The Weight of Paper in Wayson Choy’s Novel All That Matters

Asian-American author, Amy Tan, reflects in her personal essay, Mother Tongue (1991), her perception of language and ethnic identity through an employment of anecdotes and repetition. The history of Asian-Americans goes back to the nineteenth century when thousands of men left their families and homes in China, as well as other Asian countries, to seek their fortunes in the United States (Huntley 21). The Chinese, forming the largest Asian immigrant group, “became the first Asians to experience institutionalized discrimination when the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was passed by Congress, barring the majority of Chinese from entering the United States” (Huntley 21). International and domestic factors during the Cold War finally prompted the abolition of the quota system and the passage of the 1965 Immigration Act (Lee 3). Amy was born in California in 1952 to parents who had emigrated from China several years earlier (Huntley 1). As a second generation American, Tan’s parents wanted her to have “American circumstances and Chinese character” (Huntley 2); to her traditional Chinese parents’ dismay, she fully embraced the dominant American culture outside her home. Through the dual lenses of her American identity and her ethnic roots, Tan creatively shares her own experiences with language and emigration, while exploring the many facets of biculturalism and the challenges of integrating two distinct cultures.

They are afraid, that the “Canadians” will assume that they are poor. in the poor village in china in which grandmamma grew up, searching through the garbage was acceptable, but in Canadian it is frowned upon. Therefore, Choy identifies that these two generations have different perspectives about Chinese culture, and fails to grasp important information about the norms and cultural views. While the children attempted to fit in, their father and stepmother were determined to hold on to their Chinese roots. It shows that as the younger generations, integrate into the American culture, individuals move forward, and the definitions of “Chinese” as older generation alters, for younger generations. It also portrays that the older generations politically need to adapt need to adopt with the “Canadians”, because as time progresses, identities culture and traditional perspectives will begin to change with the Chinese-Canadian culture. It demonstrates that culture will have to integrate into an Canadian society in order to be inclusive

After reading Lisa Lowe’s article, “Immigration, Citizenship, Racialization: Asian American Critique,” it was clear that her thesis and main idea was about the Asian immigrants cultural politics. She tries to situate the legal, political, and economic meaning as a formation of the Asian American emergence within a “United States national and international comprehension.” Lowe also looks at how the asian citizen is defined against the Asian immigrant, “legally, economically, and culturally.” Throughout my essay, I will discuss the political restrictions against Asian immigrants through the help of Lowe’s text and the class presentations.

In “Chinese Immigrant Lee Cew Denounces Prejudice in America, 1882”, we read the account of Chinese immigrant Lee Chew who, writing in 1882, finds himself discontented with the treatment he endures as an immigrant from China. Lee Chew’s experience was not unique; the Chinese immigration experience was one that was marked by discrimination and general exploitation. However, this pattern of discriminatory behavior was much more comprehensive than being directed at a specific race, and the Chinese experience is controvertible with the immigrant experience at large. Prejudice and discrimination in

Sui Sin Far’s short story, “In the Land of the Free” touches on the reality of being a Chinese immigrant in late-19th century America. The story revolves around a Chinese couple. The husband is ready for his wife, Lae Choo, to arrive from China with their new son, later named Kim. However, due to policies on immigration, the American government was forced to take possession of the child due to a lack of paperwork. However, Far’s short-story has a deeper meaning than just focusing on unfair immigration policies. She takes advantage of the story’s ending to symbolize a rejection of immigrant culture, most especially Chinese immigrant culture, by taking advantage of Kim’s change in behaviors, appearance, and dialect.

Within this paper I will discuss how this quote relates and argues the four phases of Canadian Immigration that were taught within this course.

Keeping things simple in “Golden Mountain”, also known as Canada, is extremely important for most of the Chinese people who came to Canada. In my opinion, it is important to them for three main reasons. First, they need to ensure that their paper histories are original in the eye of Canada’s immigration officers. Second, they only say those things that are necessary so Canadians can understand them. Lastly, they do not want to forget their origins by not assimilating too much into Western culture. Hence, it is important for Chinese immigrants who came to Canada to keep things simple and we need to discuss this further to know more deeply about why it is important to be simple in Canada.

In spite of being known as the land of opportunity many immigrants are denied. For instance, after the potato famine in Ireland as millions of malnourished and impoverished Irish came to America they were deny the right of even applying for a job. Store Owners would put up signs saying,”No Irish need apply”.This represented a loss in the ability of the Irish to survive and moreso throvem. The Chinese also faced outrageous treatment. Even though the Chinese were the primary workforce on the transcontinental railroad,they were paid lower wages not to mention the Chinese Exclusion Acts which went as far as to prevent naturalization.”Is it possible for you and your husband to encourage your children to practice their English when they are home?”Of course my parents complied.What would they not do for their children.”(Document E) The sinister undertones in this text display how being different is truly unacceptable as main character,Richard

During the years of 1880-1930 some Chinese sought out refugee from their overpopulated, disastrous, and low paying country, to Canada which they had believed was the cure to their problems. The Chinese chose to emigrate from China, as a cause of the many advantageous benefits in Canada, such as the healthcare system, rights and freedoms, and welcoming multicultural society. Moreover, Canada had many benefits, but Canada’s most justifiable reason to adopt more immigrants had been to fabricate the railroad that connected West Canada to East Canada. The Chinese had found this to be a welcoming job opportunity that many could not pass, evidently

Ideally, immigration to America has been noted as a step in the right direction for several years. The concept of the “American Dream” has been one of the main reasons behind immigrants choosing to leave their hometown and in other cases, changes in government and enslavement has led immigrants to the States. It is no wonder why they fight through battles most would have never known existed. Asian American Thuy Lee, is daughter to immigrant parents who escaped Vietnam during the communist takeover. Her story in particular, was a very detailed experience with words that helped me perfectly envision her family’s hardships on

During the 1870’s to 1930’s, large numbers of Chinese immigrants came to the United States in search of a successful life for themselves and generations to come. Although some immigrants found it possible to Americanize, the extent to which the vast majority of Chinese immigrants in California preserved the cultural traditions of their homeland was much greater than that of assimilation. This outcome was due to the fact that they were logically more inclined to place themselves within ethnic enclaves after coming to a land of unfamiliarity, but they were also pressured and outcast as aliens under several legal acts and extremely discriminating prejudice from original Americans.

In spite of the harsh discrimination and mistreatment, Chinese immigrants established an everlasting signature in the development of Canada. During the early 19th century, war and rebellion in China forced many peasants and workers to seek their livelihoods elsewhere. Along with an increasing volume of job opportunities in Canada, there were many motivational factors which influenced thousands of Chinese people to immigrate to the new, developing nation of Canada. Nevertheless, alike other non-Caucasian immigrants, the measure of racism and discrimination that the Chinese were forced to endure left many mentally, physically, and spiritually scarred. Despite the countless acts of racism and segregation, the Chinese continued to work hard

Poverty remains as a significant impediment to many across the world. As such, it is not surprising that people thrust their hands upon opportunities of financial relief. In the past, Chinese immigration was largely due to the fabled “Gold Mountain” in California during the 1840s and 1850s. It was not before long until people realized the mountains of gold were already gone, with their spirits soon following. Within time, the mixture of persecution and poverty led the Chinese to coagulate

Reading Asian American Literature. “The Politics of Mobility” .Ed. Wong, Sau-Ling Cynthia. Princeton University Press. (1993): 118-33. Print.

Firstly, second-generation immigrants do not feel connected to their homeland; instead their identity is tied to the place they were born. In a study conducted with Canadian-born Chinese (CBC) young adults, researchers claim: “migration involves constituting a sense of belonging in a new place while maintaining ties to the place of origin” (Kobayashi and Preston 235). This was concluded after many participants articulated a contested sense of belonging. When the old culture is abandoned, most often by second-generation immigrants, they do not connect to their cultural origins. Likewise, when the new