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Culture and national identity
National identity
Culture and identity in immigrant society
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Culture and national identity
National identity
Culture and identity in immigrant society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Culture and national identity
America Founded on Immigration When reading “Our Brave New World of Immigration” by Victor Davis Hanson, he argues that we ask too little of our immigrants in today’s society, and that we have entered a new world of immigration that allows immigrants to not be responsible human beings in society today. After viewing the title of the essay, I expected to hear an empowering essay on how far immigration has come. However, after reading the essay I perceived the authors’ persona to be belittling towards immigration. Also, he seems to have tunnel vision towards undocumented immigrants, by not considering that the undocumented immigrants, he speaks of may not even be undocumented immigrants.
In the colonial era, through the Revolutionary War, the foundation of America was oratorically clarified as an act of prudence—that is, God led people, specifically the white Europeans, to America to find a new and superior or incomparable societal order that would be the light unto all realms.2 In fact, many settlers also believed in creating a new nation filled with history and stories. Along the same lines, Americans imagined a community created through selectively and elaborated events, myths of origin, courageous stories, and asserted values.3
Jason Richwine discusses the Latino’s absorption and integration into the American culture. He compares the Latino immigrants with other countries’ immigrants that has rose out of poverty, while the Hispanics have not been rising up out of the lower class after several generations have passed. Richwine mentions that American prejudice might be influencing the Hispanic immigrants not striving. For example, “popular explanations from the left include the
The first of two essay questions focuses on Leo Chavez’s book , “The Latino Threat”. The questions and statements that will be answered include “ What is the Latino threat?, ‘How does he define citizenship?” ,“Identify and discuss two examples of the Latino threat” and “ Identify one policy recommendation and discuss whether you think it is achievable”. Leo Chavez’s book focuses on the guise of Latinos threatening the American way of life. He defines this as “The Latino Threat” , He states that the Latino threat narrative positions Latinos as not sharing similarities with any previous migrant groups into the U.S. and that they are unwilling and incapable of integrating and becoming part of the national community (Chavez,3).
Confident Relationships Built on Language Wouldn’t it be exciting to grow up learning more than one language? Imagine being in Japan for a week on vacation with a group of friends, and one day decided to go to the oldest zoo in Japan, Ueno Zoo. To get to Ueno Zoo, riding the bullet train was a necessity, except knowing which line was the correct line, when to get off the bullet train, or even which ticket to buy was a daunting task. Nobody in your group has the confidence to ask the workers for help since they don’t have the knowledge of Japanese to help them.
However, it is possible for them to find common ground based on them both being able to see the difficulty as well as willingness for immigrants to adapt to American culture. Also, they both are able to see the importance of American values and beliefs. Both Chavez and Marcus discuss the effects that assimilation could have on immigrants. Marcus mentions self-fulfillment and how it is hard to attain “without a robust culture that provides structure, meaning, and purpose…”
Response to “Our Fear of Immigrants” In “Our Fear of Immigrants” Jeremy Adam Smith takes a neutral stance on the immigration and anti-immigration argument. Smith begins by telling the story of a 4th grade class at Jefferson Elementary School in Berkeley, California who try to fight back against immigration laws after a classmate of theirs was deported back to his home country. Smith then goes on to compare the 4th graders to the adults of their town who fight for stronger immigration laws asking his readers what qualities the children possess that the rest of the citizens do not to make them react so differently.
In the westward expansion of America, not just Protestants were compelled to cross the nation by the power of God; the people of America believed God had called upon them to accomplish their “high destiny” (para. 7). In the 1800’s American propaganda and numerous documents of the time were full of telling Americans that they were a superior people. It was not long before the American’s adapted this way of thinking and saw themselves excellent enough to be selected by God to carry out His pious tasks. For example, in 1839, the editor of the widely circulated Democratic Review newspaper, John L. O'Sullivan, proclaimed that America was “the nation of progress, individual freedom [and] universal enfranchisement” and was “destined for better deeds” (para. 4 and 7). Not only did O’Sullivan speak highly of America as the nation of “unparalleled glory,” but he went on to declare that moving Westward was the American people’s foreordination to “manifest to mankind the excellence of divine principles” (para.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is a story that details the life of a poor Oklahoma family during the dust bowl. Before almost every chapter about the Joads, there is a vignette about an unnamed group of people that symbolize something that will happen to the Joads in the next chapter. This symbolism helps to demonstrate the Joads’ story and shows why the Joads’ story happened the way it did. In Chapter 21, Steinbeck shows the lack of decisions and individual thought by the migrants as well as the natives.
Samuel Huntington’s article The Hispanic Challenge argues that Hispanics, specifically Mexicans, are not true American citizens. According to Huntington, Americans are people who believe in the American creed. However, he believes this creed is being threatened. For some time now, large influxes of Hispanic immigrants have been coming to the US and have brought their own culture with them. The writer of Speaking in Tongues, Gloria Anzaldua, believes that Hispanics have the right to hold onto their culture in America.
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.
As a result of their emigration, America was now viewed as “multiethnic and multiracial” and “defined in terms of culture and creed” (Huntington 1). On the contrary, when people traveled across the border from Mexico, their culture was not so widely accepted. Mexican traditions and values were seen as a “serious challenge to America’s traditional identity” (Huntington 2). The “original settlers” of America were incredibly open to people travelling from Europe, but when people came from Latin America, they were
America’s identity is defined differently by every individual. Ideally it was to be a place of freedom and acceptance, identified by its message of liberty and hard-work, however the question arises whether America is a melting pot in which only one culture dominates or it a mosaic of many peoples’ histories. America’s potential and true identity lies within its ability to assimilate and create a natural individualism despite race, class, and immigration standing. A country as powerful and influential as America is within industry, politics, and socioeconomics cannot be abstract in definition.
“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.
One of the most notable civil struggles was started by one woman simply sitting on a bus. This simple act of defiance lead to a bus boycott, which lead to a national story, which lead to national attention, which consequently sparked a national movement. (5) While (CL) the civil war did end slavery, it did little to smother (SV) the flames of discrimination. Wildfires of hateful behavior among the white population spread around the nation, affecting many innocent African Americans. (6) Fire burned for years.