According to Bhabha, mimicry lies in the differences of two objects. So while a conqueror may choose the identity of it’s colony, it is the way in which the colony—which is made in the conqueror’s ideological and political image—is kept from becoming a duplicate that defines it.
Benjamin, on the other hand, would argue that mimesis is the attempt to replicate other things or people as closely as possible. It is driven by the desire to copy things exactly as they are and therefore does not dwell on differences, but instead, emphasizes all similarities present.
In the chapter entitled “Tongue-Tied” in Rolling the R’s both Bhabha and Benjamin’s theories are represented to some degree.
Ms. Takara’s purpose is to facilitate the transition and success of Vicente, Florante, and Mai-Lan in the school system of a new country. It is Florante who “never fails to point out the irony of Ms. Takara wanting to remove him, Vicente, and Mai-Lan from class to teach them a thing or two about integration” (49).
The children do their best to assimilate to their new culture—they have friends who can speak the language (to some extent) and they attempt to mimic pop culture. They feel the intrinsic urge to be similar to those around them, the mimetic faculty. However, their time with Ms. Takara works to achieve the opposite effect. Yes, she attempts to teach them to speak correctly and asks them what they did over the weekend, but her reports are impersonal and almost completely identical. How hard is she really trying with these kids who supposedly all have “the most beautiful and unique penmanship” and a detrimental association with Edgar Ramirez and Katherine Cruz (53)? Furthermore, why are they being taken out of history class when social studies is a subject that is important in understanding a new culture. It is through the lack of true efforts to make the children really American that the teachers are able to blame the children’s problems on their origin. The children are viewed as inferior due to their roots and inability to exactly duplicate the correct pronunciations and mechanics of a language that is not their own. Their status as equated with the “colony” is kept in check by Ms. Takara, “the conqueror."
I really agree with your analysis about Rolling the R's. I feel as though the teacher actually enjoyed writing discouraging things about the foreign students (telling other parents to not allow their children to socialize with them) and she did it in a very superior way. This reminds me of the long debate about whether or not foreigners should be forced to learn English, after all the United States does not have an official language (declared in the constitution/law). Mimicry in that sense, does fit very well with Bhabha's theory. Forcing, and in some ways, humiliating others by requiring assimilation is a terrible thing.
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