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Essay on immigration and identity issue
Essay on immigration and identity issue
Essay on immigration and identity issue
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Over the last seventy years the immigrant population in the United States of America has increased from just 10 million to nearly 45 million today. Immigrants now occupy 13.5 percent of the population today a substantial increase from a mere 5 percent back in the 1950s (Migration Policy Institute). The world in which we leave is so vast and unique from place to place, along with these amazing places come communities of people with distinct ways of life. As an immigrant family leaves their old home, it is not unusual for them to have a hard time adjusting to their new life in a different place. But over time, they slowly adapt to the ways of life of their new home while also keeping strong ties to their old one. In her novel Amy Tan explores …show more content…
The cultural identity of an individual is greatly influenced by where and how one lives. According to Dinesh Bhugra and Matthew Becker of The World psychiatric Association the cultural identity of a person is susceptible to change over time, “Psychosocial changes experienced by immigrants include assimilation… a process by which cultural differences disappear as immigrant communities adapt to the majority or host culture and value system. An individual's cultural identity may be lost during the assimilation process”(Bhugra and Becker). Immigrants progressively begin to mix their old customs with the ways of their new home, as this change occurs the identity of the person gets revised to adjust to the new lifestyle. On many occasions children of immigrants do not feel like they truly belong in any cultural group. This was conveyed in how Waverly felt about her own Chinese heritage, “‘What if I blend in so well they think I’m one of them’... ‘They know Just watching the way you walk, the way you carry your face. They know you do not belong’”(Tan 288). Lindo, Waverly’s mother, tells her that even though she may look Chinese on the outside, her American background and upbringing will always make her stand out in China, Waverly can not fully identify as Chinese or American because of her mixed upbringing. On the contrary, many immigrant children also tend to deny their heritage. Jing- Mei does not like to adress her Chinese background, “when I was fifteen I had vigorously deny that I had any Chinese whatsoever below my skin”(Tan 306). Her heritage is a central part of her identity, a part of who she is which she can not put down. Even though Jing- Mei was raised in America she has been brought up in a mix of both Chinese and American
America is a land filled with immigrants coming from different corners of the worlds, all in hopes of finding a better life in the country. However, No one had an easy transition from his or her home country to this foreign land. Not every race thrived the same way—some were luckier than others, while some have faced enormous obstacles in settling down and being part of the American society. Many people have suffered
Immigrants come to America, the revered City upon a Hill, with wide eyes and high hopes, eager to have their every dream and wild reverie fulfilled. Rarely, if ever, is this actually the case. A select few do achieve the stereotypical ‘rags to riches’ transformation – thus perpetuating the myth. The Garcia family from Julia Alvarez’s book How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, fall prey to this fairytale. They start off the tale well enough: the girls are treated like royalty, princesses of their Island home, but remained locked in their tower, also known as the walls of their family compound. The family is forced to flee their Dominican Republic paradise – which they affectionately refer to as simply, the Island – trading it instead for the cold, mean streets of American suburbs. After a brief acclimation period, during which the girls realize how much freedom is now available to them, they enthusiastically try to shed their Island roots and become true “American girls.” They throw themselves into the American lifestyle, but there is one slight snag in their plan: they, as a group, are unable to forget their Island heritage and upbringing, despite how hard they try to do so. The story of the Garcia girls is not a fairytale – not of the Disney variety anyway; it is the story of immigrants who do not make the miraculous transition from rags to riches, but from stifling social conventions to unabridged freedom too quickly, leaving them with nothing but confusion and unresolved questions of identity.
For thousands of years people have left their home country in search of a land of milk and honey. Immigrants today still equate the country they are immigrating to with the Promised Land or the land of milk and honey. While many times this Promised Land dream comes true, other times the reality is much different than the dream. Immigration is not always a perfect journey. There are many reasons why families immigrate and there are perception differences about immigration and the New World that create difficulties and often separate generations in the immigrating family. Anzia Yezierska creates an immigration story based on a Jewish family that is less than ideal. Yezierska’s text is a powerful example of the turmoil that is created in the family as a result of the conflict between the Old World and the New World.
“We are a nation of immigrants. We are the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the ones who wanted a better life” said former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, at the 2012 Republican National Convention. Since its establishment, the United States has grown through immigration, lending to a multicultural society. However, immigration and its government policies have become of great public interest due to illegal immigration at the Mexican border and violent events in the Middle East. For this reason it seems sensible to investigate the lives of immigrants so that U.S. citizens may take a stance on this disputed topic. Regardless of their origins, whether they are from Latin America, Asia, or anywhere else, immigrants seem to encounter similar endeavors. In Jhumpa Lahiri’s collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies, the author depicts the immigration of Indian citizens to the United States. Noting various matters ranging from motives to the cultural identity crisis, Lahiri exposes the struggles and ramifications of American immigration. The collection elucidates the lives of first and second generation
Although I have read this book before, I still enjoy reading the stories of the hardship and challenges the immigrants overcame. Issues such as drugs and discrimination have been addressed in the book and the response the victims of such issues got from the concerned authorities in relation to their complaints. The book is based on narrations of real time events and the stereotypes that put the immigrants on the wrong side of the law almost all the time. Additionally, the need for reform can be seen from this novel where immigrants themselves echo their dissatisfaction with the current state of things in the US.
After reading The Book of the Unknown Americans, I realized how difficult immigrating to the United States can be. I am an immigrant also, so just reading the story makes me relate to many problems immigrants experience relocating to a different country. Immigrants often face many issues and difficulties, but for some it is all worth it, but for others there comes a point in time where they have to go back to their hometown. Alma and Arturo Rivera came to the United States to better their life, but also so that Maribel could attend a special education school. While Arturo had a job things had gone well for the family, but once Arturo lost the job and passed away the two of them had to go back because they felt that that was the best option for them. Reading this book made me realize how strong an individual has to be to leave their own country and relocate somewhere else not knowing if this will better your life or cause one to suffer.
Immigrants arriving in America for their first time are initially devastated at their new lives and realize their “golden lives” were simply fantasies and dreams of an ideal life in America. Immigrants from foreign countries, including those mentioned in Uchida’s Picture Bride, faced countless problems and hardships, including a sense of disillusionment and disappointment. Furthermore, immigrants and picture brides faced racial discrimination not only from white men, but the United States government, as well. Immigrants were plagued with economic hardships lived in deplorable living conditions. Though nearly every immigrant and picture bride who came to America fantasized about an ideal life, they were faced with countless hardships and challenges before becoming accepted American citizens.
Family dynamics present interesting revelations, especially regarding the relationship between parents and children. While most families undoubtedly encounter dysfunction at some point throughout life, immigrant families seemingly experience such stress continually. A handful of short stories, including “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, “Who’s irish” by Gish Jen, and “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” by Yiyun Li, demonstrate how strained relations erupt in immigrant families. Familial tension noticeably arises because of the immigrant parents’ inability to fully adjust to the American way of life. Further, immigrant parents adhere to strict expectations in an attempt to uphold the family’s conservative heritage. Finally, immigrant parents typically
She informs to her brother Enrique that “In our own land, we have no home. They want to kill us. … In Mexico, there is only poverty. We can’t make a home there either. And here in the north, we aren’t accepted. When will we find a home, Enrique? Maybe when we die, we’ll find a home.” (Nava & Thomas, 1984). In this short monologue, Rosa summarizes the struggles she as well as other immigrants face while finding an identity within America. Immigrants only find a true home after death. In Rosa’s situation, she was no longer welcomed in her native home of Guatemala nor accepted in the United
Immigrants leave their countries in search for a better life and improvement of their situation. There is no singular reason for immigration; motivations range from better economic prospects to political safety. As of late, the number of immigrants living in the United States is an estimated 11 million. Those who immigrate are expected to contribute to the United States culturally, politically, and economically. Yet, full assimilation becomes difficult to achieve when the immigrant is made into “the other” by the country of reception.
Kessner, Thomas and Betty Boyd Caroli, “Today’s Immigrants, Their Stories.” Kiniry and Rose 343-346. Print.
Since the creation of the United States of America, immigrants from all backgrounds have sought refuge, a home and a life in this country of prosperity and opportunity. The opportunity of freedom to exercise natural rights is a large pull factor that causes many people to come to America. Others come because it is a country where one can prosper. Prosperity of people in a country, however, is a more challenging phenomenon to explain than opportunity. Immigrants seek economic, social and educational as well as cultural prosperity. The question of how to gain such prosperity is a difficult one to answer. Some immigrants come to America, cast off their past identity and attempt to find a new, less foreign one. By assimilating to American culture with this new identity, they start a long and treacherous journey to seek prosperity in a land vastly different from the one they once called home. Many will gain educational, economic and social prosperity, but never gain cultural prosperity. Assimilating to American culture so hastily, some immigrants are never able to explore and keep up with their cultural backgrounds. Their families grow up and became Americans, never cognizant of their given up ethnic identities. Those immigrants, however, who are able to gain cultural prosperity through the help of other immigrants of their respective background, become integrated into American society while keeping their ethnic identity. This is the sort of opportunity that the United States of America has provided new arrivals since its founding. Although many immigrants become overwhelmed with American culture and assimilate into it, those who contribute to a working ethnic society are able to dela...
We don’t realize how hard it is for immigrant parents to get their children education, and we judge and hate on something we have never been through. I guess it’s true you never know someone’s pain unless you go through it. Not everyone has the same privileges as others, some have to work twice as hard to try to give their children an opportunity towards an education on the contrary some American families have it simpler. I not blaming people who have families who were born here or say it’s wrong, but many people tend to affront children of immigrant parents and feel like they have the equitableness to say they aren’t suitable to receive public education.
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.
The different aspects or contexts of your life, such as your family, friends, and school, influence who you are, and help shape your identity. Typically, your family impacts the way you think, the way you feel, and how you interact or treat people. This is because your parents, or other extended family members, teach you right from wrong, and set rules and expectations for you. Your family also influences your beliefs, ethics, values, and morals, due to the culture and traditions you grow up around. The other people you surround yourself with, such as friends, have a huge impact on your personality, interests and behavior. Most likely, you will start to act and like the same things as your friends. It’s human nature to imitate what we see.The