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Exile By Laila Lalami

501 Words3 Pages

Imagine wanting a better life and wanting to immigrate, but being unwanted and feeling out of place in a different country. This is what many immigrants experience and convey in many different forms of writing. “The Trip” by Laila Lalami is a short story exploring the way immigrants feel while immigrating illegally. “Exile” is a poem written by Julia Alvarez that uncovers how even legal immigrants feel out of place in a different country and society. “Outlaw” is an autobiography in which the author, Jose Antonio Vargas, writes about the struggles of not being considered an American but feeling like one. All of these writers form a theme of immigrants feeling out of place and unwanted in a different country. A very prominent issue in “The …show more content…

One way she shows this is through the way many advertisements and societies views as a whole, make immigrants feel disconnected and divergent. “...the handsome ____________” (lines 53-54). The author reveals how she felt out of place because of the way her family looks different from the “perfect” american family. When she sees an advertisement and compares that to her family she feels unincluded in society. The narrator acknowledges how she looks different from citizens point of views as an immigrant in a new country. “...and when we backed away, we saw our reflections, superimposed, big-eyed, dressed too formally with all due respect as visitors to this country” (lines 62-64). When comparing herself to many people in America she feels unwelcome and like a visitor. She uses this observation to show the reader what many immigrants are faced with. The theme is affected because of how many immigrants are faced with expectations that they cannot control. Moreover, these expectations are producing negative feelings. “Outlaw”, written by Jose Antonio Vargas, explores the theme of not being a citizen, however feeling like one; when not treated as such, many immigrants start to feel unwanted and out of

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