07.03 Immigration
Graphic Organizer: Immigrant Journals| Lee Chew| Mary Antin| What is the main idea expressed in the author’s journal? | Mistreatment of the Chinese| The equality and freedom in America| Is the author happy or unhappy with his/her experience in America? | Unhappy| Happy| Explain one experience the author had that reflects his/her view of America. | He talks about how he is unable to bring his wife to America over from China or marry an American woman, but how the Irish, Germans, Englishmen, and Italians are treated much nicer than the Chinese. She talks about how she was able to go to school without fees, examinations, machinations, rulings, and no questions asked. She was able to get education for free. | List at least three words from the journal entries that reflect the author’s point of view toward America. | Mean, Misfortune, and Ignorant| Hope, Delight, and Treasure | Two of the writers, Emma and Mary, thought of America as a place of freedom and hope, while the third writer, Lee saw that America as an injustice place to live.
Mary’s journal excerpt was her experience of coming at living in America for the first time. Her story was a story of hope and happiness, of a little Russian girl able to receive free education with no tests, papers, or anything really in return. Emma’s poem was also very hopeful and happy. Instead of writing about her story of coming to America, she wrote about the symbolism that the Statue of Liberty held.
She saw the Statue of Liberty as a place Americas welcoming to the homeless, jobless, and the poor. Were all those people could have a second chance of life and a first chance of freedom, but Lee’s point of view differs with these two writers. He believes that America is an unfair to his race and culture, while other immigrants get treated better. He feels discriminated and that nobody will do or does anything to help him and the rest of his Chinese culture.
In my opinion, I believe our attitudes, as Americans, toward immigrants are very different from the sentiments stated on the Statue of Liberty. Most Americans would not want to welcome the homeless and poor. Also many Americans feel that immigrants are taking jobs away from American citizens; especially now in that we are in a recession. So most Americans would probably have a ver changed opinion from the sentiments of the Statue of Liberty.
