Argument and Analysis:
Read the American Dream passage (pages 314-322) from Crossing Over for Progression 3, exercise 1. First, make sense of Reyna Guzman’s position and Miguel Ramos’ position on assimilating American culture by explaining it in your own words. What are their positions? What are their essential claims? What evidence does Martinez offer for these claims? Compare their positions on assimilation to those of Bharati and Mira Mukherjee from the Models for Writers article “Two Ways to Belong in America.” Next play devil’s advocate: which aspects of Reyna’s or Miguel’s position sound wrong to you? Does the evidence of their experiences in America persuade you? Which assumptions, insinuations, or conclusions strike you as problematic or unreasonable?