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 persons experiencing pressure is women, as they have always lived under the dominance of males and the social standards imposed by them.
Main Body
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. In order to illustrate how Native Americans’ way of life and culture are being destroyed, Erdrich uses the confrontation between two groups—Native Americans and U.S. officers—in her short story “American Horse.” Further, Cisneros 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.
Prior to dissecting the two tales, I would like to discuss how the writers’ ideas relate to my own life. My husband, Ludvin, is from Honduras, a country in Central America. His past experiences prove that people with poor or unstable social statuses, including Native Americans, females, or the population of 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 people, including Ludvin and his father, find ways to avoid oppression. Others, such as the characters of the two short stories, have no resources for that and are made to obey more powerful institutions and individuals.
The short story “American Horse” is a vital 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, which represents the experiences of many other individual households and poor children of Native Americans (Erdrich). The oppression is so harsh that even kids understand its causes: “Buddy knew that being the best thing in his mother’s life, he was also the reason they were hiding from the cops” (Erdrich 211). On a larger scale, the narrative focuses on colonialists disrupting the dynamics of native culture. Thus, it was simultaneously beautiful to see the pure motherly love and devastating to learn about the discrimination faced by Native Americans.
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 211). 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 his mother is “a delicate beast” when she hugs him. He feels he is back inside her body (Erdrich 211, 213). The readers perceive no legitimate reason to split them up because they are shown as a typical family with a strong tie, occasional misunderstandings, and a strong desire to stick together.
However, then, the author emphasizes the justified distrust of Native Americans toward law enforcement. By gradually moving the plot along, Erdrich demonstrates how two welfare officials, Brackett and Harmony, along with a social worker named Vicki Koob, decide to remove Buddy from his family because they feel the child’s circumstances are unsuitable (Erdrich). By observing the communication between the officers and Buddy’s Uncle Lawrence, it becomes evident 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.
According to Koob, the mother is constantly drunk, and Uncle Lawrence most likely suffers from a mental disorder (Erdrich). 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 214). The subject of discrimination and rights violations is therefore brought to light, and the cops show no concern for the sentiments 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 that Buddy could not avoid.
The author sheds light on the violence and prejudice that Westerners have against Native Americans in addition to the subject of family, which emphasizes and values blood ties. 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 215). Therefore, Erdrich creates a beautiful and tragic world with sincere and touching motherly love and a painful family separation.
A similar topic of challenges marginalized populations face is covered in Sandra Cisneros’s “Barbie-Q,” where two girls discuss and compare their Barbies, focusing on the materialistic traits forced onto women with this doll. Each girl has only one Barbie and one dress for it, as the low socioeconomic status of their family does not allow them to buy newer clothes or dolls. From its beginning, the story refers to specific adverse concepts learned by the girls because of inadequate social standards. Thus, the young females 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 251). This scenario and the girls’ desire to purchase or create more dresses for their dolls show how society perceives women and makes girls acquire the needed social roles. Amid economic hardship, these girls learn that the community cares about material things (Cisneros). 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 252). Their joy does not prevent readers from noticing a racial and social division between the two old Barbies and the new dolls with physical flaws. Koparanoğlu Artuç 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” (116). Like Native Americans from “American Horse” differ from the colonizers, these Barbies, and other dolls also have external differences that are highlighted.
Therefore, the flawed Barbies are still the same, but their melted legs or burned skin become a more important signifier. One may ask whether the short story shows this negatively or positively. The following quote is essential to understand that the question has no single answer. Cisneros writes, “And if the prettiest doll … has a left foot that’s melted a little — so? If you dress her in her new “Prom Pinks” outfit, … so long as you don’t lift her dress, right? — who’s to know” (252). While the girls love the flawed Barbies, they also wish to cover their imperfections with clothes. However, what if someone lifts the dress and sees the melted leg? The author does not answer this question, allowing the reader to use their understanding of social pressure to find the likeliest response themselves. However, there is hope as the girls genuinely enjoy playing with their new dolls even though the latter have external damages. If people learn to avoid paying attention to their differences, including skin color or physical imperfections, 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, and one can only hope that the authors’ writing on these issues will raise awareness and lead to positive change.
Work Cited
Koparanoğlu Artuç, Hafize Gül. “Being a Barbie or Barbie-Q.” Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 158. 2014, pp. 115-118.
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