Precis
Contractor, essay, Is America Still
the Land of Opportunity? An Immigrant's Perspective, 2014, argues that the
American dream is an unattainable myth. The author shares personal experiences
with coming to America and her long wait for American citizenship. The purpose
of this essay is to explore the tedious immigration process. The intended
audience could be immigrants and immigration advocates.
Reaction: Is America Still the Land of Opportunity? An Immigrant's Perspective By Aziz Contractor
What emotions were elicited by Contractor's essay? Many mixed feelings were brought to the fore by this literary piece. Anger, resentment, sadness, and sympathy are among the emotions that were evoked by the essay. Reading this reminded me of my Oma's own experience of when she migrated to this country, which evoked sympathy for all immigrants. Though she married a Officer in the military, she still had to go through the process that every other immigrant must go through. Sushant Mohan's quote " In 1921, the United States adopted the use of a quota system, limiting the number of people allowed into the country. The quota system and its progeny continue to shape America's immigration policies, rules, and current woes" coincides with my Oma's own experience. However she had a few more problems due to her nationality of German and the time period it was in. In her experience she said the process took an extreme amount of time, they were prejudice towards her being a "Nazi", and grueling tests and trials she must complete. The sadness brought forth was deep for the struggles of people that migrate to this great country. Although born in Germany I was privileged to have been born on a U.S military compound. Due to my situation I was provided with a Certification of Birth Abroad, which never questioned my citizenship. Therefore I have never experienced the formality of migration and the burden of process. However I experienced at the age of eleven the same culture shock that Contractor spoke of. The world was different and at first everything was great. Just as Contractor said, " To my eyes, America was a country that glittered brighter than gold" and then " Soon, I understood the meaning of the phrase: all that glitters is not gold." is what I experienced in essence. I have pride in my country, but I feel resentment of the treatment done to those immigrants who believe that this is the "land of opportunity" and the burdensome restricting policies the U.S government has continued to implement over time.
