Immigrating With Anzia Yezierska Summary

Many people emigrated from Europe to the United States in hope for a new and better life. Through their journeys they had to make several adjustments in order to adapt to the new land they were planning on calling home. Many things probably seemed strange to these people such as the mannerisms they saw, services that were offered in their new life, and barriers they now had to deal with. These new features of life helped to shape this country and the people who established it. Each of the stories explored in this paper show a variety of the type of adjustments being made by the new Americans.
The story of Anzia Yezierska is a good example of how different the mannerisms in America are in comparison to Poland in this case. Immigrating with

her Jewish family, Anzia went to college for four years and adjusted to how people in America acted.

Upon her return home she begun to notice the lack of manners at the dinner table by her family. To them the use of forks instead of hands was not a necessity, but after being Americanized, Anzia could not bear to be at the table with her parents and their crude table manners. This shows the struggle some families experienced to close the gap between what was acceptable there and what was acceptable here. To Anzia, she “insist[ed] on their changing table manners. One would think I was killing them.” (Stavans 158). This quote shows just how hard some people who came here had adjusting to American manners. While people here would think that eating with your hands or slurping meat off of the bone is rude, people coming here just saw it as normal and acceptable. Like any other transition made in life, it takes time to get out of your comfort zone and readjust. There was also the issue of the immigrants feeling inferior. Anzia’s father in the story accuses her of thinking she is superior to him because she went to college. With the growing opportunity for the kids to

attend school, it is understandable that sometimes—like in today’s society—education would get throw in people’s faces. This was another strange part of America, which so many people were able to get somewhat of an education. These two factors helped to shape how the immigrants acted and how they thought. They were trying each day to better themselves in order to fit in to the norms that were becoming America. Even though it was uncomfortable and confusing at times, the adjustments being made were simply part of making this country into the promise land that so many of the immigrants saw it to be.
The second story about adjusting to life in America is not as cut and dry as the previously one discussed was.

Louis Chu was a Chinese immigrant who experienced a whole different kind of challenges settling into America. In America, Louis was offered prostitution services when he arrived in the United States. This was probably an unusual service in America as compared to China. However it was not a service he turned down. America offered all sorts of perks and services that were new and different to the people coming here from countries all over the globe. These services were often frequented by unsuspecting people at first. In the story Louis tells about how a girl who “looked no more than sixteen. She had a ready smile and nice shapely legs. She beckoned to him. ‘Come. Come here I want to show you something.” (Stavans 260). This is how he first came to experience escort services in the United States. Many men partook in these services, but this too helped to shape early America. It was things like this that created a black market of sorts where people would go to get things they could not obtain legally. While this might seem strange to say it shaped early America, it is undoubtable that things like this are not a part of life today. This created a different income for many in a strange way. Not everything that is considered to have shaped America is always a positive thing, this too built up the country in its early years. This was an indirect story about things

happening in America but one that needed to be told none the less. Louis experienced services that some would never find and some would abuse in his beginning time in America.
Along with small changes in America such as manners and private services, there were larger changes discussed in a story by Abraham Cahan. His story tells about the trials and differences he notices while coming to America for the first time. The excerpt in the text starts with conversing with an American Jew in German, a language that neither of them spoke well (Stavan 111). There was many different languages being spoken in this country at the time because of people coming from all over. This would be cause for much confusion and miscommunication. It not hard to understand why people would become confused or frustrated in these type of situations. These type of things made it necessary to all speak a common language in this new country so that everyone could be understood by their friends, employees, and all of the other people they came into contact with. He then continues on to tell his story about how the division of the groups of people was split up between the neighborhoods. Everyone at this time stuck to the area that their group occupied in order to fit in. Eventually the groups would migrate to different parts until the divisions became less prominent in America. This helped to integrate the various kind of people that make up the melting pot that is the United States. The last point he makes in his story is how the people were allowed to pass out leaflets that included whatever they wanted to discuss. The freedom of speech and freedom of press was a luxury that many did not have back in the country they came from. It almost felt wrong for them to print and distribute these things but many people would continue to use these resources to get out their opinions in the coming years and for the rest of this country’s history. These various aspects contributed to the shaping of America because they forced people together, integrated the kinds of people who settled here, and allowed them to get find their voice. All of these things led to the upcoming of a strong and solid society that would be built upon for years to come.
All of these people in the stories came from very different places and had different ideas of what America was going to be like. They all had differnet experiences that make their stories unique. Just like other Americans they were living separate lives, but they did have one underlying theme throughout each story. They were all figuring out how to make America work for them. Anzia went to college and picked up American manners. She came not knowing who she was and discovered herself after attending college to learn what other Americans were like outside of her Jewish home. Louis started his life out in America taking up prostitutes on their services. While he did not realize it at the time this service would have a lasting impact on his marriage later in life. He was overwhelmed with option to get sex from many people so easily. This was how he made his transition into America. Abraham adjusted to America by learning the language, the culture, and the areas in which he lived in or around. He spent his time telling about all of the logistics instead of a specific story about his time in this country. So while all of the stories were very different, they were all similar too. These people were working to find happiness within these confides of America. They were experimenting with new things and taking in the wonders that were this new world they had moved to. New countries can often be scary and confusing, as well as hard to figure out how to make it your new life. It was only natural that they experienced new and strange things when they first arrived. These people made a journey many would and experienced it all in their own way.
Immigrants came to this country seeking a new life. They experienced many new and unusual changes from their home countries. From College, to prostitution, and back to simply the language they speak here, the immigrants encountered a whole new world—both literally and figuratively. Reading these stories gave a better insight into exactly what it meant to come to a new country like this. Many immigrants realized how different and unique this place would be while some did not. They only were trying to better themselves and often times they did. They immigrated for better lives, even if it meant having to make some big adjustments.