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Jessica Bui

Dr. Cruz Medina

English 1A

23 October 2023

Lens Analysis Draft 1

Meritocracy is one’s belief in a system or society where individuals' success, status, and

opportunities are mostly decided by their own abilities, talents, and efforts rather than by factors

like status in society, family history, or inherited privilege. However, many people including first

generation students including Jennine Capo Crucet who is the author of My Time Among the

Whites and Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez who is the author of For Brown Girls with Sharp

Edges and Tender Hearts: A Love Letter to Women of Color may believe the opposite. In Capo

Crucet’s book, My Time Among the Whites, the harsh reality on the American Dream and racial

and social enforcement during her education in Miami and Nebraska at a deeper level through

Rodriguez’s lens of meritocracy revealing how meritocracy is a myth showing how people of

color may experience discrimination from education due to racism and class.

Capo Crucet’s realization that her being a white passing latina gave her privileges in the

world relates to Rodriguez’s view of privilege and opportunity is greatly influenced by her

realization that institutional barriers could not be solved by “hard work” and “luck” alone. Cruect

came to the realization during her experience in Nebraska that having pale skin had been a

privilege that she had abused and that it had kept her out of difficult situations throughout the

years. She mentions, "White people who misread me as also white sometimes display the kind of

pervasive racism usually reserved for white-spaces" (Crucet, 52). Crucet's comment essentially

challenges us to evaluate the American Dream critically by looking at it through the lenses of
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social perceptions, racial identity, and the enduring inequalities that exist in American society.

Crucet acknowledged using this “privilege” as a shield against any violence. In explaining how

meritocracy is a myth, Rodriguez brings up how class plays a role in having advantages and

opportunities. Rodriguez states, “Hard work and luck were not going to cut it ...what I needed

were two college-degreed, upper-middle-class parents who had the advantage of immersing me

in a lifetime of leisure visits to museums, libraries full of advanced books, dinner conversations

full of critical and intellectual discussions...” (Rodriguez, 82). This demonstrates how white

people are valued higher in society, and she had to blend in with her peers in order to feel like

she was treated fairly, or at the very least, acknowledged. She discusses how race and class

affected her educational experience, which is a strong argument against the belief of meritocracy.

Crucet's experience highlights how one's identification can have a big impact on their lives and

illustrates how racial identity can be used as a barrier against racial injustice. Rodriguez

emphasizes that a person's potential and success are greatly influenced by their class privilege,

which is not earned.

Capo Crucet recalling her mom dealing with racism due to language barriers and

expectations of teachers can be related to Rodríguez's perspective that there are certain

expectations and characteristics that individuals must possess to achieve success, highlighting the

shared theme of overcoming social and educational challenges in the pursuit of personal and

academic advancement. Crucet recalls her mom’s unpleasant childhood recollection of a teacher

who refused to let her use the restroom despite her pleading in this quote: "That suffering is what

earns us the right to call ourselves Americans! It made us stronger, you will someday tell these

two children of yours after relating horrific stories of how in first grade you were made to pee in

your chair for not having the English words to ask the teacher—who shook her head at your
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begging in Spanish and said, ‘Maria, you must ask in English,’ her directive not even hinting at

the noun you needed to say—to use the bathroom, the word bathroom a key you were to conjure

from nothing" (Crucet 28). The story of Crucet's mother serves as a metaphor for a

First-generation American child who is fed the "American Dream" idea against their will, with

suffering like Crucet's merely to be weaved into the concept without acknowledging its many

flaws and logic gaps. Rodriguez explains that success requires a set of expectations and qualities

that one must possess in this quotation: “Gatekeeping taught these adults which traits were

indicative of success, and they perpetuated them onto us,” (Rodriguez, 69). Rodriguez makes it

clear that working hard won't cut it and will only wear people out. This is a result of someone’s

diligent efforts to attain something that has never been within your grasp. Maria's story brings to

light the hardships and misfortune encountered by non-native English speakers. According to the

passage, going through this hardship is seen to be necessary in order to claim an American

identity and that it might actually make people stronger. Maria's experiences in the school,

particularly her language barriers, are a moving example of this pain. Rodriguez talks about the

concept of "gatekeeping," in which some people decide which characteristics are successful. This

suggests that in order to succeed, people have to stick to specific standards and traits. Those who

fall short of these standards will have more difficulty succeeding. Maria's difficulties in the

classroom, where the teacher's insistence on asking questions in English is an example of

enforcing such expectations, might be linked to the gatekeeping process.

Crucet’s acknowledgement to how most first-gen students come from rural backgrounds

and families who worked in agriculture relates to how Rodriguez talks about for students to

succeed, they needed parents who had a stable career. Crucet highlights how she and her

“first-gen” students have a common identity. She acknowledges that they are all born from
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first-generation parents. She says, “I had this in common with them, but there was a key

difference: Many of these first-gen students came from rural backgrounds, from families where

work centered on cattle and corn. I'd grown up in Miami, had gone to a high school whose

population rivaled that of some entire Nebraskan towns. With the last few weeks of summer

ahead of me, I decided that to be better at my job, I needed to see the real Nebraska, whatever

that meant.” (Crucet, 100) In explaining the different privileges students face, Rodriguez brings

up the ideal type of parents you need to succeed. She says, “This was not a competition for who

could work harder to get an A; this was about whose parents had provided their kids with enough

access to succeed at this academic level,” (Rodriguez, 80) The examples provided essentially

show that first-generation students, who experience differing degrees of privilege and access to

resources depending on their familial histories, may find it difficult to achieve the American

Dream and meritocracy. They challenged the idealized story of equal opportunity in American

culture by bringing attention to the differences in educational outcomes. Crucet and Rodriguez

emphasize the significance of pursuing a higher degree while having parental support and

financial resources available. It emphasizes how crucial availability and guidance are to the

academic success of first-generation students.

Lastly, Crucet’s recalls when Trump ran for president, he made his campaign revolve

around Mexicans threatening to deport them relates to Rodriguez’s mention of gatekeepers that

deflect blame onto the working-class and working-poor. Crucet refers to Trump's derogatory

remarks regarding Mexican immigrants made during his announcement of his presidential

campaign in this quote: “This was the summer of 2015, and this call took place just days before

Trump announced his run at the Republican nomination by slandering all Mexicans as rapists

and murderers” (Crucet, 99). Rodriguez uses the concept of gatekeepers to demonstrate why
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meritocracy is false. She mentions, “Gatekeepers use the myth of meritocracy to distract busy

working-class and working-poor folks with so much self-blame when they fall short that they

will not think to revolt against their oppressors” (Rodríguez 63). In Rodríguez's quote, the topic

of gatekeepers is addressed more thoroughly. Though it doesn't specifically mention Trump, it

does apply to his style of politics. Trump's presidential campaign and administration frequently

promoted the idea that success depended only on an individual's ability and hard work. This in

turn led to a culture of self-criticism among marginalized communities by shifting the blame for

socioeconomic gaps onto those who did not succeed. Trump's immigration restrictions and other

policies were perceived as gatekeeping tactics that further discriminated against and excluded

vulnerable groups, like the Hispanic community.

In conclusion, the idea of meritocracy, in which people think that their own abilities and

efforts—rather than outside variables like social standing or family history—determine their

level of success. Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez argues that segregation and gatekeeping are

significant obstacles to achievement, especially for people of color. In Jennine Capó Crucet's

book "My Time Among the Whites," racial inequities in education and the harsh reality of the

American Dream are discussed. Rodríguez's viewpoint emphasizes that meritocracy is primarily

a myth.

Work Cited:
Crucet, Jennine Capó. My Time Among the Whites: Notes from an Unfinished Education.
Picador, 2019.
Mojica Rodríguez, Prisca Dorcas. For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts: A Love
Letter to Women of Color. Seal Press, 2021.