The Promised Land by Mary Antin, published in 1912, began as an “extensive letter that [Antin] wrote in Yiddish to her maternal uncle… [which was] then translated into English and published, as From Plotzk to Boston [in] 1899" (149 Kellman). Written as an autobiography, The Promised Land recounts Antin’s emigration to the United States from Russia, as well as chronicles the process and reasoning, to her assimilation into the American culture. In chapter 9, Antin unravels the first four months of her arrival in the United States, attempting to establish a compelling argument as to why she believes that complete assimilation is the proper course to becoming a successful immigrant. By focusing on the first steps she took to assimilate, changing …show more content…
If without even knowing the name of the immigrant, the American shows nothing but disgust towards them. The perception Americans have of the immigrant, will not change because the immigrant changes his/her name. Advocating this simply promotes ethnic self-hatred, and justifies American cultures discrimination against the immigrant. As a result, “Jewish accounts of The Promised Land were often marked by embarrassment and apology, if not by outright contempt. Despite its considerable literary and historical credentials… the questionable Jewishness of The Promised Land made the autobiography's claims less than compelling” (Kramer 122). In addition to changing her name, Antin states that her next step to assimilation is changing her attire. Glorifying this step, Antin recalls when “a fairy godmother… led [her] to a wonderful… dazzling beautiful palace called a “department store”, [where she] exchanged [her] hateful homemade European costumes… for real American machine-made garments” (Antin 184). Per Antin, by changing her clothing, she will avoid being called a greenhorn, which is a derogatory term used to refer to recently arrived …show more content…
Having found a friend in one of Mr. Wilner's children, her father's business partner, she delightfully enjoyed her days playing with the boy at the beach. On one occasion, Antin, despite not knowing how to swim, and the boy ventured out into the Ocean waters. Only daring to walk along the shallow parts, sudden waves possibly announcing the turn of the tide, caused both children to return to dry land with alarming haste. Reaching the safety of the beach, Antin recalls their exchange: "You was scared, war n't you?" he taunts. The girl understands so much, and is able to reply:– "You can schwimmen, I not." "Betcher life I can schwimmen," the other mocks. And the girl walks off, angry and hurt. "An' I can walk on my hands," the tormentor calls after her. "Say, you greenhorn, why don'tcher look?" (Antin
Thesis: The Roanoke colony proved to be an unsuccessful venture in the New World for England, since leaders of the expedition held the viewpoint that privateering would prove to be the most profitable aspect of founding the new settlements in the West. However future, still unsuccessful attempts to make a permanent colony at Roanoke, helped England understand how to build a prosperous one; and it became a building block for establishing future colonies for England and helped shape the ideas that would help launch their empire.
“Your evening deep in labyrinthine blood; Of those who resist, fail and resist; and God, reduced to a hostage among hostages”. – “To be a Jew in the twentieth century” by Muriel Rukeyser was published in 1944 in a sequence which contained ten poems in “Letter to the Front”. It is said Rukeyser covers the Spanish Civil War and WWII on its pages. A reason to choose this passage and group with the other two is that they all either symbolize, verbalize and share the sense of being bound together. To be grouped as one and to be united, as a family, a race, a society and to be viewed as such. This sense of belonging and togetherness goes beyond being father, mother, brother and sister. It is their Heritage, part of their culture, their history and
God and the Indian is a two person play written by Drew Hayden Taylor. In this play we have a man named George that was a former priest at a residential school. We also have a lady named Johnny Indian that was a former student at said residential school. In the play Johnny accuses George of having molested her as a child. George tells Johnny that she is delusional and will not admit to his wrongdoings. The author tells the story from both George and Johnny’s sides. I think what the author is really trying to portray here is the denial of the people that worked in the name of the church at residential schools years after they had left and/or been shut down.
The Europeans changed the land of the home of the Indians, which they renamed New England. In Changes in the Land, Cronon explains all the different aspects in how the Europeans changed the land. Changing by the culture and organization of the Indians lives, the land itself, including the region’s plants and animals. Cronon states, “The shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes well known to historians in the ways these peoples organized their lives, but it also involved fundamental reorganizations less well known to historians in the region’s plant and animal communities,” (Cronon, xv). New England went through human development, environmental and ecological change from the Europeans.
Lennie appeared out of the brush by the deep, green pool of the Salinas River. He had been running. He knelt down quietly by the pool’s edge and drank barely touching his lips to the water. He finished drinking and sat down embracing his knees on the bank, facing the trail entrance. He became very skittish and jumpy. Every little noise prodded for his attention. He knew he had made a huge mistake and George would be mad at him. He had remembered though, that George told him to hide here and wait for him.
In Todd Shepard’s work Voices of Decolonization, the featured documents provide keen insight into the geopolitical environment of the era of decolonization (1945-1965) and the external and internal pressures on the relationships between colonial nations and the territories that they held dominion over (Shepard 10). Decolonization is the result of a combination of national self-determination and the establishment of functional international institutions composed of independent sovereign nations united towards common goals. As decolonization progressed, it intersected with points of significant sociopolitical tension between colonies and the nations that colonized them. Some of these moments of tension came in the form of progressive ideals held by international agencies which colonial nations were allied with, the revolt of colonized populations against their standing government in favor of independence, and in moral and political conflicts that arose when decolonization takes a form unexpected or undesired by the primary agents of progressive international institutions.
Patricia Nelson Limerick describes the frontier as being a place of where racial tension predominately exists. In her essay, “The Frontier as a Place of Ethnic and Religion Conflict,” Limerick says that the frontier wasn’t the place where everyone got to escape from their problems from previous locations before; instead she suggested that it was the place in which we all met. The frontier gave many the opportunities to find a better life from all over the world. But because this chance for a new life attracted millions of people from different countries across the seas, the United States experienced an influx of immigrants. Since the east was already preoccupied by settlers, the west was available to new settlement and that was where many people went. Once in the western frontier, it was no longer just about blacks and whites. Racial tension rose and many different races and ethnic groups soon experienced discrimination and violence based on their race, and beliefs instead of a since of freedom at the western frontier.
Marilyn Frye, a feminist philosopher, discusses the idea of oppression and how it conforms people into gender roles. She claims that it is based upon membership in a group which leads to shaping, pressing, and molding individuals, both women and men.
As Elie Wiesel once stated, “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented” (“Elie Wiesel Quote”). Michelle Alexander’s book The New Jim Crow, which discusses criminal justice and its role in mass incarceration, promotes a similar idea regarding silence when America’s racial caste system needs to be ended; however, Alexander promotes times when silence would actually be better for “the tormented.” The role of silence and lack of silence in the criminal justice system both contribute to wrongly accused individuals and growing populations behind bars.
Throughout his villanelle, “Saturday at the Border,” Hayden Carruth continuously mentions the “death-knell” (Carruth 3) to reveal his aged narrator’s anticipation of his upcoming death. The poem written in conversation with Carruth’s villanelle, “Monday at the River,” assures the narrator that despite his age, he still possesses the expertise to write a well structured poem. Additionally, the poem offers Carruth’s narrator a different attitude with which to approach his writing, as well as his death, to alleviate his feelings of distress and encourage him to write with confidence.
Flannery O'Conner has again provided her audience a carefully woven tale with fascinating and intricate characters. "The Displaced Person" introduces the reader to some interesting characters who experience major life changes in front of the reader's eyes. The reader ventures into the minds of two of the more complex characters in "The Displaced Person," Mrs. McIntyre and Mrs. Shortley, and discovers an unwillingness to adapt to change. Furthermore, the intricate details of their characters are revealed throughout the story. Through these details, the reader can see that both Mrs. McIntyre and Mrs. Shortley suffer from a lack of spiritual dimension that hinders them as they face some of life's harsher realities. Mrs. McIntyre struggles throughout the story, most notably during the tragic conclusion. Her lack of spiritual dimension is revealed slowly until we ultimately see how her life is devastated because of it. Mrs. Shortley, on the other hand, seems to have it all figured out spiritually -- or at least she believes that she does. It is only in the last few minutes of her life that she realizes all she has convinced herself of is wrong.
Reading my first book for this class, I was really looking forward to it. The book, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, is an interesting book because it touches base on mass incarceration and the caste system. Figuring out that society is on a war on drugs and racism in the justice system is upsetting, and yet interesting. Michelle does a really nice job in organizing the book and presenting the plot. The fact that this book informs and explains arguments, what is happening with the justices system is complete true. Our lives would look complete different; and some of her points are happening. People do not realize getting incarcerated will take some of rights away. This essay will reflect on the book its self, answer questions,
Immigrants traveled hundreds of miles from their homes, only with what possessions they could carry, in order to obtain the rights and chase the promise that America had to offer. Mary Antin illustrates in The Promised Land how if given the chance, immigrants will represent the promises and virtues of American society. Antin shows that public education, freedom from religious persecution, and freedom of expression as a citizen are aspects of life Americans may take for granted but immigrants certainly do not.
Boston, MA: St. Martin’s, 1998. Print. The. Bentz, Thomas, “New Immigrants: Portraits of Passage.” Kiniry and Rose 333-336.
While it is impossible to completely ascertain any author’s direct purpose without a direct statement, Claude Brown likely chose to use the word ‘manchild’ because of the tough nature of his childhood. From the age of five, he had been spending his time with children who were not just older than he, but rougher too. Additionally, as with Itzok Isaac Granich, who wrote Jews Without Money, the environment where Claude Brown was raised was incredibly volatile and unmistakably adult. “Although none of my sidekicks was over twelve years of age, we didn’t think of ourselves as kids. The other kids my age were thought of as kids by me. I felt that since I knew