Searching for the Self: Classic Stories, Christian Scripture, and the Quest for Personal Identity

by Adrian T. Smith

In terms of narrative metaphors, the dis-integrative trajectory goes from melting pot, to multicultural mosaic, to tribalized war zone. These three phases of the story are worth fleshing out:580 1. America starts as a melting pot, a nation of immigrants from diverse lands, whose identities-of-origin get melted down and remolded on American soil. The immigrant arrives, for example, as an Italian; her children grow up hyphenated, Italian-American; her grandchildren drop the hyphen—they are simply American. This is the dreamlike phase of the story. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Equal opportunity to live the American Dream. 2. The second phase, the multicultural mosaic, reflects a dual frustration with the ideal inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. On the one hand, many immigrants feel a loss of identity and roots when they Americanize. On the other hand, the American Dream seemed to work better if you were Caucasian, and not so well if you were Black or Hispanic. 3. In the postmodern viewpoint, this second phase of multicultural awareness is an unstable middle term, which soon breaks down as different social groups grow more and more aware of their irreconcilable differences. Once we are dis-illusioned, we can embrace the tribal phase of American society. Welcome to a politicized war zone. My identity comes from my tribe: Gay; Lesbian; Black; Hispanic. My tribe has its agenda; your tribe has a contrary agenda. The rules of socie...