Tyrus Hero's Journey

The year is 1920; Tyrus Wong, a young, innocent nine year-old lives in Guangdong, China with his family. With China’s corrupt government and deteriorating economy, Tyrus’s family struggles to find sufficient resources to support themselves. Because of this, Tyrus lacks adequate nutrition, education, and the ability to live a childhood full of imagination, fantasies, and fun. Meat is rarely ate and only eaten on occasion. His family’s shelter was very substandard; it consisted of a kitchen area, a living room, and a loft. Imagine living in a house like that, all cramped, gloomy, and with no play area. All these factors contributed to why Tyrus and his father decided to immigrate to America, leaving behind his mother and sister which he never

Tyrus embarked on this life-changing journey in 1920. On board the S.S China with his father who took on the fake name of Look Get, they endured a month-long voyage across the Pacific ocean all the way from Guangdong to San Francisco. The voyage was a story all by itself. His dad admitted himself as a merchant which was one of the few classes allowed to immigrate according to the Chinese Exclusion Act. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was signed by President Chester Arthur on May 6, 1882. It restricted and prohibited all free chinese laborers immigration. That is why his dad could only admit himself as a merchant or else they would’ve been forbidden from entering America. The journey however was even worse. Swaying on humongous waves, all alone in the middle of sea, Tyrus was “scared half to death.” Majority of the time, Tyrus was seasick. The smell of the reeky, sour, sewage-like polluted ocean constantly caused Tyrus to vomit. The violent waves that shook the boat like an earthquake only worsened Tyrus’s

Tyrus later described his emotions of the trip as, “The journey seemed as if it would never end...I had so many things happening in my head at once and I couldn’t handle it. Any second I thought my head was going to erupt and the thought of dying was always in my head.” When Tyrus and his father arrived at Angel Island, things only got worse. “爸! 爸!” “Father! Father!” Tyrus continued to yell for his dad to come back, but there was nothing he could do. Three government officials aggressively grabbed Tyrus and yanked him into this room. The last Tyrus saw of his dad was him being dragged away from him; his worried and furious face pouring in every ounce of strength to reach Tyrus. Tears dripping from Tyrus’s face, the snot coming down his nose, Tyrus’s rage unleashed and he started pounding on the government officials. Unlucky for my father, he was outnumbered and eventually escorted somewhere. Ever since the day I was separated from him, I’ve never felt more lonely. The feeling of isolation just brings sadness and devastation in me. Not only that but being transported into one of the Angel Island detention centers makes everything