The Immigrant Advantage By Claudia Kolker

The essay "How Immigrants Become 'Other'" by Marcelo and Carola Suarez-Orozco illustrates the issue of immigrants never truly being accepted by natural born citizens of America. In the essay, it is discussed that immigrants are and have been treated differently. The different ways immigrants are treated differently is almost an unintelligent question to ask. Instead the question, “How aren’t immigrants treated differently?” should be asked. Even the names politicians and society have created to describe immigrants are alienating and harsh, “Illegal, undocumented, alien.” The idea of a human being illegal is something that most people overlook, but the reality is, no human is illegal. This idea of immigrants being associated with names that have such negative connotations is one of many ideas discussed in the essay "How Immigrants Become ‘Other’.”Even though America is known as a “melting pot,” immigrants will never truly be accepted as a part of society no matter the amount of assimilation due to the blatant racism, segregation, and prejudice that non-immigrants have against immigrants.

In the book Immigrant America by Portes and Rumbaut they state that children of poor, less well educated immigrants to America run the risk of being swept up in street gangs, drug use, incarceration and teenage pregnancy. However, there are factors which may reduce the risk that children will be swept up in these destructive ways of life. These factors are high social capital and a condition known as selective acculturation.

Girls all over the world are forced into marriages due to financial necessity, tradition and to ensure their future. Most of these girls married are at a young age: “One third of the world’s girls are married before the age of 18 and 1 in 9 are married before the age of 15”( “Child Marriage Facts and Figures”). The young ages of those being married reveal how crucial it is to resolve this problem. When child marriage occurs the parents of the bride usually chose the groom for their daughters; and these grooms can be three times older than the young brides. Some children are brought into the world of marriage at the of 8 or sometimes less depending on their cultural views. The following can be used to help reduce the impact of early

This topic a is very important subject in cultural anthropology because of how it is represented in each culture around the world since they have their own customs and traditions. Although, marriage can be good it is not always about love between the two people who are getting married. An example would be an arranged marriage that is defined with the purpose of uniting a kinship group with a common goal. On the other hand, marriage is the union that is culturally defined as a sexual relationship between two adults who have a bond with the children they take responsibility for and the relationship of the kinship group that are united when the marriage takes place. Going back to arranged marriages, they are usually arranged by the

First of all, women’s role has changed in marriage. Hundred years ago, women’s primary responsibilities were taking care of a house, love her husband and raise children. Women were quite content to live this kind of life. They must get married very early, and they did not have a right to choose their husbands. In Vietnamese old tradition, a suitable age for a girl to get married was the fifth teen-year-old. Moreover, a wife must definitely obey her husband, although he was wrong. There was the conception that marriage depends on fate and luckiness. For example, if the women were lucky, she

In todays globalized world a lack in social welfare can affect the social function, and result in divorce. Marriage is an important social institution between two families and not just two individuals. Women play the passive and motherhood gender role while men primarily the dominant role. Although customs play a role in parents grooming and prepare their daughters for marriage, sometimes the benefits outweigh the costs. Some young women are too naïve thinking they will be compatible with their mate simply because their parents and grandparents did without realizing the good and bad that come with marriage. There is situation where women are forces into marriage due to economic prosperities through dowry payments. As wonderful a person may

Marriage for many people is part of their live. Religion and tradition is a reason that gives marriage its meaning. Severence states “our marriage system is based upon our religion teachings”(severance 15). Tradition is instructed by each individual’s religion. This means different practices and belief from religion to religion. For Example, in the Catholic Church marriage is a sacrament. A practice that consist a man and a women as GOD as their witness. In other cases, arranged marriages is still practice and they have become tradition. For Example, in India many of the marriages are arranged. According to the lonely plant guidebook on India, “The majority of the marriages are still arranged by parents”(Finlay 52). The authors emphasizes that each culture has their own concept of marriage and to practice it. However, a persons’ religion, beliefs, and traditions play a tremendous role in what marriage stands for. In each culture marriage is practiced with both faith and hope despite the outlook from other religions and

The benefits argued in favor of immigration are that these people can add valued skill to the work force, contribute to the economy and federal programs such as social security, as well as add to the rich culture already present in the U.S. The costs that immigration imposes on the U.S. are; illegal immigrants entering the country, American jobs being taken as immigrants tend to work for cheaper wages, and taking advantage of public assistance programs instead of working. Other costs include, national security as we’re currently seeing today the mass amounts of immigrants coming to countries has caused issues with the safety of citizens as terrorist attacks increase. Another issue would be the immigrants that come here, live off welfare and

As Thai discusses throughout the first four chapters of his book For Better or For Worse, marriage in Vietnam is an economic and social strategy for the families of prospective brides and grooms. Women typically marry above their social class for financial dependence while men typically marry below their social class to gain authority. As an educated Vietnamese woman, Trang recognizes the reluctance in Vietnamese men to marry women who have received an education for fear that they will not be able to exert gender roles within their household. One of the crucial qualities that Trang hopes her marriage partner to have is respect for women and to value her equality within their relationship. In Bourgois’ narrative, he explains that a traditional

The author stated that the in an arranged marriage, the family, relations and friends accept the marriage. They are responsible for any mistake during and immediately after the marriage. This will then strengthen the bond with all the relationship of the bride and groom. Furthermore, in some cases, the children are taken care of by their in-laws or the parents of the other party. This is because if either the bride’s or the groom’s parents are gone. Since, the author argues that the arranged marriages will induce a better relationship with parents and weds, then the future sons and daughters of the newlyweds will receive a lot of affection for the grandparents. Furthermore, the families will have a better stability because they are working hand-in-hand in terms of economic stability. In Indian culture, whether it is the bride or the groom that needs help financially, the other party will sure be there to help them rise up. This shows that just like normal marriages, arranged marriages also incur positive effects. To some, this is more preferential because of the outcomes it produces. However, its advantages does not outweigh its

In American culture, where independency and autonomy are strong values, practices such as Indian arranged marriages are often seen as wild and outdated. Yet in the 2012 survey conducted in India by the NDTV, an independent TV channel, as many as 74% of respondents spoke in favor of arranged marriage. Also India is known to have one of the lowest divorce rates in the world. This evidence suggests that the matter is more complex than it may seem at first glance and I will be looking at some of the advantages of arranged marriage and reasons why, to this day, this ancient tradition is still popular.

Marriage is a lifelong commitment made between men and women. People get married to have a love built family. Sociologist define marriage as “A socially recognized union between two or more people with the notion of permanence and a legal contract between two or more people that establishes certain rights and obligations” (Open Education Sociology Dictionary, 2017). Some families force their kids to marry the ones they chose so they arrange the marriage for them mostly to the girls and they do not have a choice but to obey and accept it. Others marry for a religious reason they develop a strong belief of sex before marriage is adultery and dishonouring God so they tie the knot in front of their family and friends in church or mosques or other religious places to fulfil their belief and build a family. Also families tend to have a long life expectancy if their marriage is healthy. In the research that was done by Max Planck institution for marriage and life expectancy, it shows males with younger wives would have a high life expectancy and healthy life. In this essay firstly I will be discussing how society view marriage towards females, secondly how marriage have a positive effect on children. And lastly the negative effects on women’s polygamy marriage can have.

Marriage is an important institution that involves the union of people who are committed to establish a family. Due to the significance of marriage in many societies, it is considered a cultural issue that is affected by factors such as parental influence, religion, education background, occupation and even socioeconomic status. In many societies across the world, marriage has been partly arranged by parents based on familial considerations and social statues or classes. For example, in many parts in Asia, family descent is important (Allendorf & Pandian, 2016). For this reason, the choice of a family or the decision to marry cannot be left to children but should be the

The idea of marriage is deeply ingrained throughout cultures across the world and is a shared experience for most. Marriage brings the union between partners for life and similarly is an idea that unites the world. However, many have different views on marriage, the reasons for marriage and the choices made relating to this union. Many of these issues are discussed in the collections of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri and The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Adichie. Both of the authors’ stories examine the cultural experience immigrants endure, marriage often playing a large role. A Temporary Matter from the collection, Interpreter of Maladies uses a well-established immigrant couple, whereas Arrangers of Marriage from The Thing Around Your Neck uses an arranged marriage to show the experiences immigrants endure. While we often recognize marriage as a beautiful thing, we must understand it is not always done for the right reasons. The authors Lahiri and Adichie both use the subject of marriage to illuminate the various aspects of the immigrant experience. The idea of marriage and being able to immigrate to the United States is portrayed as desirable. The external pressures facing people may lead them to believe it is worth compromising their values for what is seen as desirable; rather marriage should be based off love and internal desires, not external pressures. First, we will examine the immigrant experience through the lens of the

In Asia, arranged marriages are well known. In many cultures it is honorable for a father or mother to choose and approve of their child's mate. Sometimes, parents are introduced to the candidate by spending a few moments chatting before reaching a final decision. In arranged marriages, there is also a matchmaker who discusses the marriage with the spouses' parents beforehand. They talk about financial security, culture, and other cultures' perception of the marriage. Even though the candidates are from the same country, many live in different caste systems. Religion and divorce are also discussed. The following explains the different facets of arranged marriages in more detail.