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Model Minority In The Wasteland

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The term “model minority” is one loaded with double meaning and one with an extensive past in U.S. history. To be a model minority, a minority group must follow a set of rules and demonstrate qualities valued by the governing majority. Robert Hayden’s “Middle Passage” and T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland present the voice of the governing majority and suppress the voices of the dominated minority, ironically mimicking their frequent erasure in real life. Hayden and Eliot elevate the dominant perspective in order to highlight unjust expectations of what a model minority is for women and African slaves in the “Middle Passage” Sect. I. sailor log and The Wasteland, Sect. II. “A Game of Chess” gossip about Lil. The model minority is expressed in expectations of passivity and “other”-ness during captivity in “Middle Passage” by Robert Hayden. The sailor’s log starts out by declaring the African slaves as “rebellious” but the speaker defines their allegedly unruly behavior through actions that are either peaceful or non-harmful to the Anglo-sailors (Hayden). …show more content…

The sentiment of female expendability is echoed many times by the speaker: “And if you don’t give it him, there’s others will, I said… If you don’t like it you can get on with it, I said. / Others can pick and choose if you can’t.” Lil and Albert are a married couple, but if Lil is seen as “unattractive,” then their union is void and their connection can be easily replicated through sexual intimacy with another woman. The fleetingness of female allure is further emphasized by the repetition of the phrase, “HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME.” The bartender repeats this with urgency to the speaker’s gossiping group to close up shop. Similarly, there is an urgency for women like Lil to adhere to beauty guidelines and to adapt once their appearance grows out of the male mold for

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