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immigrant experiences essay
Immigrant Experience Essay
immigrant experiences essay
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The Journey of Self-discovery Brian Moore's The Luck of Ginger Coffey
When Ginger Coffey brought his family to Canada from Ireland, little did he know that he would attain partial triumph by discovering "himself and the refugee among the lame and the old". With the aid of those around him, Coffey pursued personal freedom and status in his adopted country. He stumbled through a journey of self-discovery while materialism obstructed his vision. The importance of his family rooted Coffey to his homeland and to his moral values while he tried to discover himself as an immigrant.
All the world appeared hostile to Ginger Coffey when he tried to carve a niche for himself in this new country, for he felt insecure as a New Canadian—and he was faced with midlife crises to boost. As a schoolboy, Coffey had been warned by old Father Cogley that boys who didn’t settle like everyone else would sink in this world and the next, "because that class of boy is unable to accept his God-given limitations…has no love of God in him…is an ordinary, lazy lump and his talk of finding adventures is only wanting an excuse to get away and commit mortal sins." (The Luck of Ginger Coffey, 18) Coffey dreamed of a world in which "all men had reached the top of the hill; there were no dull jobs, no humiliating interviews, no turndowns; no man was saddled with ungrateful daughters, there were unlimited funds to spend…You were free." (40) Indeed, Coffey was a dreamer who longed for personal freedom.
Having hopped from job to job because he detested being a "glorified office boy," (13) Coffey could not face the "misleading facts of a life" (7) and he was unprepared to scale the steep ascent to a successful career. While hunting for a job, Ginger Coffey no...
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...use she needs [him]; it’s knowing [he] and she will still care about each other when sex and daydreams, fights and futures—when all that’s on the shelf and done with." (243)
Mingling amongst the "lame and the old," Ginger Coffey saw reflections of himself as a New Canadian everywhere. He had learned that life was the victory, and that going on was the victory. The little triumphs in life have liberated him. Coffey, in his adjustment period as an immigrant, has found materialism to have a negative impact on his life. Concerned with the welfare of his family, Coffey was able to discover his tender-most self. Certainly, the weak and the poor have acted as the best guides for Ginger Coffey who, through a tumultuous journey, found himself at last.
Work Cited
Moore, Brian. The Luck of Ginger Coffey. Boston and Toronto: Atlantic-Little, Brown and Company, 1960.
One girl who chases the American Dream is Lena Lingard, a small farm girl from a poverty-stricken family. "Lena gave her heart away when she felt like it, but she kept her head for her business and had got on in the world." (192). Lena had one thing on her mind: money. To her the American Dream was wealth. She wants freedom from worry about where her next meal would come from. Lena begins her journey to wealth by becoming one of the many hired girls in the town of Black Hawk. There she was apprentice to a dressmaker and before long began to show great potential. Soon she began making money with her hard work, dedication and talent, but she uses this money not to indulge in her own desires, but to benefit her family. She spent her excess funds buying clothes for them, and paying their bills. But this wasn't enough to gain society's approval. She is a hired girl. Because she went to many dances over the summer months, many young men began noticing her, as they never had before. Because of this Lena earns a reputation like those of the hired girls; that ...
Frances, S. (2012). Sex work and the law: A critical analysis of four policy approaches to adult prostitution . Thinking about justice: a book of readings (pp. 190-220). Halifax, N.S.: Fernwood Pub..
The following vignettes were chosen by our group for highlighting Myra Bennett’s compassion for the isolated communities in northwest Newfoundland.
Lawson, Mary. The Other Side of the Bridge. Vintage Canada ed. Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2007. Print.
Throughout the 20th century, the Irish-Canadian community has been foundational to the evolution of Canada's national identity, whether it was with the leadership of Baie-Comeau's Brian Mulroney, whose historical legacy includes NAFTA or the Shamrock summit, or the ineradicable impact of the music groups from Eastern Canada on the country's cultural sphere. Despite having such a mark upon the country's growth, the cohabitation between Irish and Canadian populations was also one of struggle. This paper will explore some of the pivotal historical events, between the Irish and Canadian populations, in the 19th century.
Canada is of the major influences of Grandfather Connor’s identity. When Vanessa was eleven years old she was interested in pioneers and how they had build the nation she calls home. She shows this interest through her book called “Pillars of a Nation” and found out her grandfather was considered a pioneer. Vanessa’s Grandfather Connor is the stereotypical Canadian during the 1930s. He was a hardworking man trying to make a living while helping build a town in the prairies during the depression. He was “the first blacksmith in Manawaka” and was also able to start up his own hardware store (7). In the short story “The Mask of the Bear” Vanessa describes her grandfather as his “bear fur coat”, like a quintessential Canadian. Rough and grizzly, no emotion or feelings, Grandfat...
The Knights Templar were the manifestation of a "new chivalry" which united the seemingly incompatible roles of monk and warrior. As the first religious military order, these dedicated men were models for successive orders including the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, later known as the Hospitallers, and the Teutonic Knights of the Hospital of St. Mary, two contemporary, rival brotherhoods. These and other orders, flourishing during the 12th-14th centuries as protectors of the Holy Land, were the first standing troops to be properly trained and commanded in Western Europe since the fall of the Roman Empire (Seward 17). The extraordinary story of the Knights Templar ranges from its humble establishment to a period of extreme prosperity, and, finally, to a tragic, haunting conclusion.
Sanders, Teela, Maggie O’Neil, and Jane Pitcher. Prostitution: Sex Work, Policy, and Politics. London: SAGE, 2009. eBook Collection. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
Thompson, John Herd, and Mark Paul Richard. "Canadian History in North American Context." In Canadian studies in the new millennium. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008. 37-64.
Kelm, Mary, and Lorna Townsend. In the days of our grandmothers: a reader in Aboriginal women's history in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006.
To begin, the reader may gather that the poem has a very dark and saddened tone. Due to Lowell's vivid imagery, a mental image of a dark urban setting is created. It also seems very cold, with the mentioning of wind and nighttime. Readers may be able to relate to urban places they know, adding to the reality of the poem. Connections can be made. The imagery is left in such a way that the reader can fill in the gaps with their own memories or settings. Also, since the poem uses free verse, the structure is left open to interpretation. This makes the poem more inviting and easier to interpret, rather than reading it as a riddle. However, though simple in imagery, the poem still captures the reader's interest due to the creation it sparks, yet it never strays away from the theme of bei...
Moodie, Susanna. Roughing it in the Bush; Or, Life in Canada. London, England: Richard Bentley, 1852) and 3rd. ed. (1854). Print
Legalized Prostitution: A Compromise Between Amnesty International and Task Force on Human Trafficking and Prostitution
As romantic relationships develop over time, the relationship naturally deepens and becomes more serious. Inevitably, these cause individuals to become increasingly dependent on their significant other. This dependence is necessary for the survival of romantic relationships and, this, can be considered a def...
The structure of society is losing ground everyday by what some people view to be human rights. I understand the importance of having freedom to exercise our rights. Some of these rights are morally incorrect, and does not necessarily better society. If prostitution is legalized, society will continue to decay from moral structure and standard. This decline in structure will cause extreme social problems, for example, the commitment for couples to remain monogamous. The bible states, “Because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their heart. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality, so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more”, (“Women’s Devotional Bible Eph. 4.18”). This is not about religion, but an understanding that we are created to feel emotion and desire for intimacy with limitations. These limitations are for our own safety and protection. The intimacy of a couple goes deep into mind and soul, which belongs between two people in love. Sexual acts outside of a romantic relationship are just lustful and violating. Should a person settle for anything less? I think not. Money cannot buy love just empty pleasure and a desire for more. What is the value of a person’s body? Priceless, therefore, people should not sell out for impurity.