...immigration through personal narratives, and many Hispanic immigrants like sharing their stories to inform others and give themselves a voice. Personal narratives tell us that Hispanic immigration to the United States needs to be reformed promptly. These narratives tell us that immigration will never end despite the current US government’s...
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...Mukherjee and the American Immigrant: Reimaging the Nation in a Global Context Leah Rang University of Tennessee - Knoxville, lrang@utk.edu Recommended Citation Rang, Leah, "Bharati Mukherjee and the American Immigrant: Reimaging the Nation in a Global Context. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2010. http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/655 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact trace@utk.edu. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Leah Rang entitled "Bharati Mukherjee and the American Immigrant: Reimaging the Nation in a Global Context." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in English. Urmila Seshagiri, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Lisi Schoenbach, Bill Hardwig Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Leah Rang entitled ―Bharati Mukherjee and the American Immigrant: Reimagining the Nation...
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...America By HASIA R. DINER The Lower East Side and American Jewish Memory I'm Jewish because love my family matzoh ball soup. I'm Jewish because my fathers mothers uncles grandmothers said "Jewish," all the way back to Vitebsk & Kaminetz-Podolska via Lvov. Jewish because reading Dostoyevsky at 13 I write poems at restaurant tables Lower East Side, perfect delicatessen intellectual. —Allen Ginsberg, "Yiddishe Kopf" The poet Allen Ginsberg, born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, returned in his later years to a narrative style of expression, shifting gears from the anger and fire of his early career. In this poem from 1991 he also touched down again, after a long hiatus spent exploring Buddhism and Eastern philosophy, upon some Jewish themes, as a way of remembering the world of his youth. He described that world in one poem, "Yiddishe Kopf," literally, a Jewish head, but more broadly, a highly distinctive Jewish way of thinking, based on insight, cleverness, and finesse. That world for him stood upon two zones of remembrance. The world of eastern Europe, of Vitebsk, Lvov, and Kamenets-Podolski gave him one anchor for his Jewishness. Thai space of memory gave him a focus for continuity and inherited identity, tied down by the weight of the past, by family in particular. The other, the Lower East Side, nurtured and fed him. It also offered him his passport out...
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...Crossing with the Virgin Can you imagine being confined in a world that has you taken for granted and full of mental abuse? Crossing the Mexican border is a journey and new beginning for many undocumented workers. In their eyes it’s a path for many privileges and opportunities. They feel as if all the hardship and struggles they face will just fade away. The narratives of Crossing with the Virgin portray conflicts that occur for undocumented workers crossing the Mexican border. For many illegal immigrants I personally feel that finding a stable job will be difficult, they will be taken advantage of, and eventually they will either be incarcerated or be deported back to their country. Dago is a man that lives in the city of Mexico with his wife and two daughters. Both he and his wife Elena own two beautiful houses. Dago works at a Levi Strauss’s Mexico division as an executive while his wife is a manager of a computer equipment company. Dago and his wife enjoyed the life they were living and were satisfied with everything that has happened in their lives. But, one day Dago was informed by his boss that the company he was working for was closing. Life for Dago went completely downhill from this point on. Dago was forced to move to his other house and eventually had to sell that house due to financial problems. His wife wanted a divorce and Dago had no choice but to cross the border. Dago arrived in Nebraska and expected an enhanced lifestyle but, things just got worse for Dago...
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...course I was continuously brought to the conclusion that the United States immigration policy is a broken system, casting many aside and leaving them to their own devices. Coming from an immigrant background, those who had not obtained citizenship yet were always looked down upon by those in my family with citizenship. Prior to this course I felt compelled to go right along with that notion. I have learned the most about immigrants and their experiences from the two video assignments, VIDEO 1, and VIDEO 2. The videos brought real human examples of our broken system and gives us the element of humanity to it. It is incredibly easy to learn concepts and memorize definitions, but in a course about humans, I believe a connection is truly formed when we can associate faces with the concepts. While each immigrant group sparked some kind of emotional response from me, the group that affected me the most was children born to immigrant parents. As the module...
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...that I am writing you in English already falsifies what I wanted to tell you.” (Drown). This epigraph in beginning by Gustavo Perez Firmat gives a clue of focusing Hispanic community. After reading the whole book my question is this book merely story telling or autobiographical? This question came to my mind by relating Diaz’s interview in Colbert’s show. Stephen Colbert, the host of show when asked him how he came to America, Diaz answered that his father first came to New York, settled here and called them over. Diaz also mentioned that he saw his dad the first time as he was away from family and once they landed to America his father took them to New Jersey which was weird according to Diaz. Same scenario was somewhat presented in beginning of Drown but through Yunior- the narrator. Diaz used the specific words and some symbols which the reader can almost feel the story as if it is real. Diaz, who was born in Santo Domingo in Dominican Republic and migrated to New Jersey when he was six; portrayed the barrios of Dominican Republican and struggling urban communities of New Jersey. Overall, he presented many themes in Drown jumping from one important chapter of life to another. For instance, poverty, cultural difference, hope of living American dream, family issues in respect of absent father and branched to immigration. However legitimacy and...
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...been a wonderful experience. For immigrants in the United States culture differences can be difficult and complicate. Assimilating two separate cultures is an ongoing challenge. In this essay, I will describe the issues many immigrants face in regards to diversity, stereotyping, preserving self identity and personal values. America is nation that is populated with a culturally diverse group of people. The United States has welcomed more immigrants than any other country. The steady stream of people coming to America has had a profound effect on the evolution of American society. America is known as the land of the free and people from all over the world are attracted by promise of opportunity and success. It is not easy for those who move to the United States from other countries. It takes a lot of courage and sacrifice to leave your homeland and come to a new country, but the prospect of a better life makes the risk worth taking. Immigrants who come to America enrich the country by bringing aspects of their native cultures with them. For example, Hispanic Americans celebrate their culture with street fairs and other festivities on Cinco de Mayo. Other cultures, such as African Americans celebrate both Kwanzaa, a festival drawn from African rituals. As the population of the United States becomes more diverse its people are being exposed to holidays and traditions they would never have been experienced. One of the hurdles that immigrants encounter is stereotyping. Many false...
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...Assignment 1 Summary and Personal Response to “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girl’s Habits” by Suki Kim By Monguue Tee Professor, Dr, Atia Yasmeen Course: English Composition 115 Date: January 15, 2013 Suki Kim who came from Korea, tells in this essay that is named “Facing Poverty with a Rich girl’s Habits” about new immigrant comes to America, How can she absorbs new environment, difference of culture and wealth is important or not. Writer has a few most important points in this essay. First of all she wants to answer wealth is important or is not? After her father bankruptcy, her life is very difficult and they flow to America without any penny. One day you will be rich but another day you will lose all of your things. Lost thing is not big a problem. Once she flew from Korea, she lost everything such as home, friends, relation and wealth but she might satisfy now, because she has new friends, a new home, and a new job. Our forefather told me that “If you lost the things, it is not a problem, if you lost the ethic, it’s a problem, If you lost your health, it’s big a problem”. I agree with that. Secondly, Illustrated in essay that different culture, social, life style and character between Korean and American students. For example, when the teacher entered in classroom, no one batted an eye but in Korea students and environment of school are different. Another important point of writer, however she became citizenship of America, she celebrates Korean national...
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...My Antonia is important as a historical fiction because you get a little of life that happened in that particular time period of American history. Around this time, many immigrants were coming to America the home of the free to have the “American Dream”, they were coming from all over Europe. My Antonia had immigrants specifically from Bohemia. America was seen as the land of opportunity and we see this in Cather’s novel. Nebraska had a very low population so families like Antonia’s family would go there and make their living by farming. I believe Cather captures the life of people that went through this and wanted that American dream. We see two sides one being that Jim Burden becoming this New York Lawyer living his dream and then Antonia...
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...CURRENT AFFAIRS AND HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS My view of studying history is that it is important for future generations to know where their ancestors have been and what they have accomplished in order to make future changes and developments in a society. I feel that without studying American history most industries would not be able to grow to meet the demands of modern day needs. Take for instance the computer industry and it’s progression in the last 40 years. My laptop that I’m writing this paper with has as much power, if not more than the computers used to put a man on the moon. That would not be possible if manufacturers did not look at ways to improve what they already have developed, which means they have to look back at what they have created in the past. Among other important reasons for studying American History would be subjects such as labor laws and social security. We as a society want to live better lives and improve the quality of our lives and so by looking at the past we can make changes in the future to benefit our future generations. In my view without studying history there would be no progressive future. I think many people have a negative view on studying history because they can’t seem to find a connection to how history relates or affects their lives. I believe that anyone can find something interesting to study in history. It’s just a matter of finding a way for them to connect with a subject on a personal or professional level. Maybe someone does not...
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...will discuss my experience of interviewing a family and constructing a genogram guided by their narrative. For this task, I purposely chose a family that is very different from my family of origin in terms of their cultural heritage. I will reflect on differences and similarities between our families as well as my prejudices and hypothesis that I inevitably constructed before and during the process. To identify this family, I had to approach some colleagues proposing to them to participate in the interview. Fortunately, one of them introduced me to her friend. Francesca had an interest in psychology, and since she was free and not much committed, I did welcome her with a cup of coffee to share more about the interview. After I formally introduced myself to her, I laid down to her the framework of the interview, and she agreed to participate with her husband, Matteo. Family context The family I interviewed comes from Italy, but they moved to the UK 3 years ago. I noticed that knowing these few details I was already constructing hypothesis based on stereotypes. I was dreading the interview because I was expecting to have difficulty in stopping them talking since I was concerned about getting enough information to construct the genogram. I also hypothesized whether being new to the UK makes them consider participating in projects like mine to increase a sense of belonging. Another hypothesis where I imagined them to have very firmly attachments to their extended family was disconfirmed...
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...Stella Vallik Christianshavns Gymnasium November 2012 Analytical Essay Jean Kwok: Where The Gods Fly Imagine permanently moving to a country where the language, the culture... everything is foreign to you. This is the reality of most immigrant parents, who try to raise their children safely in a foreign country, where strong influences can strip a person of their cultural identity. This is the exact situation we are dragged into, in the short story 'Where The Gods Fly' written by Jean Kwok. Here we meet a Chinese mother's unwelcoming approach, towards her daughter's passion for the arts of ballet. The story is told by a first person narrator, from a mothers perspective. Her, her husband and her daughter migrated from China when her daughter, Pearl, was still a child. We notice - while reading the story - that the narrator shifts in the grammatical tense, which is what structures the plot of the story. In the present narrative tense, we find the mother in some sort of religious state of mind where she prays to certain gods and spirits, for example: “Ah, Amitabha, Buddha of great compassion, I whisper...” (P. 1, L. 24). While she finds herself in this state, she is reminded of their, her family's, life since they moved from China to America, these parts of the story are, obviously, told in the past tense. The story begins in the present tense, as a sort of exposition. We are introduced to the narrator's situation, the main conflict of the story: she wants to take her daughter...
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...and particularly the North American continent, saw more than just land. The West was a sacred place where magic, hallowed, and even treacherous experiences were possible. This idea that possibilities existed in the West that did not exist elsewhere motivated millions to leave the Old World for the new and redefine themselves in a Western landscape of unlimited possibilities. What is the West? These early settlers, religionists, and explorers to the West came to the shores of the Atlantic seaboard unsure of what to expect from the new landscape they encountered. By leaving their homes and coming to a new land to make a new life, these immigrants breached a frontier. Frontiers are not solidified lines of demarcation; instead, they are indistinct and shifting perceptions that divide what is “us” from what is not yet “us.” As immigrants traveled west they increased the distance from their old, comfortable lives, and with each...
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...Different country, different problems: examining the way immigrants from former USSR experience and cope with workplace aggression. In this qualitative study I analyze the way immigrant workers experience workplace aggression in Israeli companies, actions taken to deal with aggression and possible actions to be taken in future. Study participants were immigrant workers, emigrated from former USSR during last 23 years. Their narratives were analyzed for common topics. Data show that most participants did not take some actions to cope with aggression; however, some mentioned a few different ways. Two participants’ strategies were successful. Employer responses included indifference and various forms of retaliation. Most participants would allegedly act differently in future. Questions for future research are suggested. Table of Contents I. Introduction 4 II. Theoretical background 6 1. Workplace aggression 6 2. Types of workplace aggression. 7 3. Measuring Workplace aggression 8 4. Immigrants as victims of aggression 9 5. Immigrants form former USSR in Israel 11 6. Preventing and coping with workplace aggression 12 III. Method 14 VI. Findings and discussion 16 V. Summary and Conclusions 28 VI. Bibliography 30 VII. Appendix 35 I. Introduction Almost anyone who has ever worked has experienced workplace aggression in one form or another. Workplace aggression is something we do not like to talk about and something that a lot...
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...stuwritten for the dents per group. Philadelphia “Conbersaychunal,” he says, allowing the fat vow- 2 Inquirer for more than els of his accented English to collide with the sawedtwenty years. off consonants. I tell him that will be fi ne, that I’m familiar with 3 Barrientos was born in Guatethe conversational setup, and yes, I’ve studied a bit mala and raised of Spanish in the past. He asks for my name and I in El Paso, Texas. Her first novel, Frontera Street, was supply it, rolling the double r in Barrientos like a pro. published in 2002, and her second, That’s when I hear the silent snag, the momentary Family Resemblance, was pubhesitation I’ve come to expect at this part of the exlished in 2003. Her column “Unchange. Should I go into it again? Should I explain, conventional Wisdom” runs every the way I have to half a dozen others, that I am Guaweek in the Inquirer. This essay originally appeared in the collectemalan by birth but pura gringa by circumstance? tion Border-Line Personalities: A Do I add the humble little laugh I usually attach New Generation of Latinas Dish to the end of my sentence to let him know that of on Sex, Sass & Cultural Shifting. course I see the irony in the situation? We selected this reading because This will be the sixth...
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