Immigrants Fight For Acceptance Essay

For immigrants, it is hard to be accepted in America, in this case, "Latino/ Hispanic" immigrants. Not only do they have to face the struggle of living in America but face all the cultural aspect as well. In The Garcia Girls lost Their Accents Julia Alvarez shows many adversities in forms of literary devices. Immigrants go through many hardships such as dual identity, gender inequality, and cultural expectation.

The story “Snow” by Julia Alvarez tells us how difficult it is to be an immigrant in many ways. Moving to a place and being an immigrant creates hardships such as learning everything about a new language, to the change of the area you are used to living in. Another big hardship is a conflict created between different countries such as how Yolanda during the time was living in New York during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Going somewhere new where you know nothing about is challenging to those who decide to move.

“There is strength in numbers” said by Mark Shields, an American politician, is one of my favorite quotes of all time and has a strong connection to the novel. We see many different connections and how important they are in very difficult circumstances. Infinite Country by Patricia Engel goes over different points of view of a family trying to reunite after being separated by immigration from Colombia to the United States after 14 years. Talia is one of the main characters as we see her travel all through Colombia to reach the airport in Bogotá and fly over to the United States to be with her mother and other siblings. We also see Elena and Mauro, Talia’s parents, similarly have to survive in the United States undocumented.

The first time I arrived to this nation, I landed at the city of New York, where countless of immigrants, like me, once entered, what was and is known as, the land of opportunity. I’ve come to think that Ellis Island, the gateway to millions of immigrants to the United States, has remained in tact over the years to remind us that this nation was built and made what it is today by immigrants. The hurdles of being new to this nation approached life in different colors, forms and shapes. My English was undoubtedly limited and the few words that I could grasp did not allowed me to even sustain a conversation based on simplistic small talk.

Do you think that illegal immigrants should have a path to citizenship? I think that they should. They don 't harm the U.S they actually improve it. Nearly 14 million immigrants entered the United States from 2000 to 2010, and over one million persons were naturalized as U.S. citizens in 2008. There were 11.5 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States as of 2011.

Their achieved identity is not compatible with their ascribed identity, and this can have grave consequences in their lives. Children who have moved here when they were young see themselves as no different than anyone else. Their identity is one of an American-born child with a mixture of their parent’s background. V.

Immigration is deeply rooted in the American culture, yet it is still an issue that has the country divided. Marcelo and Carola Suarez-Orozco, in their essay, “How Immigrants Became ‘Other’” explore the topic of immigration. They argue that Americans view many immigrants as criminals entering America with the hopes of stealing jobs and taking over, but that this viewpoint is not true. They claim that immigrants give up a lot to even have a chance to come into America and will take whatever they can get when they come. The Suarez-Orozco’s support their argument using authority figures to gain credibility as well as exemplification through immigrant stories.

Countless numbers of immigrants came over to the United States many generations ago, in order to pursue the “American Dream”. Mary C. Waters specializes in studying immigration and ethnic trends, and wanted to research how connected American citizens of foreign descent were to their ethnicity. In Waters’ writing, she talks about how she interviewed many third-generation Americans of European descent in order to determine how closely tied they were to their ancestors’ ethnicity in the late 20th century. Out of the two theories of integration, being the pluralist theory and the assimilationist theory, Waters takes a new middle-ground standpoint on something she calls “new ethnicity”. Waters concludes that with passing generations, American immigrants

One of the toughest adjustments, having been born to Mexican parents, is migrating to an unknown country where traditions and languages differ from one 's own. Though many pursue an education and strive for a better life, the purpose behind an immigrant, like myself, differs from the typical American. Immigrants strive for a life that was once impossible, going to school is not only to attain an education, but to better prove that we can also become successful regardless of our traditions and skin color. I lived in a country for over fifteen years, fearing deportation, not only losing a home, but potentially saying goodbye to a bright future. Although many feel empathy for Mexican-Americans, it is undeniably difficult to truly comprehend the immense trauma children and even adults undergo  upon experiencing racism and prejudice.

The sentiments held by those who were leaving Ireland influenced much of American popular music. Miller’s book exposes the history of the Irish immigrant as particularly dark. Many Irish immigrants struggled to make a home and get ahead in American society, forced to work in often-times life-threatening and low-paying jobs. Because of this, Irish immigrants and their children often lived in poverty. However, by the late 1800s, Irish-Americans and Irish immigrants were making progress in climbing the social ladder in America, and much of their success can be attributed to how they represented themselves through popular media.

Challenges of Immigration: The Shimerda’s Struggle Willa Cather’s novel, My Ántonia sheds light on the topic of immigration. Immigrants have many different reasons for why they might migrate to the United States. Some were trying to escape something from their old country such as avoiding a war, trouble with the law, or shame as is the case of the Russians Pavel and Peter. Reasons for immigrating could also relate to chasing the American dream as is the case with the Shimerdas.

At first, the social peculiarity given to me by my migration status and language limitations made me a victim of bullying, which made me want to go back to the safety and similarity of my home country. However, the persistent nature engraved in me by my parents did not allow me to give in to the constant discriminatory voices that kept telling me that I would never be "American" enough.

Firoozeh writes about her life as an Iranian immigrant to America. Her family is treated with kindness by neighbors when they come to live in America and get lost on their way home from school: “…the woman and her daughter walked us all the way to our front porch and even helped my mother unlock the unfamiliar door,” (Dumas, 7). Firoozeh and her mother are not discriminated against because they are immigrants who don’t speak English, the Americans help them despite their differences. Had the neighbors not been helpful and patient, Firoozeh’s journey home would have been somewhat traumatic and daunting. While this a rather specific isolated example, it can serve as an analogy for all immigrants’ experience.

Immigrants that are new to the American society are often so used to their own culture that it is difficult for them to accept and adapt to the American culture. The language that is spoken, as well as the various holidays and traditions that Americans entertain themselves with, aren’t what most immigrants would deem a neccessity for their life to move on. Nonetheless, they still have to be accustomed to these things if they have any chance of suceeding in a land where knowledge is key. The story “My Favorite Chaperone” written by Jean Davies Okimoto, follows the life of a young girl who along with her brother Nurzhan, her mother known as mama, and her father whom she refers to as Papi have immigrated to the United States from Kazakhstan, through a dating magazine. Throughout the story each family member faces problems that causes them to realize just how different their life is know that they’ve immigrated..

In the essay “Two Ways to Belong in America,” from 50 essays, Bharati Mukherjee contrasts the different views of the United States from two Indian sisters. The author distinguishes her American lifestyle to her sister’s traditional Indian lifestyle. Both sisters grew up in Calcutta, India, moved to America in search of education and work. Bharati adjusts to the American society very quickly, where her sister Mira clings to her Indian traditions more strongly. Despite both sisters living in America, only Bharati is an American citizen, while her sister Mira is not.