Often times, America can be described as “the golden door” (Lazarus 14) or a land of opportunity. This is the case in Emma Lazarus’s poem, “The New Colossus.” In her poem, Emma, like America, is calling out to other country’s “tired...poor/… [and] huddled masses yearning to breathe free” (Lazarus 10-11). In many countries the poor and tired citizens flee to America to obtain freedom and the natural liberties each person is entitled to in America. For most immigrants, coming to the United States is a huge risk with many possible outcomes, but overall, with patience and effort America does fulfill the promise of freedom and opportunity after walking through “the golden door” (Lazarus 14). For most, coming to America seems like a great idea; …show more content…
For those coming to America seeking freedom and rights, they have many hurdles to jump over before they are free. One of the biggest challenges for immigrants, like those in “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, is the blending of various cultures. In most circumstances, parents and older generations generally have a harder time adjusting to the new way of life after moving to America. According Jing-mei’s mother in “Two Kinds” “you could be anything you wanted to be in America “ (Tan 2). However, after being embarrassed by her daughters atrocious talent show performance and opposed by her daughter for the first time, Jing-mei’s mother instead believes that there are “only two kinds of daughters…. those who are obedient and those who follow their own mind” (Tan 74 ). After being made a fool in front of her sister and prodigy niece, Jing-mei’s mother goes from an American style of thinking her daughter can be anything she wants to be, back to a Chinese style of ordering her daughter around and expecting Jing-mei to comply. Contrary to her mother, Jing-mei has transitioned from her Chinese lifestyle of being obedient and respectful, to the American lifestyle of standing up for herself. Jing-mei knows that it is not likely for her to be anything she wants to, she can only be herself, this is shown when Jing-mei shouts at her mother “you want me to be someone I’m not, I’ll never be the kind of daughter you want me to be” …show more content…
“There are many different ways to be poor in the world but increasingly there seems to be one single way to be rich,” (Adichie) meaning be in America. Many immigrants come to America based on Chimamanda Adichie’s quote; immigrants believe that the only way to become rich is to leave their country’s land of minimal opportunities and walk through America’s “golden door” (Lazarus 14) of opportunity. The thought of coming to America and becoming rich is enough motivation to help immigrants push through and persevere all the racism and hardships they will go through in America. In Chimamanda's quote, “rich” is not only referring to having a large sum of money, it is also referring to having happiness and an education. Happiness and education are not tangible, yet thousands of people flee to America to find them. Bharati, from “Two Ways to Belong in America,” takes a risk and goes against the “3000 years caste-observant, ‘pure-culture’ marriage in the Mukherjee family” (Mukherjee 5). By marrying outside of her culture, Bharati knows that she is opening many new doors for herself including “self-invention, blue jeans, and T-shirts,” (Mukherjee 5) all of which are considered extremely American ideas and beliefs.After adopting certain aspects of American culture like blue jeans instead of saris, Bharati is able to find
As the four women entered America, which is far from their motherland China, they experience a change of culture, the American culture, which was dominant than the Chinese. The Chinese mothers are faced with a difficult task of how to raise their American-born daughters with an understanding of their heritage. The daughters clearly show a gap in culture between the Chinese culture and American culture. The mothers wanted their daughter to follow the Chinese traditions, but the daughters followed the American traditions and even some of them got married to American men. The mothers tried to tell their daughters the story about the Chinese ancestors but the daughter could not follow them and the daughters thought their mothers were backwards and did not know what they are saying. As much as the mothers tried to show love to their daughters, the daughters usually responded negatively. They often saw their mothers’ attempts to guidance as a failure to understand the American culture. Being Chinese and living in America, both the mothers and the daughters struggle with many issues like identity, language, translation, and others. The mothers try to reconcile their Chinese pasts with their American presents; the daughters try to find a balance between independence and loyalty to their heritage
Did you know that in Ancient China, a parent could legally kill their children if they were disobedient? It's not legal now, but Chinese parents still expect their children to be obedient. In Chinese culture, family values and expectations are very important. So when Jing-mei is disobedient, it shows that she has been affected by American culture. This shows that Jing-mei is more American than Chinese because she has the American thought that she has the right to be herself and no one can change that, she shows independence, and argues with her mother. That fact conflicts with her mother because she want Jing-mei to be the perfect Chinese prodigy.
Mukherjee begins her essay with an exposition of her and her sister’s story. She uses repetition in order to emphasize the main differences between the two. For example, she states, “I am an American citizen and she is not. I am moved that thousands of residents are finally taking the oath of citizenship. She is not.” This line is used to set up her subject. She is stating that she is an immigrant whose dream was to envelop the American culture, while her sister does not believe that she should be assimilated into it. The use of repetition also appeals to her audience, Americans, by capturing their attention. Many Americans are nationalistic, if not jingoistic, and believe that America is the greatest country in the world. The notion that others do not feel this way may intrigue them, or potentially offend them, causing them to read on in attempt to find flaws within her argument.
In the short story, "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan, a Chinese mother and daughter are at odds with each other. The mother pushes her daughter to become a prodigy, while the daughter (like most children with immigrant parents) seeks to find herself in a world that demands her Americanization. This is the theme of the story, conflicting values. In a society that values individuality, the daughter sought to be an individual, while her mother demanded she do what was suggested. This is a conflict within itself. The daughter must deal with an internal and external conflict. Internally, she struggles to find herself. Externally, she struggles with the burden of failing to meet her mother’s expectations. Being a first-generation Asian American, I have faced the same issues that the daughter has been through in the story.
The tithe assessments were done in Dromore in 1834. There were four Michael McGuigans noted in four different townlands.
For many of us growing up, our mothers have been a part of who we are. They have been there when our world was falling apart, when we fell ill to the flu, and most importantly, the one to love us when we needed it the most. In “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, it begins with a brief introduction to one mother’s interpretation of the American Dream. Losing her family in China, she now hopes to recapture part of her loss through her daughter. However, the young girl, Ni Kan, mimics her mother’s dreams and ultimately rebels against them.
Throughout the years, immigrants have come to rely on America to be the land of new beginnings. Such as, when the Potato Famine struck in Ireland the Irish people looked to America for
Stepping out of my first plane ride, I experience an epiphany of new culture, which seems to me as a whole new world. Buzzing around my ears are conversations in an unfamiliar language that intrigues me. It then struck me that after twenty hours of a seemingly perpetual plane ride that I finally arrived in The United States of America, a country full of new opportunities. It was this moment that I realized how diverse and big this world is. This is the story of my new life in America.
Yet America still beckoned most strongly to the struggling masses of Europe, and the majority of migrants headed for the "land of freedom and opportunity". There was freedom from aristocratic caste and state church; there was abundant opportunity to secure broad acres and better one’s condition.
Immigration has played a major rule throughout the world's history, even in today's society immigration is still occuring. Everyone in America at one time has migrated from somewhere, wheater in their lifetime or through their ancestors. In both the poems, The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus, and Who Makes the Journey by Cathy Song portray the coming of immigrants to America for freedom, uprising a sense of security yet insecurity.
Oftentimes the children of immigrants to the United States lose the sense of cultural background in which their parents had tried so desperately to instill within them. According to Walter Shear, “It is an unseen terror that runs through both the distinct social spectrum experienced by the mothers in China and the lack of such social definition in the daughters’ lives.” This “unseen terror” is portrayed in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club as four Chinese women and their American-born daughters struggle to understand one another’s culture and values. The second-generation women in The Joy Luck Club prove to lose their sense of Chinese values, becoming Americanized.
It is quite ironic that these "nativists" came to America for the same reasons as the immigrants who came in the time period of 1880-1925; however, they do not accept the immigrants who came in that period, just as they had once wanted to be accepted. Emma Lazarus’ "The New Colossus", which is on the Statue of Liberty, reads "Give me you tired, your poor, Your huddled mass yearning to breathe free," but in fact, many Americans, nativists, did not want these poor, huddled mass at all.
The American Dream can mean a number of different things to number of different people. Over the years this ideal has evolved and its definition will continue to change for many more years to come. What has not changed is the desire to achieve this dream. For decades now, people from all over the world have immigrated to the United States with hopes of obtaining this dream. However it seems that, to many immigrants the American dream has a very different and more modest definition. To many foreigners it means having the basic necessities in life and giving their children opportunities and life they ever had. Immigration can be a good and a bad thing. On one hand the overall standard of living is better but on the other hand it is almost inevitable that the family, especially the children, will lose some of their culture as they Americanize and assimilate. This is partially the reason why the mothers of The Joy Luck Club continue to have the Joy Luck Club meetings. Even though they are now in America, they want to make sure their daughters are exposed to and maintain the Chinese culture. Mother/ daughter relationships are a large component in Amy Tan’s award winning novel, The Joy Luck Club.
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.
We display Lady Liberty proudly, yet we turn away and deport people who try to gain access to the freedom she promises. We have writing such as Emma Lazarus’s poem “The New Colossus” that talks about how we welcome immigrants, and we will provide the solace they desire. With limitations, such as drug testing, criminal background check, and following the United States laws immigrants should be allowed to find a new life here and to gain access to our freedom. Our doors should be open to people who follow the laws and are coming here to find a better life, and are here to be a