As A Jewish Immigrant Rhetorical Analysis

As a Jewish emigrant, Abraham Cahan is on his way to America to make a new home for himself. However, his trip will not be as smooth as the vast ocean he will sail. Along the way, Cahan faces a mix of emotions, which he knows are the feelings every immigrant faces during their first voyage across the ocean. As Cahan’s feelings change throughout his voyage, his tone in the passage changes as well.

In the first moments of his journey, Cahan’s tone is full of doubt. He uses words like “unrelieved” and “hopeless” while describing his experience of the sea. He vividly wonders, “Who can depict the feeling of desolation, homesickness, uncertainty, and anxiety with which an emigrant makes his first voyage across the ocean?”. This tone shows that Cahan is having a difficult time accepting that he going to someplace new. He has very little knowledge about America and worries if it will be a good place to call his new home.

He begins to recall how grateful America founder’s were when they first reached the land. He agrees that this moment was one of the most “thrilling” events in history and knows that every immigrant thinks it when they are close to America’s shores. At this moment, Cahan knows his journey is nearly over, and is wondering about how he would feel upon his first gaze at the country.

When Cahan’s ship finally arrives at Sandy Hook, his tone becomes one of joy and amazement. He immediately notices that America is as wondrous as he had hoped for it to be. He even states that he was “literally overcome with the beauty of the landscape” and that an “immigrant’s arrival in his new home is like a second birth to him.” This tone shows that Cahan is grateful that he has reached America and has already seen that it’s a great place. Moreover, he could finally break free from the mental torment that he had faced during his voyage to this country.

As the passage went on, Cahan had multiple changes in his