BOOK BY GABRIELA F. ARREDONDO. MEXICAN CHICAGO: RACE, IDENTITY, AND NATION, 1916-39
The phenomenon of the Mexican society in Chicago has been an object of interest for many years. This issue has been examined in details and in general in order to draw the conclusion if the importance and influence of the Mexicans on the social and cultural life. However, the scholars have not published their findings for the audience’s access. Therefore, the book ‘Mexican Chicago’ written by Gabriela F. Arredondo is the first attempt to demonstrate the Mexicans experience within the American society and their cooperation. The book consists of the investigation of the history of the Mexican ethnicity and their influence on the American society. It goes without saying that Mexicans in Chicago are not just an ethnic group but also the people, who influence the history of the American city Chicago. The book covers the evaluation and assessment of the Mexicans in Chicago as their early experience in that land.
The timeline of the book is from 1916 to 1939. For better understanding and acquisition of the events, the author picks up a little period in order to examine every event and its consequences on the history of the Mexican society and the American society as well. The main task of the book is to demonstrate the uniqueness of the Mexican immigrant society, which attempted to save their ‘level of the foreignness’ within the number of other immigrant from the Eastern and Southern countries, who try to be adjusted with their cultural and social norms and values. The Windy City, Chicago, is considered to a mixed combination of the immigrant from all over the world. People were searching for their fortunes and better lives there. Therefore, Chicago is considered to be a center of the immigrants in the early 20th century. However, according to the author Gabriela F. Arredondo, the Mexican part of the American society in Chicago tried their best not to have a lot in common with Native Americans and be assimilated into their society but to protect their uniqueness in the culture and moral values1.
According to the author, the official racial classification used to be blurred and misunderstanding for the average people. This situation was changed when all federal agencies put the Americans in the section of the Whites. This event happened in 1940. However, it was a historical moment - de jure. De facto – the average people did not change their perspective and attitude to the Mexicans. The overall attitude among the American society was full of prejudice and bias again. The average people included the Mexican ethnicity to the colored category of the society. To the same category, they named the Native Americans, Afro-Americans, and Asians.
All these groups experienced unpleasant and rude attitude toward their ethnicity. The level of this attitude was considered to be different for the groups. Though, the Mexicans suffer from this attitude from the most obvious way. On the other hand, the authorities tried to establish fairness among these groups by giving them opportunities to have a better life. As a result, the authorities these three groups with the great benefits. For example, the advantages included municipal employment, better access to the jobs/ housing/ social and public services2.
Though, the other immigrant groups did not treat the Mexicans as their friends or ‘coworkers’. These actions from the authorities did not provoke combining all immigrant nations into the melting bowl, though; it caused the negative outcomes both for the Mexican immigrants and for the immigrants from the other ethnicity. Though, they had a hostile attitude to the Mexicans and treated them in a very mean and cruel way. This event caused a division in the American society – the Mexicans decided to border their own society while being in the same country. As a result, the Mexicans did not have the desire to obtain the American citizenship and combine their own unique culture into the American multicultural one.
Gabriela F. Arredondo examines the issue of the Mexican ethnicity in Chicago focusing on the previous findings and research of Mexicans in the United States of America. To the number of the research, the author includes comparison and differentiation of the ‘true American’ definitions. The author’s task is to find out the links of the adjustment and accustom. The author bases the investigation on the historical events between 1916 and 1938 claiming that especially these events were a turning point in the history of the Mexican immigrant ethnicity in Chicago. They considered to be not only a number of immigrants, who were a low-paid working power and did their bests to get accustomed and assimilated into the American Society in Chicago, but also they were people, who were new came immigrants and created a new page of social and cultural life and history in Chicago. The author collects all the materials, which are connected not only with the history of the Mexican immigrant ethnicity but also other the other immigrant nations e.g. Poles, Italians, and the Irish. These materials demonstrate the embodiment of the desire of these immigrant nations to fight for their rights and against the feeling of bias and prejudice, which surrounded them from the other members of the American society.
Gabriela F. Arredondo compares the twofold nature of the American Society. The attitude to the immigrants is negative, that is provoked with a reserves worldview and perspective. The extraordinary outcome of the investigation was the fact that every member of the American Society had roots from the other European or Latino countries. However, they treated the other immigrants bad, basing their thoughts and opinions on the fact that there were already too many people from other countries. The United States of America considered to be a melting bowl, especially Chicago was a center for immigrants and their families. As a result, Chicago formed generations of immigrants, who created an especially unique society. Therefore, the negative attitude towards the Immigrants, especially the Mexican immigrants, provokes the weird feeling of the subjective and irrational perspective toward the surrounding people and the world in general.
The work is devoted to the desire to get rid of the limitations, which exist in the modern society and used to exist decades ago. These limitations are connected to the issue of the gender, identity, race of the Mexican ethnicity. Since this issue is complicated and versatile, the audience should be acquainted with all the sides of it, so they have to dig deeper and learn some basic historical events, which influence the contemporary occasions and their outcomes. The author, also, has attempted to describe the social issues, which occurred inside the Mexican immigrant society. To the number of these issues, the author includes the social role of a woman and analysis of her status and influence of her actions. Gabriela F. Arredondo states that a gender as a social feature is a highly complex issue, which alters the routines and customs of the nation. Therefore, she was especially careful while investigation this issue and its outcomes. On the other hand, the author was careful while adding these materials into her book, since the information could have though as irrelevant and redundant one and just cease understanding of the whole picture while focusing on the details.
After analyzing the book and its outcomes on the society, one should mention that the book ‘Mexican Chicago’ written by Gabriela F. Arredondo is an inevitable part of the establishment of the link between the American and Mexican society. The book provides the audience with the historical dates and events, which influenced the establishment and development of the modern American-Mexican relationships. The author examines the timeline between 1916 and 1939. The events, which occurred that time, provoked the attitude, which one may observe nowadays. Unfortunately, the attitude toward the Mexican ethnicity is subjectively negative and unfair, though, it does not have any background for this type of behavior and attitude. Therefore, this book should widen the people’s understanding and acquisition of the Mexican ethnicity and culture. The author has made an endeavor so that all the members of the modern society understand their wrong treatment and change it for better modern and future times.
However, the book should have provided the audience with more events and occasions without explaining their meaning in the Mexican cultural and social life and the life of the American society in general. These two cultures are connected, especially in the Windy City – Chicago, though, both the American side and the Mexican side deny the fact that these two cultures influence each other and even alter their meaning and appearance. This approach, which forces the audience to apply critical thinking and analyze the cause-and-effect relationship, would facilitate the audience’s ability to think critically toward the historically important dates and events in the life of their society. Furthermore, the employment of the critical thinking would enhance the understanding of the negatively wrong attitude and ruin the barriers between two cultures, which are connected to each other. The book gives an opportunity to draw conclusions how the immigrant's society lived at that time in Chicago and what purposes force them to change their lifestyle and the place of living.
Bibliography
Arredondo, Gabriela F. Mexican Chicago. 1st ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2008.
