Unguarded Gates And New Colossus Analysis

This is a creative essay on Ellis Island, describing life as an immigrant who went to Ellis Island through first-person. All facts and dates are historically correct.

Living in a different country that is limited with choices and freedom will make people want to leave. Immigrants want to have better lives, having more opportunities for the future. In the poem “Running to America”, Luis J. Rodriguez describes the imagery when immigrants are leaving and displays why immigrates have the courage to do it. Having hope and the strength to have no matter what the cost is, they will try to achieve to be in America. Having the image of “fingers curled through chain-link fences” (line 3) showing how imperfect the country is and how immigrates are trying to do something about it. Luis J. Rodriguez’s poem, “Running to America” repetition is the key factor to show the symbolism, irony, and imagery to immigrates struggles and

“The New Colossus” is a poem written by Emma Lazarus that is inscribed on a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty. This is the poem that we as Americans use as words of inspiration. From October 28, 1886, the date of when the Statue of Liberty was built and dedicated, to the year 2017, we have used the poem’s words to live by. While some people think that it is time for a change, others say that we should leave the poem to stay, for it is a historical remembrance of everything that we have stood up for. This poem also represents the welcoming of immigrants, the freedom that we fought for, and the freedom of religion.

In the story “The New Colossus” it talks about the Europeans wanting to come to America and pursue the American dream. They had the belief that the Statue of Liberty, in this story she is called The Mother Of Exiles, is asking the countries to “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States, she was the golden door to America, offering refugee to those who were seeking freedom.

In her poem Lazarus juxtaposes the symbol of the United States, the Statue of Liberty, with one of the most important symbols of the Greek and Roman era, the Colossus of Rhodes. As described in Lazarus’ poem the Statue of Liberty welcomed thousands upon thousand of immigrants, who were in search of a better life, to the United States. The Colossus

Since the founding of the United States of America, immigrants have always been welcome to pursue for a better life on the soil of the United States, which is known for freedom and also called the land of the free. The symbol of liberty on Ellis Island called The Statue of Liberty, which was gifted to the country from France, has an engraved sonnet by the famous American poet Emma Lazarus which writes, "Give us your poor, your tired, your huddle masses yearning to breathe free..." Which defines the country and opens the arms of the United States to immigrants. With the country opening its arms, the number of immigrants entering United States soil have increased immensely. With such a vast number of immigrants attempting to gain access into the

In the famous poem The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus, America is deemed a land of “world wide welcome” for those who seek a new place to call home. The Statue of Liberty is established early on in the piece as a symbol of freedom and protection, a statue symbolic of the spirit of America. In the piece, Lazarus refers to immigrants as the “poor, huddled masses” to whom the United States offers a pair of open “golden doors.” However, many immigrants today feel far removed from the land of freedom referenced in The New Colossus. The promise of a blue sky with endless possibilities is far from reality for the Americans that the poem calls the huddled masses. It is clear that America’s promise of freedom and opportunity, characterized by the

Attention: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” (Emma Lazarus). This sentence can be found in the poem “The New Colossus,” written by Emma Lazarus in 1883. It can also be found inscribed on the Statue of Liberty towering over the New York Harbor, a bright beacon symbolizing the freedom and democracy we hold so esteemed in America. Immigrants founded the United States and immigrants are arguably who made our nation so great. However, when immigrants do not follow the process to acquire legal citizenship into the United States is when the problems arise.

Ellis Island by Joseph Bruchac and Europe and America by David Ignatow possess similar components regarding the American Dream. For example, both works include dreams, experiences, and disappointments of earlier generations. The poems differ within their similarities though through how the narrator feels towards their ancestors doings. To begin, Ellis Island discusses the dreams of two Slovak children who became the narrator’s grandparents. Lines nine through eleven state, “...tall woman, green / as dreams of forests and meadows / waiting...” The tall woman referred to represents the Statue of Liberty which stood proudly and greeted boats as they sailed to Ellis Island. At first sight, the monument became the “...answerer / of dreams” (16-17), for

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, America had an overwhelming number of immigrants arriving through Ellis Island. The goal for them was to try and recommence a new life and encounter freedom. They dealt with struggles in their home countries such as high taxes and famines. They left everything they knew to come to America to come through the Golden Door not acquiring what they expected.

One example that shows how the Statue of Liberty represents the idea of immigration is when Emma Lazarus writes about what she thinks the Statue of Liberty’s message stands for. According to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Foundation, in 1876, a sculptor named Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was assigned to design the Statue of Liberty. Because the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France, the United States agreed to build a pedestal for the statue, but since there was a financial lack in both countries, the United States held an art and literary auction to raise funds for the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal. In 1883, Emma Lazarus was asked to create a poem to raise funds for the statue’s pedestal which would be placed in New York. Emma Lazarus says in The New Colossus, “Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name/ Mother of Exiles….‘Give me your tired, your poor/ your huddled masses yearning to breathe free/ the wretched refuse of your teeming shore/’” (Lazarus 5-12). When Lazarus says, “Mother of Exiles” she represents that the Statue of Liberty is a symbol of immigration because the statue is the woman who is well known for taking people that have been kicked out of the country they were living in. When Lazarus says these strong key words, “huddled masses yearning to

The Statue of Liberty in New York harbor, a destination for many of the early American immigrants, reads an inscription, ?Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" (National Park Service, 2016). This excerpt from a poem by Emma Lazarus encompasses the American spirit that led to the American Revolution and separation from England. America was a country comprised of immigrants who came to the New World to make a home of peace, safety and, as the statue stands, liberty.

With the Statue of Liberty, Americans remember Ellis Island and the millions of “huddled masses” immigrating from all over the globe for a chance at freedom and opportunity. Americans still believe that it is as straightforward as it was generations ago to simply wait in line and receive passage into the country. However, this system is as out of use and dead as Ellis Island. This confusion is the reason one American teen said, “I wondered if it was as simple as waiting in line and I still believed that it was as I believed the American laws were still easy and fair, I wondered why there were so many illegal immigrants I just figured they had something against the law.” The system is backed up and complicated to sort through.

Ellis Island was the source of much immigration back in the day. From 1892 to 1954, over 12 million immigrants arrived at Ellis Island (“Ellis Island History”). Most of the immigrants originate from all over Europe. Specifically, the main countries were Russia, Austria/Hungary, and Germany. A ton of the citizens today are descended from those immigrants. In fact, 40% of current U.S. citizens are related to at least one person who came from Ellis Island(“Ellis Island”). Due to this, those discouraging influxes of immigrants are obviously not cognizant of their own origins and the similarities between the two. This will lead to a better, more educated perspective on this topic.

Emma Lazarus’ poem, The New Colossus, depicts America as a welcoming harbor for all immigrants seeking freedom. She begins her writing by contrasting Greece and America. Different from the tyrant Greeks, she perceives the United States as gentle and hospitable. While the Greek conquer land to land, America sits as an open door, welcoming the migrants and foreigners. In the poem, Lazarus says: “A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.” In this example, Emma Lazarus is referring the Statue of Liberty to a Mother of Exiles. This means she is welcoming and sympathetic to all types of settlers and outsiders. By using this comparison, Lazarus is claiming that America is a country of immigrants, meaning all citizens originally migrated to the United States from somewhere else. The sirens of America sing about the Mother of Exiles to all newcomers, promising them a new beginning. They claim to welcome all outcasts and rejects, regardless of any flaw. Throughout the second stanza of Lazarus’ poem, she implies that exiles are in need of freedom. For this reason, Lazarus writes: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Here, she indicates America is the golden door to prosperity and freedom for all cultures and foreigners. The sirens of America sing this alluring motto to the incoming settlers. The “golden door” - Lazarus compares this to Alice Island - is where they lie, enticing and tempting migrants from all over the world. Throughout The New Colossus, Emma Lazarus suggests the American Dream is amiable and welcoming to settlers,