Qian Julie Wang’s memoir, “Beautiful Country” portrays her experiences immigrating from China to the United States at a young age. She discusses her challenges in adapting to a new culture and school system, changes in her family’s financial situation, and the constant fear of deportation as an undocumented immigrant. Through her personal story, the author sheds light on the struggles faced by immigrants in the United States, particularly those who are undocumented, and the emotional toll these experiences can have on individuals and families. In her memoir, Wang describes several biographical disruptions she experienced as an immigrant to the United States. These include the sudden switch in the family’s economic status, Julie’s transition …show more content…
This legal disruption created significant legal challenges and fear of deportation. Throughout the memoir, there are various incidents where the family is scared of running into government authority and being questioned. For example, when Julie is starving and sees people lining up for food, she runs away after seeing the uniformed people. She writes ”They were uniformed, I saw. Were they asking for IDs? I didn’t think so, but I couldn’t tell for sure. Should I risk it? What would I give them if they did ask? (...) Always walk the other way when you see the police, Qian Qian. Ba Ba’s voice guided me wherever I went. If anyone asks you for documents, say you don't know, say that your baba has them. Say that you were born here, that you’ve always lived in America” (82). In order to avoid questioning, Julie is also told to tell people she is born in America. Furthermore, when Julie’s mother gets sick, they are wary of the hospital’s security guards and her father is especially cautious of being around them. She describes, “Walking past the cops at the hospital never seemed to get easier for Ba Ba. His hand always squeezed mine harder at the sight, as if he needed to remind himself that we were still there, together and safe. Even after we passed a cop, Ba Ba never resumed talking, instead keeping his eyes …show more content…
She grew up in a privileged family in China but faced a significant cultural disruption when her family moved to New York City. They struggled to adapt to a new culture, learn a new language, and navigate the challenges of living in a new country. Throughout the memoir, Julie describes several instances of racism and discrimination that she experienced as a result of her Chinese heritage and immigration status. One of the earliest examples of racism Julie encountered was when she was bullied in school for her appearance and Chinese culture. Her classmates would tease her about her name, her food, and her family's accent. Julie also faced discrimination from some of her teachers, who would overlook her academic achievements and favor white students. Her family faced discrimination from the broader community and Wang further describes how they are perceived differently as a minority. When describing their neighborhood, Julie says, “It reminded me of the area where we first lived when we arrived in America, the place that taught me that we were chinks who would be attacked by dogs as their owner stood by, laughing.” (226). They struggled to find housing and jobs and were often subjected to racist remarks and harassment. In one instance, a group of teenagers threw rocks at Julie's family's car while they were driving, shouting racial slurs at them. Overall, Julie’s experiences of cultural
In Barbara Kingsolver’s novel The Bean Trees, one major social issue that Kingsolver attempts to educate her readers on is xenophobia. Virgie, a character in the novel, is someone Kingsolver uses to demonstrate the presence and effect of xenophobia. During a dinner party with Virgie and Estevan, a refugee working at a restaurant owned by Chinese immigrants, Estevan mentions how he “work[s] with a very kind family who speak only Chinese.” (Kingsolver 111) In response, Virgie “mutter[s] that she thought this was a disgrace,” as Virgie believes that immigrants “ought to stay put in their own dirt, not come here taking up jobs.”
The media shows the japanese to still be enemy of America. She felt that with the war won the racism towards japanese people would have decreased but it dint. When Jeanne enters Long Beach Polytechnic High School she faces racism from parents and classmates because of her race. Shes not invited to sleepovers, parents wouldn't want her talking to their kids and teaches resented her. Jeanne also faced racism in society as well.
Just as aboriginal Canadians face racism today so did Maria’s family when in the city people would “hurl insults at us… Halfbreeds are in town, hide your valuables.” (36) causing discouragement and degrading their moral. Racism caused a “change in her[my] parents and other adult’s attitudes.” (36).
Jeanne never sees the battle fronts or the policy changes, all she sees are the results they have on her everyday life. She deals with the racist undertones formed by the anti-japanese war propaganda. While in the camp she fears she will just be beaten and despised once outside, but this does not happen. Instead she faces the minute racism that is the most common form of bigotry. Jeanne faces this racism from not only students but teachers and strangers.
The beginning of Starrs path to bravery and to raising her voice for the truth. As frightened
"The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford is a captivating coming-of-age story that follows the life of Henry Lee, a Chinese-American boy growing up in Seattle during World War II. Throughout the novel, Henry experiences profound personal growth and self-discovery as he navigates the complexities of racial tensions, family expectations, and first love. This essay will explore how four quotes from the book exemplify the transformative journey of Henry's coming of age. Paragraph 1: In the early stages of the novel, a young Henry grapples with his dual identity as an American-born Chinese.
His only “primary goal was to blend in” with others to not get bullied and feel isolated from everyone else. He then learns to embrace being an immigrant and had no reason to blend in as he discovered his identity and learned to utilize it (Kim 1-4). A deeper analysis of the purpose of each detail in American Born Chinese reveals underlying meanings to each series of
Living as a Chinese-American, the narrator had to take on American attributes in order to be accepted -- for example, while normal Chinese women spoke with strong and assertive voices, the narrator adopted a whisper in order to appear “American-feminine. ”(1) As a result, however, her shy demeanor caused her to be an unpopular outcast. She saw herself in another Chinese-American girl at her school, as they had certain, negative similarities. “I hated the younger sister, the quiet one.
In the story, the reader learns how Hom Hing (the husband), and Lae Choo (the wife), had filed their immigration papers before the birth of their child who had been born in China, so they learn there that their baby did not have any proper certification to enter when Lae Choo was returning to San Francisco. In the beginning,
In this piece of literature we see this Japanese-American family suffer many injustices because of their race. Julie Otsuka does a magnificent job showing the family’s reaction to these injustices by switching
By all means; the Imperfect Mexican-American When I was younger, I couldn't fathom what my parents meant when they said ‘‘Cruce la frontera para que tengan una mejor vida,’’ In other words, I crossed the border for my children to have the future they longed for; their American dream. I understood the troubles and sacrifices they went through and felt the pain they carried for leaving their motherland, yet I didn't understand what life they were looking for me and my sisters. Years later, one afternoon, my sister greets us with the news that she got accepted to college, I thought this is it, the better life my parents wished for us, the sacrifices they made are paying off, yet to my surprise what was suppose to be proudness turned out to be
…Scottish…French-Canadian…and West African” (Williams pg. 13). She also discusses her experiences in light of her race; she had not experienced racism based on the color of her skin. Additionally, Williams explains her parents’ backgrounds‒her father is from Georgia and her mother is from New England (Williams pgs 13-14). Although Williams had a vague understanding of cultural identity in the beginning, her understanding grows as she considers her
Because Henry’s father was a first generation immigrant to the United States from China, he had an extreme sense of national pride. On the other hand, Henry is extremely open to all things American which is a catalyst to the formation of a divide between Henry and his father. This difference between them all starts because in an effort to protect his son from discrimination; Mr. Lee sends Henry to an all white school and refuses to let him speak Cantonese at home, even though Cantonese is the only language Mr. and Mrs. Lee can speak. The separation causes Henry to grow up almost without any parental help. Mr. Lee also despises Henry’s friend, Keiko, who is a Japanese-American girl also going to school with Henry.
Her next encounters with racial discrimination as a child were well understandable and undeniably harsh. From playing with a young girl who told her, ‘I don’t care--- Even if your mamma is Chinese, I like you better than I like Annie.’ To being examined at a children’s party as if she was some type of scientific experiment placed on an animal or having other little kids yell racial slurs at her and her brother. Sui Sin Far’s childhood was no walk in the park due to her Chinese Eurasian
She argues that the silencing of Asian American women is a form of symbolic violence that reinforces their marginalization in society. This marginalization is further reinforced by the "perpetual foreigner" stereotype, which Chou explores in her dissertation. In both works, it is clear that the silencing of Asian Americans through stereotypes and cultural norms is harmful and perpetuates racism and discrimination. For example, in Woman Warrior, Kingston writes, "I had to learn to hide what I was, which was Chinese, from what I was, which was American" (Kingston 7). This quote highlights how Asian Americans may feel the need to hide or suppress their cultural identity to fit into mainstream American society.