Introduction
One might agree that literature is the most powerful tool that gifted and skilled people use to show the imperfections of societies, highlight the primary issues to address, and demonstrate how minorities or disadvantaged view the world. In almost all communities, individuals are divided into the oppressors and the oppressed. For example, the latter includes Native Americans who faced violence, discrimination, and the destruction of their values by the conquerors. Another group of oppressed persons is women, who have always lived under the pressure and dominance of males and the social standards imposed by them.
It is possible to refer to literature to explore these matters deeply and get an idea of how authors see the concept of oppression and discrimination. Thus, in her short story “American Horse,” Erdrich (n.d.) presents the conflict between two sides, Native Americans and U.S. officers, to demonstrate that the former’s lifestyle and culture are being destroyed. Further, Cisneros (1991) writes a story, “Barbie-Q,” to share her views on the effects of materialism and societal pressure on females and explore the domination of some social groups.
Personal Connection to the Stories
Before analyzing the two stories, I would like to indicate how my personal life relates to the concepts explored by the authors. My husband is from Honduras, a country in Central America, and his past experiences prove that people with poor social statuses, such as Native Americans or those in developing states, face violence and oppression. In Honduras, some guerrillas take local children, practically kidnapping them for their purposes.
However, my husband’s father managed to send him away from the country, saving his life. My husband endured many tragedies and obstacles while crossing the borders of Mexico and the United States, finally finding safety in the U.S. Therefore, some, including my husband and his father, find ways to avoid oppression, but others, such as the characters of the two short stories, have no resources for that and are made to obey more powerful institutions and people.
Analysis of American Horse
The short story “American Horse” is a powerful and thought-provoking piece demonstrating the tension between the Western and Native American forces. On a smaller scale, one sees the story of Buddy being separated from his family representing the experiences of many other individual households and poor children of Native Americans (Erdrich, n.d.). On a larger scale, the narrative focuses on colonialists disrupting the dynamics of native culture. Thus, it was simultaneously beautiful to see the pure and strong motherly love and devastating to learn about the discrimination and bias faced by the Native American community.
From the story’s beginning, the author uses different techniques to introduce the woman and her child to the reader. One can understand the deep love of Albertine American Horse for her son, as the woman believes that he is “the best thing that ever happened to [her]” (Erdrich, n.d., p. 378). At the same time, the readers see Albertine through her son’s eyes, and the perceptions of his mother and the world are rather naïve, childish, and metaphorical. For instance, he imagines that his mother is “a delicate beast,” when she hugs him, he feels he is back inside her body (Erdrich, n.d., pp. 378, 380). They are described as an ordinary family with a tight bond, some cases of misunderstanding, and a powerful desire to stay with each other, so the readers see no objective reason to separate them.
However, then, the author emphasizes the justified distrust of Native Americans toward law enforcement. By slowly progressing into the story, Erdrich (n.d.) shows how two welfare officers, Brackett and Harmony, and a social worker named Vicki Koob come to take Buddy away from his family since they believe the child’s conditions are inappropriate (Erdrich, n.d.). By observing the communication between the officers and Buddy’s Uncle Lawrence, it becomes obvious that the visitors’ views toward the Native people are stereotyped.
Although one does not have a complete picture of Buddy’s life, the readers become exposed to the prejudice held by the welfare officers. As Koob states, Uncle Lawrence probably has a mental illness, and the mother is always intoxicated (Erdrich, n.d.). Officer Brackett even put handcuffs on Uncle Lawrence despite the man not being violent. The author says, “Harmony thought he always had to explain about Indians or get twice as tough to show he did not favor them” (Erdrich, n.d., p. 381). As a result, the issue of rights violation and prejudice is highlighted, and the officers do not care about the feelings of the families they visit.
Overall, this is how the author takes the story to a larger scale, associating the experiences of Buddy’s family with many other Native American households, parents, and children. “American Horse” is a nuanced and multifaceted portrayal of the challenges faced by Native American communities. Reading this story was eye-opening as I thought about powerful institutions and individuals being able to do whatever they want or find correct while paying no attention to the feelings and pain of disadvantaged people. The same almost happened to my husband when he was young, and only God’s support helped him be saved from the terrible fate from which Buddy is not saved.
Aside from discussing the theme of family, where blood connections are prioritized and valued, the author illuminates the topic of brutality and bias that Western persons hold toward Native Americans. Albertine’s family not only distrusts the police but also feels threatened and unprotected by those people and institutions that have to support them: “’My rights are violated!’ Lawrence shrieked suddenly. They ignored him” (Erdrich, n.d., p. 382). Therefore, Erdrich creates a beautiful and tragic world with sincere and touching motherly love and a painful family separation.
Analysis of Barbie-Q
A somewhat similar topic is covered in “Barbie-Q.” In Sandra Cisneros’s story, two girls discuss and compare their Barbie dolls, focusing on the materialistic traits of the latter. Each girl has only one Barbie doll and one dress for it, as the low socioeconomic status of their family does not allow them to buy newer clothes or dolls. The girls always play the same scenario of one Barbie’s boyfriend cheating with the other Barbie: “Only Ken’s invisible, right? Because we don’t have money for a stupid-looking boy doll” (Cisneros, 1991, p. 1).
This scenario and the girls’ desire to purchase or create more dresses for their girls show what the little girls think about women in society. Amid economic hardship, these girls learn that the community cares about material things (Cisneros, 1991). When their Barbies fight over Ken, they do not blame him, which also demonstrates that these small females already understand the power of the patriarchy.
Only when the warehouse burns down can they get new Barbies that have some damage? However, the girls are happy: “So what if our Barbies smell like smoke when you hold them up to your nose even after you wash them” (Cisneros, 1991, p. 2). Koparanoğlu Artuç (2014) says that “by putting Barbie as the symbol of white Anglo Saxon-American female in in-group and the burned Barbie (Barbie-Q) as the symbol of Latinos in out-group, Cisneros shows the hegemonic ideology that tries to subordinate and dominate the social groups marginalized by the dominant/powerful class” (p. 116). Like the Native Americans from “American Horse,” these Barbies are different and have to cover their imperfections. However, there is hope as the girls truly love their new dolls even though the latter have external damages. If people learn to avoid paying attention to their differences, including skin color, they can live in a better world.
Conclusion
To conclude, the explored short stories demonstrate the primary negative features of societies. For generations, people have held onto their stereotypes and biases, discriminating against others and violating the rights, freedoms, and feelings of those who differ from them. In “American Horse,” colonists think they know better about Native Americans’ ability or inability to raise children. As the officers are more powerful, they break the traditions of the tribal households, interfere in their lives, and separate mothers from their sons. In “Barbie-Q,” the girls are not oppressed directly, but the readers can see how prejudice, patriarchy, and heteronormative beliefs affect their daily activities.
In his youth, my husband faced a similar situation when stronger people could take him away from his family, imposing their orders on Hondurans. It is even more terrible when precisely children face oppression, violence, and discrimination, deprived of their right and ability to live without the pressure of adverse social institutions. These two short stories show such a reality; one can only hope the situation will improve soon.
References
Cisneros, S. (1991). Barbie-Q [PDF document]. Web.
Erdrich, L. (n.d.). American horse [PDF document]. Web.
Koparanoğlu Artuç, H. G. (2014). Being a Barbie or Barbie-Q. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 158, 115-118. Web.
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