Tone and Purpose of the Texts and Visuals Edward Bok and Colin Powell consider America the land of opportunity. Edward Bok was an immigrant from the Netherlands who moved to the US and Colin Powell’s parents were immigrants who came from Jamaica. Powell was the statesman and a four-star general who became the first African American secretary of state. Both Edward Bok and Colin Powell convey an optimistic tone and develop the idea of opportunity through the use of connotative diction in contrast to the Immigration Chart and Political Cartoon which has a informative tone and supports the idea that being an immigrant in the US is a difficult challenge. Powell and Bok’ autobiography and essay have an prideful optimistic attitude towards America. Bok says “As the world stands to-day no nation offers opportunity in the degree that America does the foreign-born” It proves that the assertion is true by showing the pride he has toward America by stating that no other nation offers what the US does. Powell says “And America that is still the beacon of light to the darkest corner of the world” The prideful tone Powell displays is shown in this quote by saying that America is the light in the dark corner. Powell and Bok both use writing to paint the prideful …show more content…
optimistic tone. The graph and the political cartoon both display an informative tone. In the graph it shows the numbers on immigrants that came to America from 1820-2009. In the the political cartoon it shows that only 3% percent of immigrants go through the ‘funnel’. This proves that they are both informative by giving us date to take in. The purpose of Bok and Powell’s autobiography and essay is to display the idea of opportunity.
Bok states “... America can graft such a wealth of inspiration so high national idealism, so great an opportunity for the highest endeavor, as to make him the fortunate man of the earth to-day” America has a great deal of inspiration to the foreign born which gives them opportunity to make it in US. Powell says, “I believe that our greatest strength in dealing with the world is the openness of our society and the welcoming nature of our people” This states the idea of opportunity by showing the openness of our society and letting anyone come. Both the autobiography and essay write about the foreign-born making it in
America. Both the graph and political cartoon support the idea that being an immigrant is difficult. The graph shows that the numbers are really high which makes it hard for an immigrant to get through when all these people trying to go to America. The political cartoon shows the immigrants are trying hard to fit into the small funnel but only a few go through. The political cartoon and graph both give evidence that being an immigrant is hard. The autobiography by Edward Bok and the essay by Colin Powell both have a optimistic tone toward America. The graph and the political cartoon display an informative tone about immigration. The purpose of Bok’s and Powell’s writing is to show the idea of opportunity. The graph and the cartoon support the idea that being an immigrant is difficult.
Dinesh D’Souza constructs an argument in his essay “What’s so great about America” that is convincing to the average reader. His essay was published 15 years ago and American culture has seen some changes since then. However, nothing that he mentions specifically in the essay has changed drastically. His extrinsic ethos is strong because he is from India and the audience may perceive that he can compare his knowledge of living elsewhere to an immigrant’s knowledge. This view of looking at America from an outsider’s point of view and how others view living in America is essential in D’Souza’s fundamental argument. He compares living in America to living in other less developed countries and appeals to the common citizen in his style, logic, and development of his essay. His arguments are sound and he convinces the average citizen that America is the best place to live, although his lack of facts and statistics to back up his statements could be seen as a weakness.
It is somehow strange for today’s reader to find out that the situation with America’s foreign affairs hasn’t changed much. As some clever people have said, “The History book on the shelf is always repeating itself.” Even after nineteen years, Americans think of themselves as citizens of the strongest nation in the world. Even after the September the 11th. Even after Iraq. And Afghanistan.
The United States of America is known as the land of opportunity and dreams. People dream of migrating to this nation for a chance of a better a life. This belief has been around for many years, ever since the birth of the United States; therefore it’s a factor in which motivate many people migrate to the United States. Upton Sinclair, author of the Jungle, narrates the life of a Lithuanian family and there struggles with work, crime, family loss, and survival in the city of Packingtown. Sinclair expresses her disgust as well as the unbelievable truth of life in the United States involving politics, corruption, and daily struggle that many suffered through in the 19th and 20th century.
Living from 1936 to 2002, Ambrose published many great historical works. Perhaps his greatest work was finished months before he passed away, as he finished writing one of his last books, To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian. This book was his final goodbye to the country he so dearly loved. The topics he covers in this book range from the beginning of the Founding Fathers to World War Two to the turn of the millennium. Throughout his life, he was always fascinated with militaries and war. This book reflects his perspective on matters regarding the history of America and one message he portrays was his fascination with war, the military, and the men who lead or served in battle, such as Dwight Eisenhower. This also exposes Ambrose’s great patriotism for his country. He portrays his messages by using many descriptive adjectives and an upbeat style of speech as well writing about achievements he has done throughout his life, for instance launching a museum in commemoration for World War Two veterans. Ambrose was also very influenced by historical and biographical factors such as his Father, the period in which he grew up in, and of American figures.
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
America has always been a land of opportunity ever since the pilgrims first arrived. During the infancy of America’s history, the country was under developed and would be considered a third world country today. Even though America was under developed compared to the previous motherland of Great Britain it always had the potential to exceed the many limits set upon by others. For example, Andrew Jackson, also known as the man of the people, was raised by a single mother who struggled to raise two other children and struggled with economic hardships. Regardless of his upbringings, Andrew Jackson became the seventh president of the United States in which he invited the public to his inaugural ball. Some people who migrated from other countries to America, such as Frances Trollope, failed to recognize the potential that America had. Instead of Mrs. Trollope acknowledging the promises the newly found country had, she decided to critically compare it to her homeland.
“Transnational communities and selves emerge when people from different cultural groups meet and live in shared spaces” (Fischer, 155-156). The American nation today could easily be seen as a transnational America, thus, this essay shows that Bourne’s idea of empowering all citizens. Especially immigrants,that had led to the America that is known and loved today. Although, empowerment of citizens is important, so is domination, which is why Roosevelt’s ideas of strong patriotism during the Progressive Era are not completely lost
Moving from the unpleasant life in the old country to America is a glorious moment for an immigrant family that is highlighted and told by many personal accounts over the course of history. Many people write about the long boat ride, seeing The Statue of Liberty and the “golden” lined streets of New York City and how it brought them hope and comfort that they too could be successful in American and make it their home. Few authors tend to highlight the social and political developments that they encountered in the new world and how it affected people’s identity and the community that they lived in. Authors from the literature that we read in class highlight these developments in the world around them, more particularly the struggles of assimilating
Thus, Bierce satirizes American culture and the popular beliefs of destiny and natural superiority associated with his time. American history is shown to be nothing more than a deaf and mute child roaming in the wilderness playing war games. The arrogant notion of superiority is described as feeble and ultimately destructive. Bierce calls upon Americans to view themselves with a kind of humility toward the natural world and its it place inside of it; no longer should Americans see themselves as privileged, instead, they should become humbled.
Daniel, Roger is a highly respected author and professor who has majored in the study of immigration in history and more specifically the progressive ear. He’s written remarkable works over the history of immigration in America, in his book Not like Us he opens a lenses about the hostile and violent conditions immigrants faced in the 1890’s through the 1924’s. Emphasizing that during the progressive area many immigrants felt as they were living in a regressing period of their life. While diversity of ethnicity and race gradually grew during this time it also sparked as a trigger for whites creating the flare up of nativism. Daniel’s underlines the different types of racial and ethnical discrimination that was given to individual immigrant
In America, it is a common misconception that all foreigners are similar; it is believed that they all have similar dreams and each of them end up chasing after the same jobs. However, this is not the case. Not only do immigrants from different countries hold different dreams, but those with a shared background even have varying hopes and dreams for the future. This is evidenced in Bharati Mukherjee’s essay, “Two Ways to Belong in America.” She utilizes several rhetorical strategies in order to show that immigrants have the ability to be assimilated into the American culture, but that they should not be deported if they choose not to conform to said culture.
Following the 1890’s, the world began to undergo the first stages of globalization. Countries and peoples, who, until now, were barely connected, now found themselves neighbors in a planet vastly resembling a global village. Despite the idealized image of camaraderie and brotherhood this may seem to suggest, the reality was only discrimination and distrust. Immigration to new lands became a far more difficult affair, as emigrants from different nations came to be viewed as increasingly foreign. In the white-dominated society of the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the only way to truly count oneself as American was to become “white”. For this reason, the idea of race, a socially constructed issue with no real physical basis, has become one of the most defining factors which shape immigration and assimilation in the United States.
Diversity is what built America. This is supported by John F. Kennedy’s “ The Immigrant Contribution from A Nation of Immigrants” and Anna Quindlen’s “A quilt of a Country” essay dictons. Both of Quindlen’s diction characteristics are abstract and sophisticated, while John F. Kenney’s diction characteristics are concrete and abstract.
"Immigrants and the American Dream." Society 33.n1 (Nov-Dec 1995):3(3). Expanded Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale University. 26 Sep. 2006.
“America is the land of opportunity. If I work hard enough, I can be whatever I want to be. If I truly want something, I can get it. I will work hard and grow up to be whatever it is that makes me happy. The sky is the limit. These statements portray the American dream. Though the American dream seems a little more difficult to attain when the American dreaming is a member of a minority group living in poverty”. This quotation by author, Philip M. Deutsch thoroughly sums up the entirety of my paper. Deutsch starts out by listing several somewhat cliché statements summarizing the classic American’s view of the American dream; the hope of starting with nothing and ending up on top. However, he continues by revealing that the American dream is not as easily made a reality for those from other countries. This paper explores why it is easier for those born in America to attain prosperity in the United States. This paper will discuss the reasons immigrants have a harder time achieving the