequences of persecution."

The homepage of their website shows up to date information involving their organisation and their actions within America as well as across the globe, as well as a focus on the Israeli elections, showing a strong relationship with Jewish people around the world along with giving them a legitimacy and proof of their intentions to support these people, exemplified by a quote from the President of Israel supporting the group. Also on the page is a link to how you can help combat Anti-Semitism, giving options in an efficient manner, making it feel easy for the reader to help their cause, and it does it in an un-patronising way which I feel helps the reader as they don't feel pressured to donate. 

The major thing that defines it as 'American' is its name being the American Jewish Committee. This declaration gives a clear statement of its identity and has remained in its name ever since their inception. However, this would most probably just be down to its location of origin and its hopes to become a national force. As far as defining itself as 'American' on the site, there is nothing blatant that jumps out. The site's focus is on stopping discrimination, so the idea of focussing on just the American Jewish population could be discriminating the others from everywhere else. On the 'About Us' page, the primary picture shows a group of people diverse in ethnicity, personifying their pursuits. Although, an argument could be made that this indefinitely portrays an American personality due to the 'melting pot' ideal of the country and its great variance of cultures contained within. However I do just think that this inclusiveness comes from the organisations history of aims as well as the support they offer everyone to this day and its image of being accessible by everyone, and not particularly just because of American identity.

The only real mention of solely the U.S. is their page saying that their head office is in New York and stating their presence in 22 states of the country, but the same page shows links to its other bases in the world, again trying not to pigeon-hole itself and broadening its base.

Chapeter 18 Analysis

'The Tall Indian'

Chapter 18 is called the ‘The Tall Indian’, in this chapter the Ingalls are visited by several different kinds of Native Americans. The first one abruptly enters the cabin and the language Laura uses to describe the Indian automatically alienates him from the white Ingall family

‘They couldn't take their eyes from that Indian. He was so still that the beautiful eagle-feathers in his scalplock didn't stir. Only his bare chest and the leanness under his ribs moved a little to his breathing.’

Everyone but Pa in that moment is terrified, especially Ma, who had previously been talking about how much she didn't like Indians. After peacefully sharing a meal and some tobacco with Pa, the Indian leaves, after which Ma says ‘Let Indians keep themselves to themselves’. Although meant as a threat the irony within this line is almost humorous, as any reader would think that the only reason the Indians would ‘invade’ the white settlements was due to the fact that their land was being stolen and that they were being forced to move out. Throughout this encounter, the family dog Jack acts aggressively towards the Indian and any Indian he comes across after that ‘He stood with his back bristled, and all his teeth showed’ and Laura clearly states at the beginning of the chapter ‘Jack hated Indians’. I found this odd as the first Indian to visit the Ingalls was not going to do them any harm, however Ma seems to agree with Jack’s behaviour which seems to suggest that since its almost common knowledge that animals can sense danger or any threats around them before most humans due, by having Jack react the way he does, was Wilder trying to comment on the natural perception of Native Americans being nothing but dangerous animals held at that time.

You can also find various description of life in the plains in this chapter. Laura describes the way in which Pa went hunting and captured their food and how they kept warm in the winter

‘Pa set his traps in the creek bottoms. Every day he visited them, and every day he went hunting. Now that the nights were freezing cold he shot deer for meat. He shot wolves and foxes for their fur, and his traps caught beaver and muskrat and mink’. 

This description shows the simple life that they lived and it very much keeps with the American ideal of living off the fat of the land.

However later on in the chapter the two unfriendly Indians enter the cabin and go through the Ingall family belongings whilst Laura and Mary hide behind the frightened Ma who is carrying baby Carrie. Laura says that the only reason the Natives came into the house was because ‘Jack was chained’. 

After the Indians have left and Pa has returned the girls are put to bed, where Ma sings them a lullaby, presumably about an Indian ‘maid’. It is in this part of the chapter that Laura ask a series of questions that clearly make Ma and Pa uncomfortable such as ‘Will the government make these Indians go west?’ and ‘But, Pa I thought this was Indian territory.’ The way in which Pa answers Laura indicates that he knows what they are doing is wrong although there is nothing he can do about it as he probably genuinely believes that although the land belongs to the Indians, white settlers will treat the land better and the way that it’s how things should be.

‘When white settlers come into a country, the Indians have to move on. The government is going to move these Indians farther west, any time now. That’s why we’re here, Laura. White people are going to settle all this country, and we get the best land because we get here first and take our pick.’

What relevance does this text have for today and what does the marketing of the book suggest?

I think that this text holds a significant amount of relevance for today's society, especially that of America. the description of life during the period of migration holds some sort of value as many Americans with ancestors who were settlers can learn about what life was like back then. Since this book is advertised as a children's book it would be very important for many American children to read about America in time when the American wilderness was very much alive and apart of day to day life. It can also be used to educate children and adults to views held by many white settlers at this time especially those about Native Americans and can be used as a way of warning against these views.

American Scientology

Scientology http://www.scientology.org/

Scientology was founded in 1952 by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. Scientology was based on Hubbard’s system of Dianetics, which he called “the modern science of mental health”. Dianetics was supposed to be an alternative to modern psychology, which Hubbard claimed was lacking. According to those who have left the cult, the core tenets of Scientology are hidden from members until they attain a certain level in the cult. The early stages involve manipulation of theoretic life force energy, called “theta”, which represents the true identity of a person.

Manipulation of this force helps one get “Clear”, done through an “auditing” process by higher ranked members. Thetans are also a race which created the universe for their own enjoyment, but at higher levels, members are introduced to the story of Xenu, a tyrant who rules the Galactic Confederacy. 

Hubbard wrote that Xenu was the ruler of a Galactic Confederacy 75 million years ago, which consisted of 26 stars and 76 planets including Earth, which was then known as "Teegeeack".
The planets were overpopulated, containing an average population of 178 billion. The Galactic Confederacy's civilisation was comparable to our own, with aliens "walking around in clothes which looked very remarkably like the clothes they wear this very minute" and using cars, trains and boats looking exactly the same as those "circa 1950, 1960" on Earth.

Xenu was about to be deposed from power, so he devised a plot to eliminate the excess population from his dominions. With the assistance of therapists, he gathered billions of his citizens under the pretence of income tax inspections inspections, then paralysed them and froze them in a mixture of alcohol and glycol to capture their souls. The kidnapped populace was loaded into spacecraft for transport to the site of extermination, the planet of Teegeeack (Earth).The appearance of these spacecraft would later be subconsciously expressed in the design of the air plane popular in Hubbard's time. When they had reached Teegeeack, the paralysed citizens were unloaded around the bases of volcanoes across the planet. Hydrogen bombs were then lowered into the volcanoes and detonated simultaneously, killing all but a few aliens.

This revelation caused some members to leave the cult, while the Church of Scientology’s heavy-handed tactics (isolation, lawsuits) have not only kept many members in line, but also served to maintain a conspiracy of silence among former members, for fear of legal retribution. It can be argued the Church of Scientology is not a cult, based on its recognition by the IRS as a church (for tax purposes). Italy, Spain, Portugal, Taiwan, and a number of other countries have recognised Scientology as a church. At the same time, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Belgium, Greece, and Canada have all deemed Scientology a cult and refuse to recognise its legitimacy.

 

In my opinion Scientology is and American faith due to the large amount of famous celebrities within its ranks such as Tom Cruise who are American. It can also be considered a mainly American faith due to its founder having been an American science-fiction writer. However, the main scientology website doesn't not advertise any sense of the faith being mainly 'American', this anyone can identify with faith, this is also seen through the amount of diversity present in the website, as they claim they can change 'your' life regardless of your background.