Elements In Sinclair's 'Jurgis, Ona'

Furthermore, in most cases, it may seem the United States has a system in which immigrants are not given the chance to form a bright future. In the novel, “Antonio soon found himself settling for jobs that were clearly beneath him. He stood under the baking sun at the on-ramp to the Santa Monica Freeway, selling oranges for two dollars a bag: a dollar fifty for the guy from the produce market, fifty cents for him,” (Tobar, 53). Many of the immigrants that live in the U.S. have little power that allows them to succeed. Some races have benefitted from it more than others. The Cubans, for instance, have had it much easier than most immigrants who have migrated to the United States; whereas, Antonio, a Guatemalan, had trouble finding a stable job that allowed him to sustain himself. In contrast to many other races, many Americans described Cubans as being visitors who represent, “all phases of life and professions, having an excellent level of education… More than half of their families with them, including children brought from Cuba to escape communist indoctrination in the schools,”

Immigrants constantly face racial prejudices unknown to the privileged. These immigrants are only trying to have a life for themselves and/or for their children. My Antonia by Willa Cather entails the trials and tribulations of those who seek success told through the perspective of Jim Burden. The novel consists of people out of the country wanting a better life for themselves; That's what they want most of all. The immigrants that Jim comes to know go through hardships that they overcome to finally become successful in the end.

In Out of This Furnace, author Thomas Bell portrays the historic stories of Slovakian immigrants who migrate to the United States with the dream of becoming a millionaire or trying to escape the oppression in their old country (Bell, 1). The novel illustrates the struggles of three generation of Slovakian immigrants in America enduring poverty, discrimination, exploitation by employers, as well as the development of labor unions. As the story progresses, the novel provides a glimpse of diverse sets of perspectives from Kracha, Mike, and finally Dobie. In examining the character Dobie, his participation in civic labor unions, and in search of his own true identity reveals the more liberal and outspoken new generation of immigrants.

However persuading a largely hostile audience to take a sympathetic view point toward the immigrant was a daunting task especially since Riis was an immigrant himself. It would require not only a sophisticated awareness of the audience, especially of its ethnic assumptions, but a refined understanding of the writer-audience dynamic and how it operates-more specifically, how it might be manipulated. Therefore because of the success of Jacob Riis one has to wonder maybe he is conscious of his contradictions, maybe he is indeed brilliant.

Ultimately, the city’s corrupt political system harnesses the unfettered capitalist economy in an effort to generate wealth and influence for those in power. When Jurgis is first introduced to the city’s democratic election process, he learns that politicians are able to collect large amounts of “graft” (i.e., money/privileges gained by corruption) by winning public office. In order to secure these positions, politicians must resort to corrupt elections tactics such as 1) buying votes, 2) hiring party-men to vote multiple times and 3) naturalizing foreigners in order to gain their vote. Sinclair uses vivid depictions of morally reprehensible politicians in order to demonstrate how the “system” is rigged against the workingman. For example, the venal Mike Scully misappropriates city funds to support his various business holdings (including the dump, tenement homes, the brick factory, and the ice house). He exempts his various businesses from taxes and also pays his workers with city funds (Ch. 9). By conducting business practices as such, Scully is able to scam honest, working men into buying inferior products at high rates. Although Scully campaigns as a man of the people, he is only concerned with collecting graft and offering special treatment to his supporters (e.g., he secured an alderman position for a

He makes multiple comments against immigrants that are somewhat derogatory and also brings up some points in the book over and over again. However, although it may be tedious to read variations of the same topic, when evaluating Riis’ strategies from a historical perspective, it makes sense to repeat certain things constantly as doing so underscores the significance of the topic. For example, Riis brings up the topic of disorderly conduct multiple times throughout the book. During the late 1800s, the poor did not have many options when it came to making a livelihood. Most earned very little and some earned so little that they had to live in the sewers because they could not afford to live in tenements. To cope with the pressure of living, the poor turned to alcohol and engaged in illegal activity. Even young children became involved in thievery because their parents were not making enough to sustain them. During this time period, alcoholism and crime were very prominent issues. By bringing up these issues repeatedly, Riis stresses the historical significance the issues and calls for

The first reflection of the status of the transformations in the United States that is represented in the novel’s Jurgis Rudkus life is the difficult conditions the immigrants that moved to America (in Lithuania) were passing through. The physical strength of Jurgis Rudkus represented the Americas people enthusiasm about individual economic and

Traditionally immigrants are faced numerous challenges on a daily basis. America is known as the place where there is a chances to succeed, a place where you can be free. Numerous Immigrants came to America with the goal that they could have a more noteworthy plausibility at prevailing in life. Settlers went out on a limb a when coming to America, for some it worked out well however for others they had a troublesome time here. Regardless of the battles that the outsiders experienced, for example, emerging from others, being isolated from their families, and breaking their way of life, the settlers are as yet thankful to be in America since they were in preferable conditions over they were in their country.

Bell’s story begins with an immigrant named George Kracha, who left behind everything to work in Pennsylvania alongside his brother-in-law in an industrial town. “He left behind him in a Hungarian village a young wife, a sister and a widowed mother; it may be that he hoped he was likewise leaving behind the endless poverty and oppression which were the birthrights of a Slovak peasant in Franz Josef’s empire” (3). Kracha had enough money to get him to White Haven, but his poor judgement and false expectations got the best of him and it was quickly burned through; “unfortunately no one had thought to warn him against his own taste for whisky and against dark women who became 19 years of age in the middle of the ocean” (4). By writing about how much immigrants were willing to sacrifice to come to America and what expectations they had, as well as the harsh realities they faced, Bell is effective and correctly portrays what life was like for a new

During the part of the story when the narrator and his mother encounter the border guards

“When they came away, arm in arm, Jurgis was saying, ‘Tomorrow I shall go there and get a job!’” (Sinclair 34). The Jungle, a book, by Upton Sinclair takes place in Chicago in the early 1900’s that is about fictional events. Whereas Cinderella Man is a movie by Ron Howard that is set in 1930’s New York. Jurgis wanted a better life for his family, but this mentality is what caused a massive change in his life similarly to James Braddock. James risen up from nothing after a catastrophic blow to his family’s wealth from his inability to fight. Although Jurgis and James had differences in morals, they had many similarities and differences in physical traits, family dynamics, and personal values.

Immigration to the United States of America has been monumental in the development of this great nation. In both The Barbarian Nurseries, written by Hector Tobar, and Summer of the Big Bachi, written by Naomi Hirahara, are centered around two characters that once moved to America from a foreign land, in hopes to have the American dream, the traditional social ideals of the United States, such as equality, democracy, and material prosperity. Both of the characters work in laborious fields and undergo scrutiny and interrogation of unfortunate circumstances that were out of their control. The strain that is put on immigrants from other countries is prominent in both of these captivating novels.

By applying the formalist lens to the novel, The Illegal, the deeper meaning of struggle and hardships faced by refugees in unknown and neighboring lands is depicted. Formalism is the analysis of literature itself through its literacy devices, themes and structure. There is no outside information used to understand the text, such as the authors personal life and the history of the era in which the book is written in. All characters in the novel are dealing with their own struggles which ties in with Keita, the protagonist’s story. Viola, uses Keita’s refugee and illegal immigrant status to discover private information about Zantoroland and its relations to Freedom State. Similarly, John benefits from Keita’s fame and respect, while Anton gains money. The author, Lawrence Hill, uses literary devices such as metaphors, irony and imagery to shape the novel's theme of survival and struggle. To survive is not to live life, but just continuing to exist despite struggling through obstacles.

Many people from all over the world come to this country to follow their American dream. People who seek religious, political freedom come to America. America opens door for people who believe in freedom. American history is connected to immigrantion. Teju Cole raised in Nigeria and came to this country of immigrant in 1992 to escape his past, and to follow his dream. The narrator of this book is disconnected from his root. He feels lonely. Therefore, in his free time he goes outside to meet new people. Julius feels happy to hear the life stories of others. He get involved with others. He went to meet a old professor, Saito to give him company. A nurse always looked after Saito, because he was a cancer patient. Later, Julius met Dr. Belgian

Comparison of the other male character Delaney which lives his life as a typical American which sometimes can play the role as the one that is not the bread getter in the family, and With being a typical American comes with typical prejudice “The ones coming in through the Tortilla Curtain down there, those are the ones that are killing us. They're peasants, my friend. No education, no resources, no skills - all they've got to offer is a strong back, and the irony is we need fewer and fewer strong backs every day because we've got robotics and computers and farm machinery that can do the labor of a hundred men at a fraction of the cost”(101). Delaneys family shows how American culture has affected the ways that America begins to believe her fantasy and goes against what candido is trying to sustain in there family “It was a private community, comprising a golf course, ten tennis courts, a community center and some two hundred and fifty homes, each set on one-point-five acres and strictly conforming to the covenants, conditions and restrictions set forth in the 1973 articles of incorporation”(30) Also being an outcast that sticks out in the crowds of rich white “gringos” that are in Malibu Begins to have an added stress on both America and candido with staying hidden at their camp. Since they are casted out to the revine that they have placed shelter in, it does take a toll on the way that candido reacts with the actions that america is