English 12 Capstone Research Paper

English 12

Capstone Project

Chamara Brown
December 10, 2012
Professor Holley

English 12

Capstone Project

Chamara Brown
December 10, 2012
Professor Holley

Chamara Brown
December 10, 2012
Professor Holley
English 12
Capstone Project “The U.S is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. This cultural diversity stems from having a steady flow of immigration from different parts of the world for over 150 years, which contributed to the already existing culture.” “The International Education site” When immigrants make an approach to live in the United States of America, they are faced with the struggle of negotiating between two distinct cultures. Whenever immigrants moved to
the U.S. they tend to feel alienated, forcing them to forge an identity. But is forging an identity what makes you feel welcome, or simply make you feel like you have finally fit in? Above all, immigrants losing their identity to fit in a culturally diverse country like America is the new norm which is merely right to do in contrast to trying to hold on entirely to who they once were in their own country. When immigrants come to America, they come with the intention of having a better life and future. Many immigrants then and now, still speak of achieving the American dream (Owning a car, house, and if possible; a business). Even though they are immigrants who first need to become citizens of America to fully take advantage of the American dream, they still share many benefits as American born people do. “Assimilation is not now, and has never been, an instant transformation in which an immigrant suddenly becomes a “fully-fledged American.” Rather, it is a long- term sometimes multigenerational, process.” (Rodriguez 1). Benefits for immigrants range from all different types of categories. “Immigrants remain eligible for emergency Medicaid if they otherwise eligible for their state’s Medicaid program. The law does not restrict access to public health programs providing immunizations and/or treatment of communicable disease symptoms (whether or not those symptoms are caused by such a disease). School breakfast and lunch programs remain open to all children regardless of immigration status, and every state has opted to provide access to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Short –term noncash emergency disaster assistance remains available without regard to immigration status.” fee.org . On another note, other cultural holidays are celebrated in the United States which immigrants have brought here with them. Some of these holiday includes; Hanukkah( For eight days each November or December, Jews light a special candleholder called a menorah.
They do it to remember an ancient miracle in which one day's worth of oil burned for eight days in their temple),Christmas (People celebrate this Christian holiday by going to church, giving gifts, and sharing the day with their families.), Kwanzaa( Kwanza which means "First Fruits," is based on ancient African harvest festivals and celebrates ideals such as family life and unity. During this spiritual holiday, celebrated from December 26 to January 1, millions of African Americans dress in special clothes, decorate their homes with fruits and vegetables, and light a candleholder called a kinara.) New Year, Chinese New Year (Many Chinese children dress in new clothes to celebrate Chinese New Year. People carry lanterns and joining a huge parade led by a silk dragon, the Chinese symbol of strength.), Mardi Gras (The time of Lent is a solemn one of reflection for Christians, so the Tuesday before Lent begins is a time of merry-making for many people around the world.), Easter (On Easter, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. People attend church and also enjoy different Easter customs.), Passover (The highlight of this major Jewish holiday is the
Passover seder. During these two special dinners, families read from a book called the Haggadah about the ancient Israelites' exodus, or flight, from Egypt more than 3,000 years ago. As they honor their ancestors, Jews reaffirm the importance of freedom.), Ramadan (During this holy time, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar year, Muslims do not eat, drink, or smoke from sunrise to sunset for an entire month. Instead, they spend their days in worship, praying in mosquesea.), Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (In September or October, Jews believe that God opens the Book of Life for ten days, starting with Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and ending with Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). During these days, the holiest in the Jewish year, Jews try to atone for any wrongdoing and to forgive others.) Labor Day (In 66 countries, the contributions of workers are honored on Labor Day.), and Day of the Dead (On November 1 — called Día de Los Muertos — Mexicans remember their loved ones who have died by visiting them and having a meal right in the graveyard.) A great approach to demonstrate Immigrants adopting to America and America adopting to them. These are all holidays celebrated by different cultures around the world brought to the United States by the immigrants. Even though not all cultures celebrate the same holidays, these holidays are still recognized here in the U.S with the help of the American Government seeing to it that this takes place. This shows the fact that it is ok for immigrants to negotiate between identities in a foreign country and still hold on to the most meaningful part of their life lives ; their cultures. If anything else is not respected by others, cultures definitely do, especially if it is a diverted area. “Assimilation into life in the U.S has never required the destruction of ethnic identity. Instead, it involves newcomers of different backgrounds adopting basic concepts of American life: equality under the law, due process, and economic opportunity. Put another way, assimilation is not about immigrants rejecting their past, but about people of different racial, religious, and cultural background coming to believe that they are part of an overarching American family.” (Rodriguez 2). It is obviously a beneficial appeal for immigrants to forge identities between two distinct cultures because the rate of citizenship have been continuously rising, showing that immigrants are making these sacrifices and facing the struggles to get their priorities straight. On the other side, one of the main problem immigrants face today when negotiating between two distinct cultures is “culture shock.” The term “culture shock” is used to describe the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to adapt to a different cultural or social environment, such as a foreign country. At first that individual will be excited for the newly challenging environment but then what” seemed exciting, new and challenging is merely frustrating. You may feel isolated and become withdrawn from life around you. You seek security in the familiar food from home; possibly become a focus, maybe an obsession.” “Fulbright Foreign Fellows Handbook” (2008-2009). The symptoms of “cultural shock” are as followed; “Physical: headache, lethargy, sleep problems, loss of appetite and digestive irregularities. The psychological symptoms includes; irritability, anger over minor frustrations, confusion about morals and values, feeling moody, isolated and insecure.” “Fulbright Foreign Fellows Handbook”(2008-2009).Something to think about… People who have a positive perspective on culture shock adapt better in the long run knowing that you are in a new environment experiencing new cultures , way of life and language for some.

Opposition’s view on immigrants moving into another person’s homeland as seen on the website fee.org claiming that ‘allowing free and open borders to any and all immigrants would put decent, hard-working Americans out of work.” Have anyone ever stopped to think about how long it can take immigrants to actually become citizens?
And when they do, naturalized citizens view America in a positive way of “working to reach the top” yes, but that does not mean taking away the American born jobs. Competition for labor is good for both consumers and the economy because the cost to manufactured goods is lowered and thus cheaper to sell, making it beneficial for everyone. “But to Koeun, Taiwanese was the language of the past, the language of her childhood. It was the language that reminded her of the time when her mother was still her father’s wife… She was the girl I had always known – a girl more Cambodian than Chinese at home, with the same passive competence in Cambodian as me, and outside the home, more American than Cambodian, talking with an American accent that one day encouraged me to study in the United States ..” ( Ourng, Monileak. “Negotiating Identity” 257.) So even though this young lady saw and recognized the negotiation between the two cultures, choosing to speak another language; Cambodian, because her own Taiwanese accent reminded her of her past which she once hated. This is another way of how transitioning between two distinct cultures can once again benefit
you. Speaking another language based on her surrounding, the character was able to feel at ease forging the Cambodian identity over her Taiwanese one. Yet, at the same time, it doesn’t entirely takes away her culture which still excels at home. It is plausible to say that there are immigrants living all around the world. America is one of the main countries where immigrants target. Therefore, America today is made up of immigrants. America welcomes newcomers while they enforce the immigrants that they learn and embrace its strong cultures and political institutions, in virtue of, what America is today “one nation forming from many peoples.” Does this mean forge an identity between two distinct cultures to get by the struggles in life? Yes. Look for example at intermarriage. This is a sign of immigrants looking beyond “ethic segregation.” “Clearly, intermarriage illustrates the extent to which ethnicity no longer serves to separate one American from another.” (Rodriguez.3). In conclusion, being that the United States is one of the main countries where immigrants are faced with the struggle of negotiating between two distinct cultures, it is necessary for them to take on that challenge. The anxiety and feelings of surprise, disorientation and confusion felt during the process of culture shock quickly disappears as immigrants adapt to the multigenerational process of becoming an American citizen.

Citation page: * Rodriguez, Gregory. “From Newcomers to New Americans”: The Successful Integration of Immigrants into American Society. Print. * “The International Education site” http://www.instudy.com/articles/ec184a13.htm. * http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/coming-to-america-the-benefits-of-open-immigration#ixzz2EOjhcn5I. * “Fulbright Foreign Fellows Handbook”: A guide to Living and studying in the United States. (2008-2009). * http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/coming-to-america-the-benefits-of-open-immigration#ixzz2EOgcABrY * Ourng.Monileak. “Negotiating Identity.”