Indian Movie New Jersey Poem Analysis

Superior Essays
Immigrants come to America in hopes of finding and achieving the “American Dream”. Some do end up achieving this goal, but for a majority of immigrants, they are faced with racism and discrimination because of their culture. When asked for our nationality or where we are from, they do not expect us to say American or America, and when we do, they say “No, where are you REALLY from?” Immigrants are told to assimilate and join the American culture, but when they do so, they are still reminded that they will never actually truly be an American because of their where they’re from, their culture, and the color of their skin. Because of this, immigrants are forced to find a way to connect with their community, to make the best of the “American Dream” …show more content…
Throughout the poem, the writer uses “sex-goddess” (2) when describing the actress on screen, to show her notion of beauty, which is different than “the white filmstars, all rib and gaunt cheekbone” (1-2). This was done to show her stance on not assimilating to America’s views of beauty and its culture. The writer describes the immigrants English with “lead pellets” (19) to give off a negative connotation to how Americans feel hearing their “broken” English. The movie theater was described with many different adjectives. The immigrants consider the movie theater to be a “safe” (11) place for them, considering it a place that they feel at “home”, where they are “unwilling to leave” (31). But in reality, the theater is “flickering” (20) and “dim” (37), it’s fading away. That image of a “perfect life” that was depicted in the movie is drifting off, and soon they will have to face reality. ADD MORE. Similarly, in “My Father and the Figtree”, the use is symbolism is found in the poem to symbolize how the father connects back with his homeland, which is through simple objects that carry deep personal meanings. The main symbol that is used in the poem is the fig tree. The fig tree has a lot of significance to the father, it symbolizes his past in his homeland. His will on trying …show more content…
Divakaruni mentioned many acts of discrimination that the immigrants “do not speak/ of” (33-34), one being the “Dotbusters” (36). Dotbusters were a hate group in New Jersey that were against Indians and other South Asians in the late 1980s. Their main goal of the group was to drive the Indians out of New Jersey by any means necessary. This had taken place in many forms, from “motel raids” (34) to “stones/ thrown through glass windows” (34-35). This was taken from a letter that was published in the Jersey Journal in 1987 by fellow Dotbusters stating, “If I'm walking down the street and I see a Hindu and the setting is right, I will hit him or her. We plan some of our most extreme attacks such as breaking windows, breaking car windows, and crashing family parties” (Jersey Journal). Similarly, in “The Father and the Figtree”, the use of allusion throughout the poem was used to help provide more background information on the father, along with helping the reader understand the father’s perspective on the fig tree deeper. There are many references to the Arabic culture, which the father has a huge background and connection with. Shihab Nye mentions “Joha” (8) who is a trickster figure in many Arabic folktales, to connect it to the father’s background culture of his heritage. The father also mentions the figs as a “gift of Allah”

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    “The American Dream”, the most promising lifestyle all have aspired to reach some point for a better life, a better future or simply new beginnings it's not an easy journey especially for those migrating from another country. Immigrants have been the prime example of this search for hundreds of years here in the U.S., many of them come here seeking for a better tomorrow for not only themselves but their families as well. Many of these immigrants, however, are faced with the obstacle of not having citizenship. Entering the country illegally puts each and every one of them at risk of being taken away by immigration and has forced many of these families to live in constant fear of deportation and separation from their loved ones. Although thousands…

    • 1397 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Recent studies have showed that immigrants from around the world see the “American Dream” vaguely different than an average American. We as Americans see the American dream as a life of luxury, becoming president or having more women’s rights. For immigrants, this isn’t exactly the case. Immigrants from all over the world believe that the overall “American Dream” consists of mainly two different things, freedom and equality. This is a big thing that draws immigrants to America.…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the late 1800s, at the turn of the century, the United States experienced an influx of immigrants due to the industrialization occurring in large cities and states all over the country. However since the mid 1900s there was another rise in immigration, this time from the south. One of the large disadvantages of being a new immigrant is the lack of integration, not only that but immigrants face challenges every day. Apart from language skills, Immigrants in the United States face the loss of their cultural identity when they integrate into the mainstream society, and if they don’t, they may be subject to discrimination. This loss of identity then fuels various misconceptions of immigrants.…

    • 1467 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Have you ever felt alienated by a person or even a group? Immigrants have to face to the problem of being alienated by a whole country. Americans have conjured up a lot of problems with not one group of immigrants, but most of them. A major case of xenophobia. Immigrants like to migrate to America in search of a new start with great opportunities.…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The first part is the Barn Owl, it displays the loss of innocence of the child because of killing the owl. In the first stanza, “let him dream of a child, obedient, angel - mind”, the use of religious imagery is applied here to emphasise the idea that she doesn’t want her father to know what she has become, but prefers her father to imagine his daughter as an innocent girl. Later in the fourth stanza, juxtaposition is used in “a lonely child who believed death clean and final…” to depict the child’s awareness of death and how it is not humane. “end what you have begun”, a short declarative line by the father shows how he is a character with wisdom.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Discrimination is an unavoidable oppression that transpires across the world. The U.S., a country known as the “Land of Opportunity,” is perceived by immigrants, people of different origin from different countries, as a gateway to obtaining a better life. However, immigrants may encounter many obstacles and ill-treatments that will keep them from progressing. “Our Fear of Immigrants,” an article by Jeremy Adams Smith, unveils why the United States government and some of its native-born citizens are prejudiced towards immigrants. Smith’s proclamation is to correct people’s irrational fear of immigrants and to develop a higher sense of empathy in people.…

    • 1157 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The immigrants that entered the United States from the 1870’s through the 1920’s proved that they were different from any immigrants that came before them. This generation of immigrants was the most diverse group of people to enter this country during this period. Not only were they from different ethical backgrounds, they practiced different religions, their rules of life were different from ours, and among many other things. While the immigrants had, a hard time living in the US, they still defeated the odds and achieved economic success in multiple institutions. Unfortunately, because these groups of people changed the dynamics of the United States, Americans took that as a threat to the social, economic, religious, political, and overall…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Analyze politically, socially and economically to what extent immigration impacted American society from 1865 to 1898. The United States has always been a mixing pot, immigrants from all over the world have been coming with a common goal to better themselves and their families. Nonetheless, immigrants had never had it easy to succeed in a foreign society, the time period 1865 to 1898 was no the exemption. Irish, Russians, Greeks, Poles, Hungarians, Romanians, Chinese and Bohemians among many other were coming to the union to face prejudices from “true Americans”. Immigration caused a strain in society since the government would not help immigrant at any point under any circumstance, the gap between the rich and the poor grew as immigrants…

    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    America worldwide is known to be ‘the melting pot’ because it welcomes people from different countries, regardless of race, culture, religion, creed or orientation with open hearts. These immigrants are all hoping to find freedom, new opportunities, be free of oppression and be allowed to practice their religions free of prosecution. The United States of America globally is referred to as the land of opportunities, dreams, religious freedoms and the home of the free. The belief is that any person can achieve the ‘American Dream’ as long as the person works smart, gets educated and follows our laws. While this sounds appealing, it may not be the case that every immigrant has the chance at the American dream simply due to their race, nationality,…

    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In “Should immigrants assimilate?”, Alejandro Portes and Min Zhou address the pressure to automatically assimilate that continues to hound second generation immigrants. They weigh the costs of this automatic assimilation and the effects of evident discrimination of a second generation immigrant that follows if assimilation is refused. Mary C. Waters’ article, “Debating Immigration”, acknowledges the inconsistencies of public debate and credible studies dealing with second generation immigrants and their assimilation. Waters’ argument widens the scope of Portes and Zhou’s take on the process of assimilation by providing a positive perspective and hindsight on the topic. Waters takes into account Portes and Zhou’s argument on how a second generation…

    • 1577 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The symbolic nature of the plant, representing the family, is seen throughout the play to help the audience have something to compare the family with. Similarly, the crystal stair in “Mother to Son” represents life without a struggle, and the difference of traveling on the harder path. Hansberry’s work not only focuses on the relationship between Mama and Walter Lee Younger (her son), but also the struggles of being an African American and the racial prejudice faced daily. Each member of the family must tackle problems, and their economic background highly affects each situation. In what should be an incredibly sad work, is actually lively and fun, filled with positivity that teaches people to separate brief happy moments from the cloud of pain.…

    • 1446 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Dreamers The United States of America is best known as a “free nation.” There are many opportunities in this country, but not everyone can enjoy them. There is an “estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants” in the United States (Chen 4). Immigrants however, are best known as hard and motivated workers.…

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Illegal Immigrants Should be Provided a Pathway to Citizenship The American dream can defined as the idea that all American citizens have a chance for great success and happiness in life. To many, America is viewed as a place where opportunity is around every corner. Not every country offers the same freedoms as the United States, so immigrants travel from their country to another in hopes of obtaining a better life for not only them, but their families as well. Not every person that comes over is legal, however.…

    • 1329 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I personally connected to this discussion because of my experiences as an immigrant in the United States. You proposed the question of if immigration issue is about culture, legality or numbers and majority if not everyone in the class stated it was culture. I actually disagree with this answer. When many people argue why they desire stricter immigrations laws, they make claims such as immigrants are taking jobs, they are increasing the population significantly, and they are harming American economy. Most of these claims relate back to the idea that immigration issue is primarily about numbers and less about culture.…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jejuri Poem Analysis

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Jejuri poems are all about Arun Kolatkar visiting the temple town in the state of Maharashtra where 'every other stone is a god or his cousin'. The poems are delicately written yet sharply observed - a temple door, a yellow butterfly and Maruti himself find equal care given to them all in turn. Jejuri poems oscillate between faith and scepticism. In his plat and colloquial tone, Kolatkar ironically treats the parallel scenario reinforcing it with concrete imagery. Kolatkar's use of concrete imagery, subtle irony and symbolism reinforces the central theme of alienation and perception.…

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics