The Irish Influence

In “Who’s Irish”, Gish Jen demonstrates a family that has Chinese root and American culture at the same time. The main character is a fierce grandmother who lives in with her daughter’s family, and then ironically forced to move out because of her improper behavior during she raises her granddaughter. The author uses some unpleasant language and contents to describe the situation, which are effectively demonstrate how difficult and how struggle for people who lives in the gap between two different cultures. I can’t say who is right or who is wrong, but feel sorry for the grandmother.

Gish Jen’s “Who’s Irish” tells the story of a sixty-eight-year-old Chinese immigrant and her struggle to accept other cultures different from her own. The protagonist has been living in the United States for a while but she is still critical of other cultures and ethnicities, such as her son-in-law’s Irish family and the American values in which her daughter insists on applying while raising the protagonist’s granddaughter. The main character finds it very hard to accept the American way of disciplining and decides to implement her own measures when babysitting her granddaughter Sophie. When the main character’s daughter finds out that she has been spanking Sophie she asks her mother to move out of the house and breaks any further contact

The Irish were considered White in 19th century America, but they were considered inferior to the native born Americans. In Document A. the cartoon showed the Irish being labeled as white, but were equal to blacks. So the Irish and blacks were distinguished as having an equal social status. So they were both victims of racism. Then in Document B. it was said “Things which Roman Catholics priests and all true Roman Catholics hate”. All Irish were Roman Catholics, and in the 19th century all Roman Catholics were white. Showing that once again the Irish were white but were discriminated because of their religion. Their religion was discriminated against because it wasn’t the same as the native born American’s. The native born Americans were Protestants.

The book, “The Irish Way” by James R. Barrett is a masterpiece written to describe the life of Irish immigrants who went to start new lives in America after conditions at home became un-accommodative. Widespread insecurity, callous English colonizers and the ghost of great famine still lingering on and on in their lives, made this ethnic group be convinced that home was longer a home anymore. They descended in United States of America in large numbers. James R. Barrett in his book notes that these people were the first group of immigrants to settle in America. According to him, there were a number of several ethnic groups that have arrived in America. It was, however, the mass exodus of Irish people during and after the great

William Butler Yeats is one of the most esteemed poets in 20th century literature and is well known for his Irish poetry. While Yeats was born in Ireland, he spent most of his adolescent years in London with his family. It wasn’t until he was a teenager that he later moved back to Ireland. He attended the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin and joined the Theosophical Society soon after moving back. He was surrounded by Irish influences most of his life, but it was his commitment to those influences and his heritage that truly affected his poetry. William Butler Yeats’s poetry exemplifies how an author’s Irish identity can help create and influence his work.

The United States has always been known as "The Land of Immigrants." People from all parts of the globe have traveled to America, to be free from oppression, disease, and hunger, or simply to start a new life. Many different people of different culture, race, and religion have made their mark and helped to shape the American culture. One of the most influential immigration movements in American History is the Irish Immigration.

The purpose of my paper is to show how the Scotch-Irish culture came to be in the United States. There were several things that led the Scotch-Irish to make the perilous journey across the Atlantic Ocean to America including famine and high rents. It is estimated that 40-55,000 Scotch Irish arrived in America from 1763 to 1775. (Everyculture) The Scotch-Irish is one of the strongest cultures in the United States and their influence has been generous.

1. The Scotch-Irish were staunch libertarians, and acted upon their feelings. Sex ways and dress ways had close ties to each other in the backcountry. To talk about sex and sexual behavior was also acceptable in this culture. The dress women and men wore was meant to arouse the opposite sex. Anglican missionary Charles Woodmason wrote, “They draw their shift as tight as possible round their Breasts, and slender waists (for they are generally very finely shaped) and draw their Petticoat close t their Hips to show the fineness of their limbs– … –indeed nakedness is not censurable without ceremony.” Woodmason was appalled at how these women carried themselves, but to the women, they were sexy. Men even dressed in ways to show off

Psychologist Ph.D. Diana Baumrind studied specific techniques of parenting at length and came to the conclusion that “spirited give and take within the home… may teach the child how to express aggression in self-serving and prosocial causes,” however, Sophie’s household has not quite mastered this “give and take”. Gish Jen’s “Who’s Irish?” highlights the adverse effects of early exposure to conflicting parenting styles through a detailed narrative of the daily life of a young girl named Sophie and her mother, father, and grandmother.  The interpersonal relationship between Sophie and each of these parental figures embody three different parenting techniques: authoritarian, indulgent, and authoritative. Rising tensions between the techniques give rise to Sophie's confusion and eventual rebellion against her home life, which Gish Jen masterfully displays through her changing actions and, even, her physical appearance.

Clearly, a large portion of the turmoil experienced during this type could be put down to the changing government of the period. Though democratically elected and in more direct control of the Irish nation, the Home Rule government what the Irish called the Free State in its first years was not as responsive to the people as some desired (Ferriter, n.d.). An effective civil service providing for many needs was set up, but the ruling party and government experienced internal strife over significant differences of opinion throughout this decade (Ferriter, n.d.). The government was a democracy, but a very young democracy, and with all of the problems that this youth entails in a newly freed and democratically empowered nation and population.

"America's bounty -- the abundance of the fields, the beauty of the landscape, the richness of our opportunities -- has always attracted people who are in search of a better life for themselves and their children. Our democracy owes its success in great part to the countless immigrants who have made their way to our shores and to the tremendous diversity this Nation has been blessed with since its beginnings. In March, when communities all across the country celebrate St. Patrick's Day, our nation honors the rich heritage of the millions of Americans who trace their lineage to Ireland." (Clinton 2003) This was, in part, a proclamation given by our former President William J. Clinton, on February 23, 1995.

A large part of Irish history revolves around Ireland’s long and bloody fight for independence from Great Britain. However, what many people do not know about this conflict is that it did not only play out in these two countries, but was carried over to North America during the 19th century by the Fenian Brotherhood. During that time many Irish people doubted a rebellion in their own country could be successful, because the British military proved to be too strong and unwavering. The Fenian Brotherhood approached the problem from a different side by attacking British colonies in Canada in order to pressure Great Britain into releasing its claim on Ireland. These attacks were called the Fenian raids on Canada and occurred between 1866 and 1871.

While the common people may have been the first to be happy to see William the ‘leaders’ soon followed. Thus we can see while the upper classes may have been behind all the organization of the revolution they were not the only one who were in full support of it, everyone wanted this uprising and felt that the king was tyrannical. As William rode on and his support became more and more obvious from all classes many from the upper classes decided to follow his small army of 12,000, helping it grow. (Trevelyan p. 54-60) James now totally aware of the situation began to have multiple fears plaguing him as he fled to London and his army resentful of him eventually began to join the side of William. As William takes control James, at the end of his mental

a job but he ‘missed the boat’ and, not being able to return home and

James Larkin, the leader of the Irish Trade Union and the founder of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union once said “The employers cannot carry on industry nor accumulate profits if they have not got the good will of the workers or their acquiescence in carrying on such industry.” In 1911, over 300,000 people lived in Dublin. The unemployment rates were high and the average labourers wage was around one pound a week, and that was only if they had a full week of work. Living conditions were equally as inadequate as the working wages. Lydia Carroll and Enda Leaney found in a housing enquiry that 87,305 people lived in poverty, almost a third of Dublin’s population. 80% of families lived in one room dwellings. According to the Public Health Report of 1913, 8,639 deaths were recorded, 1,444 were from tuberculosis and 4,642 were from ‘nervous, circulatory, respiratory, and digestive diseases such as diarrhoea and pneumonia due to inadequate sanitary and nutrition.(Devine, pg 3-4) These conditions sparked many protests as workers became desperate. James Larkin became a renowned figure of the movement toward a better Ireland for the labourers. This essay will discuss the comparison of leadership between the employers and the employed in Ireland during the Dublin Lockout of 1913.