Two Sisters Two Americas Analysis

In Eduardo Porter’s work titled “The Danger From Low-Skilled Immigrants: Not Having Them,” he observes what low-skilled immigrants bring to the United States and what we would come to be without them. The United States is more dependent on low-skilled immigrants than it thinks; they are the behind the scenes doing the jobs you do not see, like picking crops and washing dishes at restaurants. They have bettered the lives of Americans not just by filling the employment hole, but also in the working field and academic field. In the work environment, a large number of people and businesses owe their success to low-skilled immigrants for their cheap labor, which heightens economic output. This group of people work for highly little money and the

11.5 million immigrants come into the United States every year. 13.5% of United States population are migrants that leave everything behind and their family to get there, and only 28% of foreign immigrants from Mexico make it to the United States every year. Additionally 64.5% of hondurans are living in poverty, according to The Immigration Policy Institute. Sonia Nazario demonstrates how the matter of immigration affects family values, causes discriminacion and more drug use. Many cultures around the world have different ideas about all of these subjects. But some are stricter or looser than others. In “Enrique’s Journey” she conveys the story of Enrique, the main character. The author also shows how specifically Enrique and his family are

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. These strategies work on the rhetorical appeals ethos and pathos. Exemplification appeals to pathos by making the audience feel sympathy for the immigrants for what they give up, and authority figures appeal to ethos by giving credibility to an expert, by supporting the argument through strong facts. In this essay, I plan to explore how these rhetorical strategies act on their respective appeals, how this is used to strengthen the Suarez-Orozco’s argument to persuade their audience, as well as explore other sources that may support this claim.

While those who argue in favor of assimilation possibly argue from a position of National preservation, those who argue against it potentially argue from the perspective of immigrant preservation. However, in his essay “Assimilation & the persistence of culture”, James Bennett suggests that anti-assimilation sentiments can also originate from a place of Nationalism in that, “By global standards, the culture and social systems of the English-speaking nations are some of the most individualistic. Interactions with other cultures therefore inherently involve a challenge to those features of our culture and a challenge by our culture to the less individualistic, less free features of theirs” (Bennett). Further anti-assimilation arguments claim

Satire is a literary technique exploited by writers to show the foolishness of humans, organizations, or governments by using humor, irony, or exaggeration. In the novel Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle, satire is used numerous times and effectively. T.C. Boyle uses satire to bring light to the foolishness and irony of the characters in the novel. This literary technique allows a book on a serious topic become more relatable and appealing to young adults in society.

As the Great War raged on, people began fleeing their war torn homelands. Immigrants flooded into the United States at a breakneck pace. The way of life for all civilians was dramatically altered as their husbands and baby boys were shipped overseas to fight. Immigrants that were thrown into the fray of the developing United States faced the most drastic change to their lives during World War I.

Statistics show that over 11.5 million immigrants migrate to The United States in search of a better life for themselves and their children. Yet, throughout the course of the years, a negative stigma has been associated with the arrival of immigrants in The United States. They have been discriminated against and have been labeled with abasing words. However, the majority of people fail to realize that the individuals who risked their lives coming here, the ones who left their family and friends behind are the most hard-working and persistent people I have come to know because these individuals are my parents. My parents left El Salvador and immigrated to a new country in hopes of a better academic future for me. Sadly, they were not granted

This quote suggest about the jobs immigrants are taking as a law passed for immigrants that aren't verified legally to be in the U.S. cannot be hired for work. The rate of jobs increased as immigrants quitted their jobs in order to avoid arrest. When the time came for Americans to get hired at those jobs, nobody wanted the jobs that immigrants were given due to the harsh conditions and lack of

“Rosa Vargas’ kids are too many and too much. It’s not her fault, you know, except she is their mother and only one against so many” (Cisneros 29). In the novel The House on Mango Street, the author, Sandra Cisneros, touches on the many negative consequences of a single, impoverished mother raising an overwhelming amount of children. Poverty, discrimination, parental and neighborly responsibility, and respect are all issues and social forces that act upon the family; their presence or lack thereof cause several grisly occurrences to take place.

Both during and after moving to a new country, immigrants face many hardships. The process of obtaining citizenships is difficult in itself, but even when citizenship is earned there are still challenges. One major difficulty some immigrants may face is dealing with xenophobia. Immigrants who experience xenophobic prejudice can find adjustment to a new life very difficult. In contrast, those who are treated with kindness and as equal citizens find assimilating to a new culture easier. The way immigrants are treated in America impacts their success as citizen. In addition, one of the ways a former immigrant might feel like they have become a “fully-fledged citizen” is when they feel as though they belong and are integrated into the country they’ve come to.

“The Immigrant contribution” and “The Quilt of a Country” are two essays that share a similar focus, however, they cover two drastically different sides of the topic. Both of them share the main idea that America is a country made up almost entirely of immigrants. Kennedy’s essay, “The immigrant Contribution”, focuses on how immigrants have affected our country, whereas Quindlen’s essay discusses how people of many different cultures coexist and work together.The essays both concentrate on immigration in America and how immigration has shaped and molded our culture. The two authors describe the many different aspects of immigration in immensely different ways.

However, the fact is that most Americans have the impression that Hispanic immigrants are perceived as a threat for not assimilating into the American mainstream, more so into the Anglo-Protestant values. Why is that? Is it for fear that the Spanish Language may overrun the country? Similarly, Neil Foley, author of, Mexicans In The Making of America, asks the same questions, why fear? In his prologue chapter, Foley makes a point by proving the fact that in the past, Mexican immigrants were not a concern but were, “ let in to provide the labor force for the rapidly expanding economy”(2). So why treat it any differently now that we are in the present? And how it is that immigrants are supposed to assimilate when most Americans believe they are

Two Sisters, Two Americas is a brilliant article by Brooke Ross that illustrates the life of a family with a mixed-status and what should be done about it. Many people agree that an illegal immigration reform is necessary however people can’t seem to agree on what needs to be done about it. The issue about the immigration reform has created many fights between democrats and Republicans and although both sides think something needs to be done they can’t agree on what to do. Although most people don’t seem to realize is that illegal immigrants are people like us who are trying to find safety and better opportunities. It is clear that illegal immigrants need some pathway to becoming a citizen.

“Two Kinds” a short story out of Amy Tan’s book “The Joy Luck Club” is a representation of the pressures immigrant children face from their parents. In the story, we follow a young girl named Jing-Mei as she embarks down the road to becoming a Prodigy. Her mother believed that “you could be anything you wanted to be in America” (Tan). For Jing-Mei that meant her mother believed she could become instantly famous. “Of course, you can be a prodigy, too”, her mother told her (Tan). For a nine-year-old who wants nothing more than to make her mother proud this was exciting. In the beginning, we can see her excitement and desire, “in the beginning I was just as excited as my mother, maybe even more so.” (Tan). However, as we follow the story we see her excitement quickly fade to sorrow and anger. The high expectations immigrant families place on their children is still a very relevant social issue and can be witnessed throughout the United States. In this short story, we witness how a parent’s good intentions can ultimately lead to the destruction of their child’s motivation.

Immigration can be a controversial topic that many governments are feuding over today. As politicians argue, the real battle occurs as each individual immigrant determines how they will approach their new country. Immigrants must choose if they will assimilate to the new countries values, languages and traditions or maintain their home country’s customs. In the article, “Two Ways To Belong In America,” the author, Bharati Mukherjee, contrasts her and her sister Mira’s experiences along with millions of other American immigrants as they face betrayal, racism, and hardship.