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

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.

“The Arrival,” by Shaun Tan, is a wordless novel that depicts the experience immigrants go through when vacating their home countries to start new in a different country. Readers can see that on the first page there is a collage of headshots from multiple people of different ethnicity and religion. The first image page of the wordless novel helps viewers get a clearer image of what the novel is about. In “The Arrival,” Shaun Tan depicts the hardships and enjoyment that immigrants experience when moving to a new country, since the piece was written in 2006, there seems to be more hardships than enjoyment when coming to the United States, which means the idea of the United States being a melting pot is flawed.

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

Initially, Choy shows how paper is a positive force that is instrumental in the creation of opportunities for the Chen family, like the ghost papers that facilitated their passage to Canada. However as the book progresses it becomes clear that the crossing of physical boundaries comes at the price of relinquishing one’s freedom. This is evident in the character of Stepmother whose passage to Canada came at the price of her body. Choy dramatically illustrates the exchange of her freedom for passage during the scene in the taxi after Stepmothers arrival into Canada: “ I remember the dark-coloured papers

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.