Immigrant Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the works, "Jasmine" by Bharati Mukherjee and "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros. In particular, it looks at ow the characters of Jasmine and Esperanza, from two very different cultures, experience America through relationships, with other characters and, in turn, initially use those relationships to help them guide and create their own character. The paper also discusses how each of these immigrant works by immigrant women represents a chapter in the life of a woman assimilating and recognizing the changes that have to be made in order for her to find her internal peace.

From the Paper:

"Jasmine is separate even from the only person in her life that has any real idea of what it is like to live in limbo, in poverty and with only vague hopes of changing the situation. One issue that repeatedly intertwines itself into the character of Jasmine and the other characters she is surrounded by in Iowa is racism. Though during her interactions with people in New York and Florida some of these issues are lessoned, as characters like Taylor acknowledge and discuss her ethnicity and ask her questions about her home and life experiences, which is evident in comparison and dialogue. (6, 12) The constant forgivable blunders when Mother uses the word Indian to describe native Americans and then must qualify it, with "our kind" (17) and the interesting way that the white Iowans react to immigrant farm workers from Mexico. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Carchidi, Victoria. ""Orbiting": Bharati Mukherjee's Kaleidoscope Vision." MELUS 20.4 (1995): 91. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000390178
• Chu, Patricia P. Assimilating Asians: Gendered Strategies of Authorship in Asian America. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2000.
• Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. New York: Vintage, 1991.
• Eysturoy, Annie O. Daughters of Self-Creation: The Contemporary Chicana Novel. 1st ed. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1996.
• Ganz, Robin. "Sandra Cisneros: Border Crossings and Beyond." MELUS 19.1 (1994): 19. at http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000305124

More papers on Immigrant Literature:

• Analytical Essay # 105736 : "The Nature of American Literature"
• Analytical Essay # 136838 : "Literature Curriculum"
• Comparison Essay # 68994 : "Italian-American Women in Literature "

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