Rachel Sandstrom

20 March 2014

American Orientalism in How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents and Ms. Hempel Chronicles
Edward W. Saids essay Orientalism describes exoticising the orient, how seeing The
Orient - a diverse group of countries, cultures, and traditions- as a singular entity is degrading to
each of the cultures involved. The Orient is an amalgamated identity of countries not only
adjacent to Europe; it is also the place of Europes greatest and richest and oldest colonies (Said
1865). The connection between Europe and these countries is one with a history of authority,
comparable to the American notion of Orientalism, American Orientalism was a kind of
intellectual authority over the Orient within Western Culture (Said 1881). Intellectual authority
over post-colonial nations exists within a Western lens, one fallacy of which is a fundamental
disregard for these nations as sovereign. One consequence of this view of foreign countries is a
tradition of othering: setting cultures and countries aside that are not your own. In How the
Garcia Girls Lost their Accents, Yolanda is othered by Rudy Elmenhurst, a classmate and
pseudo-boyfriend. While How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents describes othering and
exoticizing in action, as it happens to Yolanda, Ms. Hempel Chronicles describes the effect it
can have on an individual over time. Both Ms. Hempel and Yolanda must forge new identities in
the wake of their differing, yet similar experiences with American Orientalism.
The relationship between Yolanda and Rudy begins in a poetry classroom. While sitting
next to his empty seat, the teacher call[s] roll, acknowledging most of the other students with
nicknames and jokes and remarks, stumbling over my name and smiling falsely at me, a smile I
had identified as one flashed on foreign students to show them that the natives were
friendly(Alvarez 87). Without even speaking a word, Yolanda has developed a foreign
Sandstrom 2

identity which is perpetuated by Rudy Elmenhurst and other young men. She moved to the
United States as a young girl, so for most of her life, she been forced to reconcile her Dominican
identity with an American notion of foreigner. Rudy and Yolanda begin dating, and Rudy
persistently encourages Yolanda to lose her virginity to him. When Yolanda eventually refuses
for good, Rudy states that he thought [shed] be hot-blooded, being Spanish and all (99). Just
like the Orient, Yolanda receives from Rudy Elmenhurst an amalgamated and incorrect
identity. His statement is problematic for several reasons, the glaring error being that Yolanda is
Dominican, not Spanish. He is angry because his created identity of her has been confronted with
her true identity, a peculiar mix of Catholicism and agnosticism, Hispanic and American styles
(Alvarez 99). Her immigrant status engenders a conflict from the beginning. Her home does not
truly exist, for the Dominican Republic would not be the same to her as when she lived there,
and her status as other in the United States renders her unable to identify as American unless
she becomes part of the melting pot, a homogenized amalgamation of American-isms and her
identity. Being raised in America, Rudy embodies the ignorance associated with Orientalism,
believing essentially that if Yolanda speaks Spanish, she is Spanish; he perceives all of those
countries as the same. Rudys parents are encouraging of his behavior: he told them he was
seeing a Spanish girl and he reported that they said that should be interesting for him to find out
about people from other cultures (Alvarez 98). Again, his statement condenses Yolandas
unique blend of attitudes, culture, and heritage into an incorrect assessment of Spanish. His
family, instead of wondering about Yolanda as a woman, encourage Rudy to pursue her as an
idea, as an embodiment of other cultures. This is an example of American Orientalism in
action: Yolanda represents all cultures outside of America (which is a problematic identity in
itself), instead of her own identity. This behavior is harmful: it bothered me that they should
Sandstrom 3

treat me like a geography lesson for her son (Alvarez 98). Yolanda feels every instance of
othering and these experiences imprint on her, give her feedback and help to create her new
identity.
Her experiences with Rudy are, unfortunately, not unique to him and the Elmenhurst
family. This relationship lingers in her psyche, and becomes a defining moment in her life. Her
husband, John is another man in her life who misunderstands Yolanda and does not seek to
rectify his perception. He names her in varying degrees of seriousness, from Joe to Violet to
Squirrel. For Yolanda, these nicknames serve to further fragment her identity and separate her
further from her husband. As with Rudy, Yolanda desires romance, and is let down continuously.
By the pond, Yolanda and John seem to be sharing cute moments. Yolanda makes up little
rhymes, Johns a hon, lying by the pond, having lots of fun (Alvarez 71) and John retorts with
and youre a little squirrel (Alvarez 71). This fundamental disconnect between the two of them
causes a major rift, because Yolanda is not understood and loved as she needs. Yolandas
relationships are flawed in this similar way, she does not seem to accept all facets of herself and
struggles to create and maintain a singular identity. John is unable to see Yolanda for all that she
is because Yolanda does not. Furthermore, John does not seem to deem it a worthy cause to
search within Yolanda, find out what she needs, how she needs to be loved, and work hard to
become that man for her. This lack of effort embodies American Orientalism. It is not deemed
necessary to understand the culture of immigrants, as it is seen as less than the American
culture. John believes that Yolandas poetic nature is less valuable than his own, analytic list-
making self, not everyone can be as goddam poetic as you (Alvarez 72). His swearing and
loaded language implies a lack of respect for the way in which Yolanda romanticizes words and
their uses. Her poetic nature leads her to be addicted to love stories with happy endings, as if
Sandstrom 4

there were a stitch she missed, a mistake she made way back when she fell in love with her first
man, and if only she could find it, maybe she could undo itand start over (Alvarez 63). This is
the way Yolanda exoticizes her own love life. She looks back through a nostalgic lens and
romanticizes her past. This is similar to the way she is exoticized and not understood. Yolandas
Dominican heritage is othered and exoticized, and this is integrated into her personality.
Yolanda Garcia encounters exoticising and othering in a direct way, a different
experience than Ms. Hempel in Ms. Hempel Chronicles. Ms. Beatrice Hempel experiences the
effects of a long history of Orientalist thinking. Throughout her life, she gets little knowledge
and no formal education about her heritage. She is not always put into a box like Yolanda, but
her life exemplifies the long standing circumstances of a history disregarding civilizations and
cultures just outside of the American box. Affinity Day is a shining example of this reduced
history. Her school attempts to help mend racist fences, but this separation only highlights the
differences between the groups, creating an us and a them, clearly othering and
amalgamating. The minority students are herded like cattle to discuss the issues apparently only
specific to them, with a Chinese Teacher leading the group. The ethnicity of Ms. Hempel is held
back, and not brought up, until Amara remembered Ms. Hempel. Look at the Chinese!
(Bynum 111). The ethnicity of Ms. Hempel is purposefully withheld from readers to avoid the
immediate effects of American Orientalism. By withholding this information, Bynum asserts that
the ethnicity of Ms. Hempel is not as important as her career, gender, ideas, and relationships
with her students. In confronting ethnicity in this subversive way, Bynum confirms the existence
and prevalence of American Orientalism. Affinity Day is an attempt to cultivate unity and
harmony among minority students, but in separating them from white students, the school
perpetuates the long standing history of othering. The issue of race and race relations is framed
Sandstrom 5

as a minority issue, one that does not affect white people, as if they are not a part of the
problem. Ms. Hempels (Beatrice) experiences with exoticization are embedded within her
identity, she never learned about her history, but she had planned to ask her grandmothershe
had also planned to learn Mandarin once she reached collegeshe did still mean to ask her
mother about the objects illuminated inside the case at the far end of the living room (Bynum
122). Beatrice intends to learn about her history, but she does not consider it important enough to
seek out actively. Her attitude towards her history mirrors a pattern of discrimination in the
United States. As seen in How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, immigrating to the United
States can be fraught with discrimination, misunderstanding, and mislabeling. One way to cope
with these troubles is to set history and origin aside, and pursue an American Identity. Beatrice
struggles with her identity differently than Yolanda; she is not forced to confront her identity or
homogenize herself; she has already lost her accent, or never had one to begin with. This allows
her to choose whether or not to pursue information and understanding about her Chinese
Heritage. Yolanda does not have the luxury to choose.
While it does not occur in the text, it is reasonable to assume that in her life, Beatrice
does not have a close relationship with her Chinese heritage, yet is still othered at crucial
moments in her life, we all know why she got in early to Yale (Bynum 110). Attributing her
education to affirmative action, or the racist stereotype of the smart Chinese serves to dismiss
the intelligence of Ms. Hempel. The exoticizing in the life of Beatrice Hempel has insinuated
itself so deeply, that she herself is outside. She does some exoticizing herself when she is forced
to confront her identity. She compares herself and her brother to their younger sister, those
shaggy, bettle-browed, milk-drinking mutts. Maggies hair was straight and black, her limbs as
dreamily smooth as her mothersas if she had managed to run the gestational gauntlet
Sandstrom 6

unscathed by their fathers messy genes (Bynum 151). Beatrice sees her sister as more Chinese
than herself, as if physical appearance is the sole determiner of genetic material, or culture. She
seems to be jealous of her sisters quality of chinoiserie (Bynum 151). Next to her sister,
Maggie, Beatrice loses some of her identity because her sister looks so much like her mothera
similarity that Beatrice had never been accused of (Bynum 151), another quality of American
Orientalism. Physical qualities are the only indicators of ethnicity important to someone seeking
to label a person, and narrow their identity. Maggie serves as a contrasting character, and brings
out the inner conflict in Beatrice that she had been suppressing throughout her life. It seems as
though Beatrice wishes to have a physical appearance more indicative of her heritage.
The identity Yolanda ultimately fashions is one obsessed with words. After John and
Rudy Elmenhurst, Yolanda has been changed, forced to violently reconcile her identities to
appease the men in her life. Her marriage fails because her husband does not see and appreciate
Yolanda for all of her parts, and instead, belittles her, he had named her Violet after shrinking
violet when she had seeing Dr. Payne (Alvarez 74). This nickname is not in good fun, at least
not for Yolanda. She desires to be understood, recognized as whole because of her various parts,
not despite them. Because her identity is narrowed into one incorrect assessment by an apathetic
party, her parts are never fully seen, understood, or loved. Yolandas obsession with words can
be traced to this lack of understanding and interaction with the world around her. She is forced to
learn a new language when she moves with her family to the United States, and is never
welcomed with open arms. The feedback she receives from society encourages retreat and
homogenization, not inclusion and appreciation, and this creates a disconcerting relationship
with language. When she has her psychiatric breakdown, she speaks, but does not have
conversations, she talked too much, yakked all the timeshe quoted famous lines of poetry and
Sandstrom 7

the opening sentences of the classicsshe quoted to him from Rumi, she sang what she knew of
Mary Had a Little Lamb, mixing it up with Baa Baa, Black Sheep (Alvarez 79). This mental
breakdown epitomizes her relationship with language and her unhomely feelings. Her poetry, her
passions, her relationships, and her life have all been wrapped up in language. Straddling two
cultures has split her apart, and when she finally cracks, all of her fragments become visible in
the form of literature. Throughout most of her life, Yolanda has been encouraged to hide her
fragments, conceal her multiple identities and present herself as one whole, fully well-adjusted
woman. Yolanda never finishes her journey, never presents herself as a finished product, but
Love is what creates the breakthrough. She says it English and even in Spanish the word makes
a rash erupt on the backs of her hands (Alvarez 85). She crosses the language barrier within
herself and gains faith as she says each wordthe words tumble outtaking shape, depth and
substance (Alvarez 85). Once she loves and appreciates herself as both an English and Spanish
speaker, she is able to open up, realizing that there is no end to what can be said about the
world (Alvarez 85), and there is no end to her identity creation. Yolanda is not fixed: she will
probably encounter more Rudys and more Johns before her life is through, but this experience is
her accepting herself as fragmented, unfinished, and in flux.
For Ms. Hempel, Maggie serves as a contrasting character, and brings out the inner
conflict in Beatrice that she suppressed consciously or unconsciously throughout her life. It
seems as though Beatrice does not struggle with ethnicity as an identity because it is not at the
forefront she does not announce I am Beatrice and I am Chinese! upon first meeting, but this
does not indicate a lack of struggle. While helping Maggie write, she discusses her own turmoil
unintentionally, the conflict you feel as a theater tech. The inner conflict.Not getting the
appreciation you deserve. Having to stay in the wings the whole time (Bynum 155). Beatrice
Sandstrom 8

resents the pattern of American Orientalism at work in her life. She feels as if she too, has to
stay in the wings of society, set aside, behind a curtain, not represented in the worlds stage.
She resents her sister for not having to experience a teacher looking at her hopefully during a
discussion of immigration (Bynum 121), or having to straddle multiple identities. The identity
Beatrice Hempel has created is one of suppression. She has internalized American Orientalism.

Sandstrom 9

Works Cited
Alvarez, Julia. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books of
Chapel Hill, 1991. Print.
Shun-Lien Bynum, Sarah. Ms. Hempel Chronicles. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2008. Print.
Said, Edward. Orientalism The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. New York, NY,
2001. Print.