Gary Shteyngart's 'Little Failure'
Little Failure
Gary Shteyngart
Katherine Rosie Shiff
260712458
JWST 303
Daniel Heller
April 4, 2017
Igor Semyonovich Shteyngart was born July 5, 1972 in Leningrad, USSR. He was born into a Jewish family which he describes as “typically Soviet,” his father being an mechanical engineer and his mother a pianist, and not religious at all. In 1979, when Igor was seven years old, him and his family immigrated to the United States where he would become what he is known as today: Gary Shteyngart because “Igor is Frankenstein’s assistant.” This name is in addition to a myriad of other nicknames including “Failurchka” or in English, “Little Failure,” “weakling,” “Jew-nose,” and often “Snotty” due to his asthma. This memoir gives …show more content…
readers a sense of what it was like to be uprooted as a child from the monochromatic world of the USSR and brought to the perplexing and gloriously Technicolor world of capitalist USA, the sheer range of options and pluralism of the United States a completely foreign concept.
In 1980 Leonid Brezhnev, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union agreed to a grain embargo with Jimmy Carter, the President of the United States. Shteyngart explains the trade deal stating “Russia gets the grain it needs to run; America gets the Jews it needs to run.” The Shteyngart’s move to America, the country they had previously considered the enemy and began a new life, hoping for a better future for them and for Gary. Gary Shteyngarts’ memoir, Little Failure exposes what it was like to be a Russian immigrant in America, giving readers insight into the process of acculturation, both within society as well as within his personal family and ultimately himself. Shteyngarts story follows a somewhat classical structure for immigrant stories beginning with early …show more content…
suffering, followed by gradual assimilation and eventual self-actualization, bridging the dislocations of the the two culutures. The Soviet Union left lasting imprints on the Shteyngarts’ which persisted in America.
There were many instances during Shteyngart’s upbringing which would later be reffered to as suffering, compared to the relative ease of peoples lives in America. His early years were characterized by asthmatic suffering and long lines for the scarce hope of protein or cramped vacations to Crimea. Under Stalin’s communist regime medical practices were relatively primitive and Gary would suffer years of terrible asthma attacks and his parents struggling to control his illness using the pseudomedical practice of cupping. An arduous and painful process which soon after their arrival in America will be solved with a simple inhaler. Another lesson brought with for the USSR was frugality with money. Both of Shteyngarts parents were raised under socialist regime and were scared to fully embrace the capitalist lifestyle, fearing a sudden change could lead them to losing everything. They brought everything they owned with them during the move in two green sacks and three orange suitcases. Little Gary immediately began to embrace American excess beginning with a chocolate wrapper given to him by a well meaning stranger in the airport. The chocolate wrapper acts as a metaphor throughout the story for the monetary differences between Russians and Americans. The American lady gives him the chocolate without much thought and the wrapper soon becomes his most prized possession and favorite toy, a
testament to his parents tight fisted habits. Once in America, the Shteyngarts existed in an extremely austere manner only spending when money when absolutely necessary which much to Gary’s dismay meant no 69 cent McDonald’s hamburgers. Looking back on his parents spending habits Shteyngart says, “my parents don’t spend money” because of their belief “that disaster [was] close at hand,” that some impending doom was awaiting them which would require money they would not have.
There was a sort of role reversal once in America in which parents often relinquished their role acting as primary guide to their children, children often being their key to the new alien world, placing tremendous pressure on them to succeed. This could be said of Gary as his parents often saw him as their access point out of their isolated lives and into society, bridging the dislocations of the two cultures. This could often be attributed to childrens relative ease assimilating, because they were often immediately placed into the education system where they would properly learn English and the American ways. The Shteyngart parents often describe their early years in America simply saying we didn’t know,” referring to their utter bewilderment and ignorance in most aspects of day to day life, including the language barrier. This new role often cast children as a sort of outlet for all of their parents fears and disappointments in this new unfamiliar world. A specific instance of this is when it became clear Gary would neither be attending an Ivey League college nor pursuing a career as a doctor or a lawyer with a steady income his parents retaliated yelling “we may as well have never come here [to America].” Gary being this symbol of hope for his parents meant that he was somehow expected to wildly succeed in this magical new country of America with endless possibilities.
Emigrating from the USSR was difficult, but being accepted into American culture also provide quite difficult. With all of the pressure placed on young people to succeed, the path to success was actually quite unclear. Russian Immigrants were considered outsiders to the Americans, even between Jews. When Garry attended SSSG, a Hebrew school in Queens, he was incessantly tormented about his bad English, his bad clothes and his general ‘Russianness’ by his classmates. Despite his best efforts to completely Americanize and adopt the conservative Republican politics surrounding him, Gary still stood out like a sore thumb which earned him the title of “second-most-hated” boy in the Hebrew school. He was called names such as “Red Gerbil” and the children viewed Russia as the “Evil Empire,” after Raegan declared this. Shteyngart uses humor as a means to redeem himself, “humour being the last resort for the besieged Jews, especially when he is placed among his own kind.” He is able to capitalize on his alternate cultural vocabulary, referencing Chekhov and Lenin rather than the television sets all of his friends have. However, the process of acceptance is long as there is a world of difference, socially, culturally, economically and even civically between the two nationalities Shteyngart is forced to straddle.
Slowly but surely Shteyngart is able to acculturate, trading aspects of his Russianness for newfound American ones, finding his own place within the complex fabric of his new country. The process is lengthy and marked by small milestones and victories along the way, including the final loss of all traces of his thick Russian accent at the age of 14. When the writer attends Oberlin College, much to his parents dismay, he finally sheds “every last vestige of the Hebrew school nudnik and the the Stuvyesant clown,” personas he developed in attempts to be be accepted by his peers. Within the Oberlin community Shteyngart was able to come into himself as an individual, finally being recognized for characteristics other than his Russian descent, and no longer an being outsider simply because of it. This new acceptance, both from his peers and from himself allowed Shteyngart to face the bigger issues shifting the focus from gaining access into society to actually contributing to it. Accepting the inevitable fact of his heritage allowed Shteyngart to refocus all of his energy and the baggage accumulated throughout his life into becoming a writer. Through his writing he is able to portray the true meaning of what it is to be an immigrant, an outsider with a different language and a different perspective.
This perspective, however, does come with limitations. Memoirs as a genre are quite limited in many capacities, however the insight they do provide is completely authentic and allows readers to gain access to what actual events were like on the ground. Little Failure, depicts moments, events and feelings that Shteyngart actually experienced, meaning his recollection is likely at least somewhat biased. He is also limited by the genre he falls into as a writer. He is known for being a comic writer and as such, he is somewhat contractually obligated to give the readers what they want and include humorous moments and memories, even if that may not be exactly how the events unfolded. Shteyngart does make a point in recognized the crutch humour provides, which he initially used trying to fit in at Hebrew school and persisted throughout his life all the way to the current moment and into his writing career. He promises readers to make every conscious attempt “not to blend fiction with reality for the sake of safety,” or for the sake of the story. This, however, does not mean that the stories have not been slightly bent or embellished, especially considering the book is written for his parents, whom may see it as a personal attack, and for his future son, who may use if to gain insight on what kind of man his father truly is.
Little Failure provides readers with a nuanced sense of what it meant to be an immigrant from the Soviet Union coming to America to make a new life. Shteyngart exposes the personal journey of growing up as well as the shared journey of immigrants acculturating. His memoir highlights the conflicting message such as the inability to escape the “shadow society” of being and immigrant, always at the margin of places and never an authentic American, yet later on at Oberlin he is accused of “being an inauthentic Russian,” the very opposite. He attributes that this very paradox, no longer being an authentic Russian, yet also never becoming an authentic American is the true subject of immigrant fiction. He describes the process of Americanisation and the almost reincarnation immigrants were supposed to undergo in almost every aspect of their lives. Shteyngarts personal story accurately portrays the similarities between immigrants and the rest of society, sharing the same hopes and dreams for them and their children, even though their lives are often somewhat dictated by their past.
Reference List
Shteyngart, Gary. Little Failure: A Memoir. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014.
Chiswick, Barry R. “Soviet Jews in the United States: An Analysis of Their Linguistic and Economic Adjustment.” The International Migration Review 27, no. 2 (1993): 260-285.
Gary Shteyngart
Katherine Rosie Shiff
260712458
JWST 303
Daniel Heller
April 4, 2017
Igor Semyonovich Shteyngart was born July 5, 1972 in Leningrad, USSR. He was born into a Jewish family which he describes as “typically Soviet,” his father being an mechanical engineer and his mother a pianist, and not religious at all. In 1979, when Igor was seven years old, him and his family immigrated to the United States where he would become what he is known as today: Gary Shteyngart because “Igor is Frankenstein’s assistant.” This name is in addition to a myriad of other nicknames including “Failurchka” or in English, “Little Failure,” “weakling,” “Jew-nose,” and often “Snotty” due to his asthma. This memoir gives …show more content…
readers a sense of what it was like to be uprooted as a child from the monochromatic world of the USSR and brought to the perplexing and gloriously Technicolor world of capitalist USA, the sheer range of options and pluralism of the United States a completely foreign concept.
In 1980 Leonid Brezhnev, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union agreed to a grain embargo with Jimmy Carter, the President of the United States. Shteyngart explains the trade deal stating “Russia gets the grain it needs to run; America gets the Jews it needs to run.” The Shteyngart’s move to America, the country they had previously considered the enemy and began a new life, hoping for a better future for them and for Gary. Gary Shteyngarts’ memoir, Little Failure exposes what it was like to be a Russian immigrant in America, giving readers insight into the process of acculturation, both within society as well as within his personal family and ultimately himself. Shteyngarts story follows a somewhat classical structure for immigrant stories beginning with early …show more content…
suffering, followed by gradual assimilation and eventual self-actualization, bridging the dislocations of the the two culutures. The Soviet Union left lasting imprints on the Shteyngarts’ which persisted in America.
There were many instances during Shteyngart’s upbringing which would later be reffered to as suffering, compared to the relative ease of peoples lives in America. His early years were characterized by asthmatic suffering and long lines for the scarce hope of protein or cramped vacations to Crimea. Under Stalin’s communist regime medical practices were relatively primitive and Gary would suffer years of terrible asthma attacks and his parents struggling to control his illness using the pseudomedical practice of cupping. An arduous and painful process which soon after their arrival in America will be solved with a simple inhaler. Another lesson brought with for the USSR was frugality with money. Both of Shteyngarts parents were raised under socialist regime and were scared to fully embrace the capitalist lifestyle, fearing a sudden change could lead them to losing everything. They brought everything they owned with them during the move in two green sacks and three orange suitcases. Little Gary immediately began to embrace American excess beginning with a chocolate wrapper given to him by a well meaning stranger in the airport. The chocolate wrapper acts as a metaphor throughout the story for the monetary differences between Russians and Americans. The American lady gives him the chocolate without much thought and the wrapper soon becomes his most prized possession and favorite toy, a
testament to his parents tight fisted habits. Once in America, the Shteyngarts existed in an extremely austere manner only spending when money when absolutely necessary which much to Gary’s dismay meant no 69 cent McDonald’s hamburgers. Looking back on his parents spending habits Shteyngart says, “my parents don’t spend money” because of their belief “that disaster [was] close at hand,” that some impending doom was awaiting them which would require money they would not have.
There was a sort of role reversal once in America in which parents often relinquished their role acting as primary guide to their children, children often being their key to the new alien world, placing tremendous pressure on them to succeed. This could be said of Gary as his parents often saw him as their access point out of their isolated lives and into society, bridging the dislocations of the two cultures. This could often be attributed to childrens relative ease assimilating, because they were often immediately placed into the education system where they would properly learn English and the American ways. The Shteyngart parents often describe their early years in America simply saying we didn’t know,” referring to their utter bewilderment and ignorance in most aspects of day to day life, including the language barrier. This new role often cast children as a sort of outlet for all of their parents fears and disappointments in this new unfamiliar world. A specific instance of this is when it became clear Gary would neither be attending an Ivey League college nor pursuing a career as a doctor or a lawyer with a steady income his parents retaliated yelling “we may as well have never come here [to America].” Gary being this symbol of hope for his parents meant that he was somehow expected to wildly succeed in this magical new country of America with endless possibilities.
Emigrating from the USSR was difficult, but being accepted into American culture also provide quite difficult. With all of the pressure placed on young people to succeed, the path to success was actually quite unclear. Russian Immigrants were considered outsiders to the Americans, even between Jews. When Garry attended SSSG, a Hebrew school in Queens, he was incessantly tormented about his bad English, his bad clothes and his general ‘Russianness’ by his classmates. Despite his best efforts to completely Americanize and adopt the conservative Republican politics surrounding him, Gary still stood out like a sore thumb which earned him the title of “second-most-hated” boy in the Hebrew school. He was called names such as “Red Gerbil” and the children viewed Russia as the “Evil Empire,” after Raegan declared this. Shteyngart uses humor as a means to redeem himself, “humour being the last resort for the besieged Jews, especially when he is placed among his own kind.” He is able to capitalize on his alternate cultural vocabulary, referencing Chekhov and Lenin rather than the television sets all of his friends have. However, the process of acceptance is long as there is a world of difference, socially, culturally, economically and even civically between the two nationalities Shteyngart is forced to straddle.
Slowly but surely Shteyngart is able to acculturate, trading aspects of his Russianness for newfound American ones, finding his own place within the complex fabric of his new country. The process is lengthy and marked by small milestones and victories along the way, including the final loss of all traces of his thick Russian accent at the age of 14. When the writer attends Oberlin College, much to his parents dismay, he finally sheds “every last vestige of the Hebrew school nudnik and the the Stuvyesant clown,” personas he developed in attempts to be be accepted by his peers. Within the Oberlin community Shteyngart was able to come into himself as an individual, finally being recognized for characteristics other than his Russian descent, and no longer an being outsider simply because of it. This new acceptance, both from his peers and from himself allowed Shteyngart to face the bigger issues shifting the focus from gaining access into society to actually contributing to it. Accepting the inevitable fact of his heritage allowed Shteyngart to refocus all of his energy and the baggage accumulated throughout his life into becoming a writer. Through his writing he is able to portray the true meaning of what it is to be an immigrant, an outsider with a different language and a different perspective.
This perspective, however, does come with limitations. Memoirs as a genre are quite limited in many capacities, however the insight they do provide is completely authentic and allows readers to gain access to what actual events were like on the ground. Little Failure, depicts moments, events and feelings that Shteyngart actually experienced, meaning his recollection is likely at least somewhat biased. He is also limited by the genre he falls into as a writer. He is known for being a comic writer and as such, he is somewhat contractually obligated to give the readers what they want and include humorous moments and memories, even if that may not be exactly how the events unfolded. Shteyngart does make a point in recognized the crutch humour provides, which he initially used trying to fit in at Hebrew school and persisted throughout his life all the way to the current moment and into his writing career. He promises readers to make every conscious attempt “not to blend fiction with reality for the sake of safety,” or for the sake of the story. This, however, does not mean that the stories have not been slightly bent or embellished, especially considering the book is written for his parents, whom may see it as a personal attack, and for his future son, who may use if to gain insight on what kind of man his father truly is.
Little Failure provides readers with a nuanced sense of what it meant to be an immigrant from the Soviet Union coming to America to make a new life. Shteyngart exposes the personal journey of growing up as well as the shared journey of immigrants acculturating. His memoir highlights the conflicting message such as the inability to escape the “shadow society” of being and immigrant, always at the margin of places and never an authentic American, yet later on at Oberlin he is accused of “being an inauthentic Russian,” the very opposite. He attributes that this very paradox, no longer being an authentic Russian, yet also never becoming an authentic American is the true subject of immigrant fiction. He describes the process of Americanisation and the almost reincarnation immigrants were supposed to undergo in almost every aspect of their lives. Shteyngarts personal story accurately portrays the similarities between immigrants and the rest of society, sharing the same hopes and dreams for them and their children, even though their lives are often somewhat dictated by their past.
Reference List
Shteyngart, Gary. Little Failure: A Memoir. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014.
Chiswick, Barry R. “Soviet Jews in the United States: An Analysis of Their Linguistic and Economic Adjustment.” The International Migration Review 27, no. 2 (1993): 260-285.