Character Analysis: The Arrival By Shaun Tan

Anticipation, heartache, and mystery are only a few of the abundant emotions immigrants feel about their journey to the United States. Notably, in Shaun Tan’s graphic novel, The Arrival, the main character experiences the same series of emotions on his immigration journey seeking safe haven. In fact, through the three-week introduction to a new adventure and literature, I was able to tune into the feelings and genuinely understand the dismal journey of the immigrant archetype. Furthermore, this new-found perspective projected me to grasp a deep understanding of my father’s immigrant journey. To begin, the mark of my beginnings to the studies of immigration, I read a short excerpt of E.B White’s classic novel, Here is New York. Specifically,

To this, I can certainly attest. For example, throughout my entirety, I have lived in New Jersey and never grew curious of the large historical city that is only a thirty-minute car ride away. For instance, as a little girl, my father would always take me to Liberty State Park where the statue of liberty is only a shore away. I never felt the urge to ask about the great statue, and as a former New Yorker, my father never found it to be a necessity to explain it to me. We always found ourselves accepting the historical landmark as “natural and inevitable.” (White 698) Especially as a young kid, it seemed as common to me as the 7/11 chain on the corner of my block. White admits, “New York blends the gift of privacy with the excitement of participation,” (White 697) and this idea is what corrupts my father and I have this mentality. To explain, we are New Yorkers and we always take pride in that. We are pleased to admit we played the part of the stranger. We are minuscule parts that help the grand machine of the city-run each day in and each night out. We love the fact that the world’s city is exuberantly big and busy that we

For example, as the man arrived at the new land, he grew sorrowful with the idea of being separated with his family. Although, he knew he made the right decision to leave them behind, in order to reach financial security before bringing his family over to the new land, he still felt remorseful and isolated. To make matters worse, the man felt frustration in the fact that he was in a new land where he starts over and did not understand any of the foreign quirks. His journey is similar to the voyage of the millions of people that traveled to Ellis Island in hopes of securing a prosperous life in the new land of opportunities. By the same token, I learned more about the true hardships of immigrants when I went on the tour at Ellis Island. The tour guide showed me the different processes and screenings the immigrants had to go through before being admitted through the doors of America. These processes were very intense and were the cause of many families tearing apart and some never reconnecting. In detail, the two main stages of inspection for admittance was the medical and legal inspection. For instance, some people arrived with trachoma or blindness and were automatically turned away. On the other hand, if immigrants arrived with a broken bone or measles they had to be held at the Ellis Island hospital. Next, the last half of their journey