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Scholarship on ethnic literature has paid particular attention to literacy narratives. Linguistic assimilation is a central theme of immigrant writers, who use narratives of language socialization to show how characters medi ate between cultures and reconcile the Old World with the New.1 Language narratives are particularly important in the work of Mary Antin, whose life story is one of transformation through language. In The Promised Land (1912), she documents her escape from the Russian Pale of Settlement, arrival in the United States, and experiences learning English in American schools, where she quickly assimilated and attracted attention as an emerg ing writer. As she recounts, language and literacy acquisition created the potential for her dramatic transformation from an impoverished immigrant to a prominent writer and activist. Literary scholars have tended to see Antin's language narratives as metaphors for her assimilation. It is true that Antin's rapid language acquisition reflects her patriotic zeal and embrace of Americanism. In The Promised Land, she makes a "public declaration of [her] love for the English language" which she acquired "word by word . . . like gather ing a posy blossom by blossom" (164-66). For those scholars who have accused her of being politically na?ve and stylistically stilted, such pas sages underscore what they see as her uncritical, pro-assimilation stance. Sarah Blacher Cohen, for instance, criticizes Antin for her tendency to use "the most impressive-sounding English" while urging immigrants to reject their cultural heritage (31). Steven G. Kellman asserts that Antin displays an "instrumental" view of language, which she treats as "a tool that can be adapted or discarded not only without trauma but also without dis torting thought" (157). In Kellman's analysis, Antin's linguistic assimila tion serves as a metaphorical displacement for her view of culture, which she also treats as something that can be easily adopted or discarded.2 As William A. Proefriedt argues, however, it is difficult to say whether, in her blind patriotism or enthusiasm for assimilation, Antin is deceiving herself or simply "trying to convince [her audience] of the wisdom of open immi gration policies and educational and social service support for immigrants" |
