Richard Rodriguez’s “ Aira: A Memoir of Bilingual Childhood” and Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue” both exercise the three common rhetoric devices – pathos, ethos, and logos – to appeal to the audience and to make their arguments within the text more valid and comprehensive. Both authors write about their experiences and struggles with immigration and the assimilation into the public identity and society, but their reactions to these situations are similar and different in several forms and aspects, including how they were presented to the public identity, how they reacted to the public identity and assimilation into the society by facing their challenges, what their family connection was, and what credibility they have. While both authors did resist
Ansary states, "At school, I always felt gawky and out of place, because my mother dressed me in American clothes, which set me apart, and my hair was still rather blond. And besides, all the boys knew I was the kharijai, the foreign one, and they gave me a jocular hard time about it." (44). This quote illustrates how Ansary's experience in school speaks to a larger issue faced by many immigrants and their children - the struggle to navigate two vastly different cultural norms and find a sense of belonging. This sense of "otherness" that Ansary feels is not just limited to his physical appearance but also extends to his beliefs and values, often at odds with his peers.
New Plans One Saturday morning, I woke up at seven in the morning to go to an amusement park called Six Flags. The plans had been made days ago, my two older sisters, my brother, a friend of ours and I would be going to Six Flags and spend the entire day there. As I got up after finally getting my alarm to finally shut up I walked over to the bathroom to take a shower when I realized that the ground was spinning, in my eyes at least, I had a vile taste in the back of my throat. I quickly fell back onto my bed feeling like if I hadn’t
Her sister on the other hand holds less enthusiasm for the idea of citizenship. In addition, Mhurkjee uses the term “scapegoating of aliens” to emphasize the unfair treatment immigrants face on a daily basis. This reveals why one of the sisters is more inclined to continue her Indian heritage because America at the time was less accepting of immigrants. The author also uses juxtaposition in an emotional context to put across their opposing perspectives when it comes to the choices that they have made in their lives and their integration into the country. It’s clear emotions play a big part in their stances, for example, when Mira talks with her she says, "I feel used," Mira raged on the phone the other night.
Gogol, the son of Ashima and Ashoke, was born in America and spends the first half of his life trying to run away from his Bengali roots. Although Gogol does not feel as lost and detached as his parents in America, he has a difficult time trying to balance the Bengali culture he was born into as well as the American culture he sees and experiences all around him as he is growing up. Throughout the novel, The Namesake, Gogol struggles to develop his identity due to the clashing of Bengali and American culture in his life. Gogol’s first obstacle in his search for self-identity occurs only a couple days after his birth, when his parents must decide on a name in order to be released from the hospital. Ashima and Ashoke eventually decide on Gogol, after the writer who saved Ashoke’s life during a train crash.
eMaria-Gloria Contrada Introduction to Literature Professor Obuch 9 October 2014 Paper I Often when first-generation immigrants come to America, they make little effort to assimilate into American culture and do their utmost to retain their customs and languages. In contrast, many second-generation immigrants find it necessary to discard the culture that had been preserved in the home for biological descent does not ensure feelings of cultural identity.
To be alone on an island, painting the sky the desired shade of blue, but to be secluded, fending away civilization as it it were a parasite, is not one’s ideal state of mind. Yet, by a particular female character named Moushumi In the book The Namesake, they are confused. Moushumi is the ex-wife of Gogol and identified in detail by Jhumpa Lahiri. Moushumi’s identity is composed of her experiences, her values, and her background.
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.
Life Changing Positions 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.
In addition, immigrants may face the loss of identity. The book started from the day Gogol was in Ashima’s womb to the day he wonders about his identity at the age of 32.
After describing what qualities she shares with other immigrants, she asserts how she is different by contrasting herself with her sister. Her sister is “happier to live in America as expatriate Indian that as an immigrant American,” whereas she “need[s] to feel like a part of the community [she has] adopted… [She] needs to put roots down” (13). She describes the challenges that many immigrants encounter of maintaining their original culture and identity while still embracing their adopted country. Often, like her and her sister, they end up choosing one lifestyle over
Born in America, immersed in mainstream American culture, but raised by parents who retain strong Indian traditions; in result, he struggles with his identity. As he grows up he questions who he truly is, and where he truly belongs. His past struggles all have an effect on his romantic relationships throughout the novel. Gogol’s three key relationships are animated by themes of belonging and alienation. Gogol’s first serious relationship is with Ruth,
However, as time passes, they begin to nurture a love for each other. This is only the beginning of a series of relationships in “The Namesake.” The primary one, centers on Gogol and his tight relationship between his Indian-cultured parents. At first, Gogol is completely in disgust at his parents and their background. This is evident during the beginning of their trip to India.
As Gogol begins to grow up in America his attitude towards his name starts to change. The novel begins with Gogol feeling very uncomfortable with being called Nikhil on his first day of school. “It is very common for a child to be confused at first. Please
Immigrant lives in both Fruit of the Lemon and ‘reality’ hardships mostly share similar endurance. Many immigrants are stuck in two different cultures; their original culture and the new culture that they adopt in a new place. However, some immigrants only have a chance to adopt a new culture. Some immigrant family’s children were born in a country other than their native country. In Fruit of the Lemon, Faith is a person who lived her whole life without her native culture which was hard for her to understand her fellows race.
