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Personal experience of american identity
Personal experience of american identity
Impact of cultural change
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Ewen's Immigrant Women in the Land of Dollars Throughout history, the concept of Americanization has been studied in order to better understand the effects of a mass culture on immigrants. On one side stands the view of an immigrant engulfed in American ideology who leaves behind his past. He conforms to this new individualism and now is able to move upward on the economic ladder. On the opposite end of defining Americanization is the unscathed immigrant who maintains his old word traditions and institutions to emerge victoriously despite unfavorable conditions. His ethnicity solidifies his success by creating affinity bonds and social patterns to aid in the struggle for a decent life. Though both these views are extreme, they both contain significant aspects which form a more accurate perspective of how immigrants assimilated into the "emerging industrial and consumer society" (Ewen, 15). These immigrants did not give up their nationality completely, even as they adopted American ideals in order to survive within the new but unfamiliar consumer culture. This cultural coalescence brought about major changes, which women had most of the burden of assimilating during the 19th century. The unrelenting and brave women described by Ewen in "Immigrant Women in the Land of Dollars" demonstrated an amazing ability to retain many of their traditions while still accommodating American ideals and culture in their social events, employment, and home life. For many immigrant families, social events were the only way... ... middle of paper ... ... instilled in their daughters the value of an orderly and pleasant house. Despite the desperate attempts to Americanize immigrants, the first and second generations did not let go of all of their traditional ideals and beliefs. Even so, they did not continue unscathed by the process. However, these ideals from the Old Country helped them "meet the challenge" (Ewen, 266). This culture became a mutual protection for immigrants against the scarcity and struggle of tenement life. It also provided a bond for the community and was the foundation for their survival. As the years passed, immigrants eventually succumbed to American ideals, but they have not totally given up their culture now that they are considered Americans. Even so, one can look back on this period and see the significant struggle that women had between customary ideas and the assurance of modernity.
Through the lives of different characters the author tells about struggles and sacrifices that any emigrants have to face when they come to a new country and try to get on their feet. The first generation usually gains the least, because older people already have deeply rooted cultural traditions and language barrier that do not let them to assimilate and to feel fully at home in the new place. Just like Sarah's parents in "Bread Givers" the majority of first generation older emigrants that I know feel somewhat alienated and disadvantaged in America. Many of them were naïve and thought that America was a Golden Amadina where "money grows on the trees". Many were intelligent enough to realize that they were going to a tough land of opportunities where they would have to fight and struggle for a spot under the sun. But those who were realistic came here anyway, because they hoped for a better future for their children who could fully benefit from new opportunities, ethnic equality, and democracy that the New World had to offer.
For over centuries, society had established the societal standard of the women. This societal standard pictured the ideal American woman running the household and taking care of the children while her husband provided for the family. However, between 1770 and 1860, this societal standard began to tear at the seams. Throughout this time period, women began to search for a new ideal of American womanhood by questioning and breaking the barriers society had placed upon them.
As many women took on a domestic role during this era, by the turn of the century women were certainly not strangers to the work force. As the developing American nation altered the lives of its citizens, both men and women found themselves struggling economically and migrated into cities to find work in the emerging industrialized labor movement . Ho...
...n the trying time of the Great Migration. Students in particular can study this story and employ its principles to their other courses. Traditional character analysis would prove ineffective with this non-fiction because the people in this book are real; they are our ancestors. Isabel Wilkerson utilized varied scopes and extensive amounts of research to communicate a sense of reality that lifted the characters off the page. While she concentrated on three specifically, each of them served as an example of someone who left the south during different decades and with different inspirations. This unintentional mass migration has drastically changed and significantly improved society, our mindset, and our economics. This profound and influential book reveals history in addition to propelling the reader into a world that was once very different than the one we know today.
Mary Antin was one of many thousands of Eastern Europeans who emigrated to the United States in the 1890.According to the book, “this was especially true between 1860 and 1920, as more and more immigrants, most of them poor, arrived from eastern and southern Europe in search of better living conditions and freedom from political and religious oppression.”(P.630)Because industries were growing rapidly at that time,they sent recruiting agents abroad to stir up interest in migration to the United State.It was about 3.5 million immigrants in the 1890s and 9 million per year in the first decade of the twentieth century.The new immigrants,who came to the United State after 1883,were different from those of most old immigrants such as language and cultural background.According to the book, “the new immigration that had begun around 1883,however,was marked by an increase in transient,unskilled labors who flocked to urban enclaves where they resisted assimilation.”(P.631)
Since the creation of the United States, there have been several enormous waves of immigration into the country. Many people come here to pursue the freedom they have always craved. In the book, The Bean Trees, this is a familiar concept to the characters Estevan and Esperanza. They have migrated from Guatemala all the way to the state of Arizona where they will meet the protagonist, Taylor. Throughout the story Taylor learns the couple’s struggle of being undocumented immigrants in the United States. Along the way, she will learn about Estevan and Esperanza’s heart-breaking background stories as well. These characters will journey on through life despite the hardships of immigration. The book shows the struggle that they should not have to put up with. Barbara Kingsolver, the author of The Bean Trees, illustrates an immigrant’s point of view by applying literary elements, which encourages readers to feel sympathy towards immigrants, the social problems faced, and to see how unfair immigration laws are.
In conclusion, the lives of immigrants have had an all over transformation over the last century and will continue to change throughout the years. Through the hardships of being accepted into America and being invaded by personal means, immigrants are given a chance to succeed. Then to the family life of the immigrants, which tended to be split and torn, it built an inner strength in each individual immigrant. Lastly, to the living conditions and job opportunities that put the immigrants to the ultimate test, they were the make or break point for the better half of the new citizens. The transformation of immigration over the years has been incredible and should be widely recognized.
Since the 1600’s immigrants have changed americans religions,daily life and culture. Immigrants have helped americans develop their country by bringing new tradition and ideas.
Woloch, Nancy. Women and the American Experience: a Concise History. 2nd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2002.
The United States currently has 42.1 million immigrants residing in America. Most immigrants traveled to the U.S for a more satisfying life for themselves and their families than the ones that they had had in the past. People from other countries view America as the “Land of Opportunities” but it is hard for the immigrants to adapt to the new culture of America. Culture is a shared set of values, customs, traditions, beliefs, and art that are passed down from generation to generation within an ethnic group. Culture partly has an impact on a person’s perspective on the world, but not as much as how parents and personal experiences influence a person’s view on achievements/attitude, values, and beliefs.
In conclusion dating back from the years of 1863 through 1950 certain people like; American women, lawbreakers and, immigrants either went through or, undergo; Americanization, restrictions ,unlawful teachings by harsh critique's that sparked controversy through the widespread of fear alongside unfair judgments from their writings, and the media was all bad behavior and, it should not have been tolerated. The 1920s foretell a dramatic fracture between America’s past and, it’s future. Before World War I the country persisted culturally and psychologically fixed in the nineteenth
For centuries, all across the globe, the traditional woman has been soft-spoken, modest, religious, and obedient to their husbands. The women would wake up, clean the house, cook and cater to their family. For many women, husbands would beat and abuse them, but it was the rural life, which was normal to them, comfortable even. The 1920s hit in the Unites States of America, leading to multiple victories that would carve a new path. Little did these women know, that their actions would influence the way that the female lives
Kuttner also agrees, “a lot of ugly realities were concealed by “traditional values”; the legal and economic emancipation of women was long overdue, and the task now is to reconcile gender equality with the healthy raising of the next generation.” (124). Before the 1890s, females had no other options but to live with their parents before marriage and with their husband after marriage. They couldn’t work and if they did, their wages were way lower than men.
The early settlers of America and today’s immigrants have a lot more similarities than one would assume. Both groups had to endure several challenges when trying to enter the United States in search of a better and easier life. They had to worry about hydration and physical endurance while also risking having their families split up, getting sick, and even dying. That is where the similarities end though, as today’s immigrants must go on with their lives in extreme powerlessness, something the early inhabitants avoided by establishing their own authority. Today’s immigrants are restricted from the most basic of necessities and have to face hostile and belligerent groups of people, among other things. Today's immigrant's experiences are much
Jumping forward to 1950s when Eilis immigrates to the U.S., the reader can see the affects of the earlier mass immigration from the 19th century. When Eilis is traveling back to America after visiting her mother in Ireland, she meets another young Irish girl on the deck of the boat. This is the young girl’s first time traveling to the U.S., and she says to Eilis, “People say that there’s so many Irish people there; it’s like home. Is that right?” Eilis assures her that “it is just like home.” (3; p.