The Thing Around Your Neck By Chimamanda Adichie And The Third And Final Continent By Jhumpa Lahiri Essay

In her essay “My Two Lives,” Jhumpa Lahiri, an Indian American, explains the balance between the identities of the two countries inside her heart, as well as her psychological struggle between her bicultural identities. She describes herself as an Indian-American because she moved with her family from India to the United States when she was very young. However, confused with her identity through her growth, she feels that she doesn’t belong to either of the two countries because of its completely different cultures. When she is at home, she deals with her parents in an Indian way, which is strange compared to the American way that she come across outside. She says that she has a distinctive identity in spite of her Indian appearance

Zitkala-Sa’s autobiography informs her readers of the damaging and traumatizing effects of assimilation by utilizing her life experiences as a narrative, demonstrating how living under an oppressive and dominant culture was an internal struggle between society's expectations and her own cultural identity. Sa’s experience is especially unique considering her mixed heritage as well.

One’s understanding of belonging can broaden their understanding and acceptance of themselves and the world around them. The statement that we all strive to belong is true, however it may take time to belong to a certain person, place, group, community or even the larger world. This issue is explored in Raimond Gaita’s biographical memoir Romulus, My Father and Khaled Hosseini’s confronting novel The Kite Runner. Throughout these texts, the themes of personal relationships, migrant experience and morals and values arise from the concept of

Every individual, no matter who they are, will all face challenges that result from their backgrounds and cultures. Born in Calcutta, India and later moving to the United States, Amin Ahmad was an individual who discovered this harsh truth first-hand. In his essay, “I Belong Here,” Ahmad reflects on his experience of being treated differently from those around him based off his cultural background. He analyzes the emotional barrier that forms between the journey of immigration and the continuous feeling of inferiority based solely on the desire to belong. The article is written to provide a different point of view; one focused on introducing to the world the challenges and emotions immigrants face after starting the journey towards a new life.

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.

Throughout life, every individual must face obstacles; some more difficult than others. In the story “The Trip” by Laila Lalami, poem “Exile” by Julia Alvarez, and article “Outlaw: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas, there is a main character who has to face many challenges because of the fact that they’re immigrants. In all three texts, it is evident that being an immigrant has many affects on their lives. However, this label and the obstacles that come with it didn’t stop each character from pushing forward.

On this extensive journey it allowed for an emotional journey to take part between immigrants, shown by the metaphor “silence fell from it’s shackles” showing readers that they were finally able to talk about their past experiences and emotions, which allowed for emotional release. The lengthy journey also allowed for Skrzynecki to allude back to his past life remembering both good and bad memories.

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.

Have you ever felt as if you were alone? Do you feel as if you were separated from everyone else, such as society? Everyone has faced these issues at several points in their lives. It is what makes us human beings. There are a wide variety of factors to take into account when figuring out why people seem to feel so marginalized or alienated. A group that is constantly feeling marginalized are people who have immigrated from another country. Feeling afraid when entering a foreign area is always a difficult experience. The dilemma of not feeling welcomed by those who already inhabit the place is a struggle too. The biggest decision immigrants face is whether or not to conform/assimilate to the new culture that they are being exposed to. Sometimes authors who have faced these issues try to incorporate them into their pieces of work. Two authors are Cynthia Ozick and Henry Roth, both of whom have touched upon the “Jewish American Experience.” Ozick created characters who have handled the events from The Shawl in different ways throughout Rosa. Henry Roth incorporates his childhood experiences and inner thoughts in Call It Sleep through the eyes of the main character.

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.

In the novel The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez struggles of humans are conveyed through a view that is rarely expressed: the individual points of view of immigrants to the United States. The novel uses the individuals of an apartment complex in Delaware to demonstrate struggles faced by humanity. It has within it lessons that every young adult should learn. The novel teaches, through the distinct views of individuals, that all individuals have value based solely on the fact that they are human and that every action has an effect that must be considered.

For thousands of years, waves of immigrants continue joining the developed countries in the world, bringing with them the unique cultures, languages, and ideas. Over time, those unique values might be faded away with each generation because of the new culture exposition. The second-generation immigrants experience a cultural conflict between that of their parents and that of host society. Most of them are unable to preserve and empower their origin cultures. Many differences between the first-generation and the second-generation immigrants arise. Through the analysis of the mother in “Death of a Young Son by Drowning” and the Das family in “Interpreter of Maladies”, I would like to demonstrate the differences between the first-generation immigrants, who travel from other countries, and the second-generation immigrants, who were born and raised on the immigrated land. These differences include the purpose of being in the foreign land, the connections to their homelands, society’s view, and the culture differences.

Since the appearance of the first homo sapiens, the struggle to survive and prosper has been a challenge that everyone has had to face. Each person is born into different circumstances that will dictate the obstacles he/she must overcome. In addition, he/she must accept the miseries that all humans must endure, regardless of his/her financial, social, or global position. The difficulty of survival is examined in The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri through family, dreams, and guilt. The struggles expressed in this book are those shared by billions around the world, as Lahiri depicts the life of several powerful individuals who despite being forced to face the various struggles of life and endure the pain these struggles entail, are capable of surviving

In the poem entitled “Exiles” Kobina Eyi Acquah states how people of his continents feel depressed as they are replaced from their roots forcefully because of slave trade. The people struggle to adapt to new environment and a sense of alienation disturbs their mind-set. “All my friends are

Approximately one million immigrants migrate per year to the United States, and the US is not the only country that takes in immigrants. The immigrants joining American culture and society - or any culture for the matter - leave their old lives behind and assimilate to the social and political norms of the culture. In The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the collection of stories have characters facing the reality of immigrating to a country that is not their home. While the stories are fictional, there is a sense of autobiography in Adichie’s work - going through similar situations as her characters do. The stories are about characters being a local of Africa, facing the common themes of oppression, assimilation, and reality. Written in 2009, The Thing Around Your Neck has a more modern setting that immigrants in 2017 could be facing now. Throughout the text, Adichie shows how immigrants are marginalized when attempting to join American culture and society.