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The Experience of Immigrants in the United States Essay
The consequences of cultural assimilation
Diversity in the world
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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. 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. Mukherjee then begins to compare and contrast her sister in a subject-by-subject organization. She states, “…she clings passionately to her Indian citizenship and hopes to go home to India when she... ... middle of paper ... ...de effects of ‘nontraditional’ immigration, the government officially turned against its immigrant communities…” In this line, Mukherjee is showing that she had also been a victim of the new immigration laws, and that was the reason she had conformed to the country, in order to feel a sense of belonging. In this instance, exemplification is used to develop her argument in an effective manner that causes the audience to feel a sense of guilt and even listen to her argument. In her essay, Mukherjee uses several rhetorical devices such as figurative language and exemplification in order to lead the audience to believe her argument. She believes in assimilation of culture, but it should not be forced upon any one. Throughout the essay, she goes through a logical thought process that leads the audience to realize this argument and even feel guilty of forced conformity.
In Amin Ahmad’s I belong here, the reader is faced with a sense of sympathy that makes the reader’s view of the world, not only questionable, but alterable. This personal experience, written in the year 2010 shames the fact that this world has and shows how little progress the world has made in the judgment and discrimination of immigrants. These people look differently, speak differently, and live differently; but on the inside they are the same. Nonetheless, they are looked down upon by people from different cultures. The author uses his personal ethos and pathos to support the claim of value that immigrants are not treated fairly.
The story is about two sister who currently lives in America. It has to deal with moving to the United States in the 1960’s. Both sisters moved to the United States in hope to pursue their dreams and to achieve they goals with college and further education. Both having similarities in appearance and religious values. Both Bharati and her sister Mira had planned to move back to their homeland India after their education. This story relates to our point of culture having a major impact on how people judge each other because it has a huge impact on how people view the world differently because, in this example, I feel manipulated and discarded. This is such an unfair way to treat a person who was invited to stay and work here because of her talent” it is basically stating on how even immigrants (like the sisters themselves) who have come into the U.S., are sometimes given fewer benefits and rights than everyone else and that they feel discluded from being able to express themselves if they wanted to, or to have good thoughts that America is as good as people has said it was, with all this freedom. The last example is, I feel some kind of irrational attachment to India that I don’t to America. Until all this hysteria against immigrants, I was totally happy.” This demonstrates that it isn’t the country itself that makes people unsafe or unsure, it’s the people running it who try to put limitations
In Marcelo M. Suarez- Orozco and Carola Suarez- Orozco’s article “How Immigrants became “other” Marcelo and Carola reference the hardships and struggles of undocumented immigrants while at the same time argue that no human being should be discriminated as an immigrant. There are millions of undocumented people that risk their lives by coming to the United States all to try and make a better life for themselves. These immigrants are categorized and thought upon as terrorist, rapists, and overall a threat to Americans. When in reality they are just as hard working as American citizens. This article presents different cases in which immigrants have struggled to try and improve their life in America. It overall reflects on the things that immigrants go through. Immigrants come to the United States with a purpose and that is to escape poverty. It’s not simply crossing the border and suddenly having a great life. These people lose their families and go years without seeing them all to try and provide for them. They risk getting caught and not surviving trying to make it to the other side. Those that make it often don’t know where to go as they are unfamiliar. They all struggle and every story is different, but to them it’s worth the risk. To work the miserable jobs that Americans won’t. “I did not come to steal from anyone. I put my all in the jobs I take. And I don’t see any of the Americans wanting to do this work” (668). These
They both think they deserve the blanket because Maggie wants the quilt to use everyday as a blanket and Dee wants the blanket to have up. Maggie has a bigger culture than Dee because Maggie will use it everyday and she will have it when her and her man get married. Wangero said, laughing that “Maggie’s brain is like an elephant’s” , well they mean she has a memory as and elephant. Dee said “Maggie can't appreciate these quilts.” Their mom thinks maggie deserves it. My mom would have said Maggie deserves it too because my mom would want to to use it everyday. Their culture and my culture sees the same. It’s the same and a lot of ways. Maggies mom made a promised and she kept it , exactly like my family would have. (Maggie 64) by now was standing in the door. I could almost hear the sound her feet made as they scraped over each other. As I see it is that we all see culture in the same way but just by different
It is true that the more people from different cultures that are in a given area, the more the cultures are diversified. However, with all realities, some claim that immigrants dilute the American culture. Indeed, they cause some changes to the culture. Nevertheless, these changes can bring a wealth of attraction and a source of beauty for the country that everyone should be proud of. It is obvious that every single immigrant in the US has his own culture and way of life. When all these are added together, they form a very rich culture. In addition, they bring various interesting aspects such as food, music, literature, etc. That makes the Americans rich in cultural knowledge. The importance of cultural diversity is that it teaches the people to understand each other’s views, interests, and ideas and helps people view the world in different ways. This would finally lead the society to work towards each other’s interest, mutual goals, and objectives. Tamar Jacoby in his article “Are Today’s Immigrants Assimilating in U.S Society, Yes,” he said that, “Those who are coming now are people who understand cultural fluidity, understand intermarriage and find that a natural, easy thing. This maintains unity and balances in the society” (411). Once this stage is reached, all the problems would be solved. Then it can be said that America has reached a true democracy, echoed by
In “My Two Lives”, Jhumpa Lahiri tells of her complicated upbringing in Rhode Island with her Calcutta born-and-raised parents, in which she continually sought a balance between both her Indian and American sides. She explains how she differs from her parents due to immigration, the existent connections to India, and her development as a writer of Indian-American stories. “The Freedom of the Inbetween” written by Sally Dalton-Brown explores the state of limbo, or “being between cultures”, which can make second-generation immigrants feel liberated, or vice versa, trapped within the two (333). This work also discusses how Lahiri writes about her life experiences through her own characters in her books. Charles Hirschman’s “Immigration and the American Century” states that immigrants are shaped by the combination of an adaptation to American...
Our world is constructed of countries that are absolute and singularly naturally occurring. Our identity is partially constructed upon the socio-political image of a national identity; people are often categorized based upon a stereotypical image of their national identity, instead of, a personal experiential relationship. In this essay, I am going to discuss the differences between transnationalism and assimilationist approaches to immigration.
One element that greatly affects an immigrant’s experience in a new country is how they are viewed and treated by the people of that country. In the article President Obama: “Immigrants and Refugees Revitalize and Renew America”, President Obama is giving a speech at a naturalization ceremony in Washington, DC. He is welcoming new citizens from many different countries. Immigration being a popular topic in America today, President Obama brought some good points about it to our attention. In the speech, President
Concluding the fear of immigration comes from many aspects that goes from political arguments to the fear of losing job or the social identity of the country. However, it is obvious now that immigrants not only create an economic boost for the society they are integrated into, they also often do the jobs that native people didn’t do like the low-class jobs, create more jobs in general for the country and can repay all the expenses that the state afford to let them part of this
Belonging to the native culture has a positive and negative effect. In the article "Two Ways to Belong in America" by Baharati Mukherjee and "A Battle of Cultures" by K. Cannie Kang, both articles deals with the main idea that some of the immigrant accept their new life. In addition, some of immigrant like to stay in their cultures even when they move to another country. How immigrant interact with a new country, and how that reflects on them. In the article "Two Ways to Belong in America" Baharati Mukherjee explains that there are two ways to belong in America. The first one to belong legally and obtained the citizenship. Furthermore, to live and work and feel part of the country. Baharati came from India
In “Immigrant Benefits America”, Bill Clinton emphasizes the importance of immigrants in America. They are hardworking people who come to America to have a better life. He also asserts that American citizens have the responsibility to welcome new immigrants while immigrants have the duty to learn American culture and language, believe in the US government, and contribute to US society. However, Lawrence Auster delivers a different idea in his essay, “Immigration Threatens American Culture.” He points out that the negative effect of mass immigrants from non-European countries. Because of the difference in culture, language, and religion, these immigrant groups rather stay within their communities than socializing with others in US. This shatters
Most nations experience some sort of immigration, be it from a neighboring nation mired in conflict, or from someone seeking better economic prospects across the globe. Regardless of circumstance, the question inevitably arises about how to deal with these new countrymen. A hotly debated issue for many years, certain corners of American political discourse center around the idea that in order to protect the dominant culture, policies ought to be in place that coerce immigrants to adopt the customs of this, their new home, while abandoning traits distinctive of their place of origin. This reactionary mindset that values assimilation over integration and the preservation of uniqueness of culture is harmful to immigrant groups themselves, and American society as a whole. Rather than attempting to construct a common identity amongst vastly different groups, the behaviors and beliefs that make certain groups different ought to be celebrated and respected, as these differences constitute the true American identity and provide a richness that allows America to continue strengthening.
As an immigrant, Chitra Banerjee seems to take pride in being more of a Westerner and less of an Indian. Her all works portray the complexities faced by immigrants. She has exceeded boundaries, conveying two different worlds from various viewpoints. In an interview with Morton Marcus, She explained briefly about her writings and
It was away from the concept of speech community and more about the emotional attachment. If we read the essay without having studied speech communities, as our class has, we probably wouldn’t have made any connection to speech communities. At first, none can recognized the implications of the differing speech communities that Bharati and Mira decided to join upon their arrival in America rather an exposure to different sense of belongings. Bharati explains in India she and Mira were “almost identical in appearance and attitude”. However, in America, Bharati chose to marry outside of her ethnic community, and therefore entered into an entirely different speech community from her sister Mira, who married her ethnic equal and maintained her membership within her Indian culture’s speech community. Because Mira decided to preserve her Indian heritage and lifestyle, she did not desire to become assimilated into American society, but instead wanted to maintain her own identity as an Indian immigrant working in America. Mira did not welcome the new legislation that encouraged legal immigrants to become American citizens like Bharati did. The sisters found themselves viewing their new life through the eyes of two completely different speech communities. Mukherjee, actually accentuated the voice of those who struggle for
When she first came to America, she had nothing. She didn 't speak English fluently, nor did she have any experience on how to find a job here. Now not only does she have a stable job, but she owns her own house and car, things she didn 't have before. She 's also helped put two kids through college. Clearly, this shows that making a big change to your life, even if it involves leaving your family and going out of your comfort zone, can help in many ways and in the end it will all be worth it. Amarjit represents a lot of people who move out of their country, away from their families, to the United States for a better life. She 's worked hard her whole life and went through difficult transitions. This shows that in the end, if you work hard and don 't give up, it will all eventually pay