Professor: Dale Byam
Literature of the African Diaspora
CORC3110
The negative effect of immigration
Final—MLA Style
The negative effect of immigration June11, 1999 was the day the title “immigrant” was added to my name. At nine years old I had yet to comprehend how powerful such a word can be, and how, because of this one word, my family’s life would change forever for the worse before it got better. Even though I was nine, I didn’t realize how fast my life would change. I grew up and matured not because I wanted to, but because I had to. Looking back at my memories now, I always wondered if it was worth it to go through so many hardships and obstacles so that my mom could provide my sister and I a chance of becoming someone; a chance of making the “American Dream” a reality. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn 't, but one thing that I know is that my family suffered greatly. Even though some things got better, to this day I still don 't think that my life will ever be the same. To be an immigrant means you are a nobody and that you have to start fresh. The laws are different, the language is new, and most importantly - the culture is new. The ability to express yourself is gone because of the language barrier. Immigration has effects both on the family and on oneself – not to mention that it brings physiological damage. It has a negative effect on both kids and parents because of the hardships that people have to overcome ahead. For this paper, four works will be analyzed to show the impact of immigration on African Diaspora. Immigration causes people to face issues such as the need to change, social and economic difficulties, and the loss of culture. All of these problems will be described and shown. The impact of immigration is apparent in all of the works and it is still seen today. Our perception of a person is made from the first impression. It takes 7 to 30 seconds to form a first impression of a person
Cited: Page Books: • Danticat, Edwidge. Brother, I’m Dying. New York: Vintage Books, a Division of Random House Inc, 2007. • Ousmane, Sembene. God’s Bits of Wood. Johannesburg, South Africa: Heinemann Publishers, 1960 • P’Bitek, Okot. Song of Lawino. Kenya, Africa: East African Educational Publishers Film • Palcy, Euzhan, dir. “Sugar Cane Alley (Rue Cases Negres).” IMDB.com. 12/10/2009 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086213/