Cultural Anxiety In Mrs. Lahiri's Third And Final Continent

During his time there he met eight girls that all room together not far from there. He became friends with these eight girls and was invited to there place where he talked to them then eventually decided to take them bowling. “Add quote about the 8 girls living together” Unlike the U.S. these eight girls have very little room in there home for just one but instead they have eight people living in one small building which people that aren't impacted by globalization dont realize how difficult it can become.

The homeless narrator of the short story "What You Pawn I will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie is an intelligent, articulate man who has fallen into the trap of alcoholism and despair. He believes that he has no future and no identity in a city filled with homeless, cast-off Indians. No one takes notice of him, anymore, he says, although he does seem to have some friends, including a policeman who asks Jackson Jackson at one point why he is wasting his life away. However, the policeman a problem with addiction himself, in the form of sweets he shouldn't be eating because of his diabetes and weight problem. Although Jackson has a sharp sense of humor, he seems unable to 'follow through' with anything. At the beginning of the story, when trying to redeem his grandmother's regalia from a pawn shop, the first thing he does is purchase 'liquid courage' (alcohol) with the little money he possesses. But some of the money he manages to gain and lose over the course of the narrative he spends in compassionate ways, such as when he buys some food for his fellow Indians.

In Round-Trip to America: The Immigrants Return to Europe 1880-1930, Mark Wyman argues that many new immigrants that migrated to America from 1880-1930 never intended to make America a permanent residence and many of them returned home to their native countries. He claims that this phenomena is important to the history of American Immigration and is important to the histories of the home land in which the immigrants returned to. In his book, Wyman explores some key ideas such as the reason immigrants decided to voyage to a new land, across the ocean, to what was known as the “land of milk and honey” only to return to their small, and a lot of the time rural village. He also discusses American labor movement and what impact that had on

Since the establishment of the colonies, America has been viewed as the “land of opportunity.” It is thought to be a safe haven for immigrants, and a chance at a new beginning for others. “The Clemency of the Court” by Willa Cather published in 1893, tells the story of Serge, a Russian immigrant, who overcame the struggles of a tough childhood and fled to America to receive protection from the state. “Clothes” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni published in 1995, tells the story of Sumita, a Indian immigrant, who is moving to America so that she can marry her husband that her family has arranged for her. Both “The Clemency of the Court” and “Clothes” show the evolution of the American immigrant experience.

Scott Russell Sanders writes in the passage, Making a Home in a Restless World, “Stand still, we are warned, and you will die”, demonstrating the stereotypical mindset of many Americans (Sanders 17). The passage written by Scott Russell Sanders is a response to Rushdie about the ongoing debate on whether moving or migration is beneficial or damaging towards America. Rushdie who left his Native India for England believes that it is extremely valuable for migrants to make a “new imaginative relationship with the world because of the loss of familiar habits”, insinuating that moving is valued (Sanders 47). While Scott Russell Sanders believes the contrary. He believes that when we finally decide to settle in we will make a more durable home for ourselves. In the passage, Making a Home in a Restless World, the author Scott Russell Sanders utilizes the rhetorical appeal of emotional pathos as well as the rhetorical device of hasty generalization so that he can stress his perspective on migration.

In the book, Mengestu describes his challenges with trying to transition to America and trying to find a place where he really belongs. In Peoria, Illinois where his family moves after leaving Ethiopia, the author feels out of place since he was surrounded by white school, community institutions and churches. Moving to Washington DC where many Ethiopian immigrants lived, he still felt out of place and it was only when his parents moved to Brooklyn, in a neighborhood called Kensington, that Mengestu was finally able to gradually settle down.

She explains her thesis by stating “Others who write stories of migration often talk of arrival at a new place as a loss of communal memory and the erosion of an original culture. I want to talk of arrival as a gain,” (360). The key points of the text include Mukherjee describing her transition between Calcutta and the United States, and what it means to be and American and how culture influences that aspect. The information in the text is significant; the people of America are a part of a melting pot, sometimes it is hard for them to find the distinction between American culture and their own. The information in Mukherjee’s story is clear and specific, unbiased, and is relevant to the purpose of the story. I believe Mukherjee has achieved her purpose of informing her audience about cultural differences; she presents certain strengths and weaknesses within the text.

Immigrants arriving in America for their first time are initially devastated at their new lives and realize their “golden lives” were simply fantasies and dreams of an ideal life in America. Immigrants from foreign countries, including those mentioned in Uchida’s Picture Bride, faced countless problems and hardships, including a sense of disillusionment and disappointment. Furthermore, immigrants and picture brides faced racial discrimination not only from white men, but the United States government, as well. Immigrants were plagued with economic hardships lived in deplorable living conditions. Though nearly every immigrant and picture bride who came to America fantasized about an ideal life, they were faced with countless hardships and

Many second generation minorities from immigrant parents are driven subconsciously to conform to new culture and social norms. For foreign born parents and native born children integrating the two cultures they inhabit brings about different obstacles and experiences. In Jhumpa’s “The Namesake” the protagonist Gogol is a native born American with foreign born parents. The difference with birth location plays an important role in assimilating to a new society in a new geography. The difficulty for parents is the fact that they’ve spent a decent amount of time accustomed to a new geography, language, culture and society which makes it difficult to feel comfortable when all of that changes. For Gogol the difficulty only lies with the cultural norms imposed by his parent’s and the culture and social norms that are constantly presented in the new society.

When the going gets tough get tougher. I learned this from the story The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Thus book tells us about a girl named Esperanza and her life will she is living on Mango Street in Chicago,1960. Within the the story she has troubles with what she wants her future to be and who she is currently. Which leads her to realize how important an education is to her so she can become something.

Both William Landay and Jhumpa Lahiri use conflicts in their stories to demonstrate the theme of resilience and perseverance. William Landay uses the conflict of Andy’s belief in his son and Lahiri uses the narrator’s will to be successful as those characters’ motivation to continue working for what they believe in. Andy and Laurie’s visit to Dr. Vogel shows the beginning of a conflict in Defending Jacob. “‘So?’ ‘So what does shoplifting have to do with murder? What’s the difference if he took a candy bar or something from CVS? What on Earth does that have to do with Ben Rifkin being brutally stabbed to death?’” (Landay 146). Andy Barber never once stops believing that his son is innocent, even after this leads to fights with Laurie and could potentially lead to divorce. However he fights for Jacob and he knows they will get through the trial. While Andy Barber’s conflict and perseverance is more mental, the narrator of “The Third and Final Continent” has a more physical conflict he must overcome. The theme of resilience is also developed in this text when the narrator is telling his son about his life at the end of the story. “Whenever he is discouraged, I tell him that if I can survive on three continents, then there is no obstacle he cannot conquer” (Lahiri). These words of wisdom demonstrate resilience because the

Mukherjee on the other hand marries a Canadian, has moved at least twenty times, and is currently an U.S. citizen and could not imagine ever living in India again. A question that arises in her essay is, “Which one of us is the freak? Someone who retains the food, the clothes, the accent of expatriation, or her T-shirted, blue jeaned sister?” (219). She questions who is considered the “freak” or “normal” one, but cannot define what it means to be either. Those two words can be interpreted in many different ways because it depends on each person’s view of what a “freak” or “normal” person is. In addition to comparing the lifestyles of the sisters, Mukherjee also evaluates the intentions of their stay in the United States. Her sister moved here knowing that she planned on moving back to India, whereas Mukherjee did not. She moved here with the intentions of becoming a permanent resident and succeeded by earning her American citizenship. Although they both moved here at the same time, their intentions of staying differed, but does not prove that one is better than the other.

Has anyone lived a life without misfortune? Doubtable; even the person with what could be described as the ideal life deals with some form of adversity. The novel, Speak, and the short story, The Third and Final Continent, both use plot as a way to convey themes of hardship. Moreover, these texts both use symbolism in order to develop their themes as well. The Art of Resilience and Speak utilize characterization as a method of developing their respective themes. Speak, The Third and Final Continent, and The Art of Resilience each deal with the theme that all people must learn to cope with adverse situations.

Poor European emigrants has nothing but is so attached to nothing. Emigrants live by the motto “Ubi panis ibi patria”, Where is bread there is homeland. Once he became an American he left his past in the past and turned

The beginning of the story starts with establishing the main character, and the contrast between what would seem like ‘first world’