Analysis Of The New Colossus

Ellis Island, the portal for immigrants to access a developed, prosperous land, the United States of America, and seek opportunity that would they would otherwise not discover in their home country. Opened in 1892, the island was the gateway for foreign people across the globe to enter salvation from their native country. With this new structure set in place, Americans had mixed feelings on immigration. The two conflicting ideas of immigration in this time period can be demonstrated through two poems: “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus and “Unguarded Gates” by Thomas Bailey Aldrich. While both literary works highlight the ideal “American dream” and personify the Statue of Liberty, they differ in the fact that they have different points of view on immigration.

“The New Colossus” is a poem written by Emma Lazarus that is inscribed on a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty. This is the poem that we as Americans use as words of inspiration. From October 28, 1886, the date of when the Statue of Liberty was built and dedicated, to the year 2017, we have used the poem’s words to live by. While some people think that it is time for a change, others say that we should leave the poem to stay, for it is a historical remembrance of everything that we have stood up for. This poem also represents the welcoming of immigrants, the freedom that we fought for, and the freedom of religion.

In the story “The New Colossus” it talks about the Europeans wanting to come to America and pursue the American dream. They had the belief that the Statue of Liberty, in this story she is called The Mother Of Exiles, is asking the countries to “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States, she was the golden door to America, offering refugee to those who were seeking freedom.

In her poem Lazarus juxtaposes the symbol of the United States, the Statue of Liberty, with one of the most important symbols of the Greek and Roman era, the Colossus of Rhodes. As described in Lazarus’ poem the Statue of Liberty welcomed thousands upon thousand of immigrants, who were in search of a better life, to the United States. The Colossus

Attention: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” (Emma Lazarus). This sentence can be found in the poem “The New Colossus,” written by Emma Lazarus in 1883. It can also be found inscribed on the Statue of Liberty towering over the New York Harbor, a bright beacon symbolizing the freedom and democracy we hold so esteemed in America. Immigrants founded the United States and immigrants are arguably who made our nation so great. However, when immigrants do not follow the process to acquire legal citizenship into the United States is when the problems arise.

Ellis Island by Joseph Bruchac and Europe and America by David Ignatow possess similar components regarding the American Dream. For example, both works include dreams, experiences, and disappointments of earlier generations. The poems differ within their similarities though through how the narrator feels towards their ancestors doings. To begin, Ellis Island discusses the dreams of two Slovak children who became the narrator’s grandparents. Lines nine through eleven state, “...tall woman, green / as dreams of forests and meadows / waiting...” The tall woman referred to represents the Statue of Liberty which stood proudly and greeted boats as they sailed to Ellis Island. At first sight, the monument became the “...answerer / of dreams” (16-17), for

The Statue of Liberty in New York harbor, a destination for many of the early American immigrants, reads an inscription, ?Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" (National Park Service, 2016). This excerpt from a poem by Emma Lazarus encompasses the American spirit that led to the American Revolution and separation from England. America was a country comprised of immigrants who came to the New World to make a home of peace, safety and, as the statue stands, liberty.

"Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor..." from the Emma Lazarus poem "The New Colossus" lists as one of the most famous verses in American history. It is ironic that Lazarus wrote it in1882 in celebration of the erection of the Statue of Liberty which has become the iconic symbol of America as a welcoming beacon for a "nation of immigrants." The Statue of Liberty was dedicated only four years later.

Talking about America living up to their so called “promises”, “statements” whatever you want to call it. America has the tendency of not following all the rules or laws that they themselves have created. Between 1877 and 1945 did the United States live up to Emma Lazarus ' poem which is engraved on the Statue of Liberty? While, reading her poem “The New Colossus”, there was a sense that Emma Lazarus believed that the United States of America would had let anyone come into the state no matter of what the person’s situation and/or lifestyle they lived, basically “what happens in their country stays in their country”, America would be a fresh new start of life. The way she viewed America and the way America is viewed by many others upon this earth have some similarities and differences in various of ways. Therefore, her ideas of America being a “gratifying and inviting” place is just a belief comparing it to what this country is actually about, when it comes to the level of patience and actions with we the people and how America reacts. There are nine sources that explains Americas perception and views on certain topics.

Another difference in the poems is who the authors are describing. “The New Colossus” concentrated more on the immigrants going to America while “Let America Be America Again” gave more consideration to the general population living in America. Lazarus’ poem reached out to the people that wanted a fresh start to their lives. Using the Statue of Liberty as her voice in the poem, she says, “Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” She is explaining how she wants all people, rich, poor, black, white, to come to America for a new beginning to their lives. Whereas Hughes is explaining the current state of life among the people who live in America. He feels oppressed by his country to the audience and

Written in the first half of the 20th century, “Let America Be America” is a poem that documents and responds to the oppressed state of the United States, in both the past and present. The poem is a plea for a return to the original principles of freedom that our country has seemingly forgotten. Additionally, the speaker sees America as the broken home to oppressed people who have lost sight of the ultimate goal of freedom and happiness. Although America is often perceived as the “land of the free,” Langston Hughes’s poem contradicts this ideology by not only painting a vivid picture of oppression in America but also by providing a desperate hope for the future.

The Statue of Liberty is one of the most well know symbols of the United States, across the world. For this reason I chose to analyze the dramatic effect it creates, and what methods it implores to invent this "universal" meaning. It is one of the strongest visual representations of the ideals which our country is founded upon. I intend to defend the argument that the Statue of Liberty posses the power of persuading human thought using the terms encompassed in Kenneth Burke's Pentad, shaping the definition of "America" for people through out the world.

The statue Itself functions as a synecdoche for the story that yields another point of Davis’s understanding between her relationship and subject matter with the audience. Hugh’s statue when rightly viewed, exemplified by Mitchell speaks the truth of workers’ existence that neither Hugh (whose speech becomes hesitant and sub literate when asked about the statue) nor the narrator seem capable of doing. As Mitchell reads the statue, lashing out against May’s understanding of it “asks questions of God” (Davis) just as the narrator hopes he or she will reveal the very lives of workers asking the “terrible dumb question” she or he cannot fully

Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. These words are engraved on the Statue of Liberty that was assembled in 1886. The statue was meant to be a beacon of hope for all immigrants that enter the U.S. Do we still agree with what those words say?

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. Let my lamp besides the golden door” (Lazarus). The Statue of Liberty yells a cry of