Many immigrants faced challenges when coming to America around the 1890’s.Even when a person was lucky enough to afford a ticket to America and survive the trip over, the struggles continued once they arrived.Some of these struggles included money issues, being taken advantage of, and cultural stigmas.These struggles are portrayed in Shannon Christie and Joseph Donelly’s trip to America from Ireland in the movie, “Far and Away”.
From the very moment they set foot off the boat in America, Shannon and Joseph were in financial peril.Joseph came to America with very little money and expecting to earn a living through hard work. Shannon was hoping to get money by selling silver spoons.Shortly after getting off the ship, the spoons were stolen from Shannon and she, like Joseph, was left with nothing.They both found work in a chicken factory where they worked plucking and processing chickens with other immigrants at very low wages. Their housing situation was not much better, as they ended up having to share a room because that was all they could afford.
Because of these financial hardships, the immigrants had to turn to whomever they could when they needed money, shelter, or food.Some of the people the immigrants turned to for help took advantage of them.Shannon and Joseph both experienced this.Shannon had her silver spoons stolen from her by Mr. McGuire, a man that she thought had befriended her on the ship ride to America.Joseph was befriended by a social club owner, Mr. Kelly, once he discovered that Joseph was a natural boxer.Joseph was able to make the equivalent of one month’s wages at the chicken factory during one night of boxing, so he quit the chicken factory.However, Mr. Kelly was only using Joseph to make money for himself. Not only did Mr. Kelly set Joseph up with boxing matches, but he also found housing for Joseph and Shannon. Once Joseph lost a big match, Mr. Kelly turned on Joseph. He took all the money Joseph had won from boxing and kicked Joseph and Shannon out on the streets.
After losing their room, Shannon and Joseph had a hard time finding work due to their nationality.Potential employers told them that they would not hire Irish immigrants.Because they could not find work to pay for shelter or food, they were forced to break into an abandoned house in order to survive. Shannon and Joseph had been warned when they stepped off the ship that unless they talked to the right people, such as Mr. Kelly, life in America would be hard for an Irish immigrant.They found out first hand that without Mr. Kelly’s support, this was very true.
The struggles faced by Shannon and Joseph were probably typical of many immigrants coming to America around the 1890’s.These struggles included limited financial resources, being refused work and housing because of their nationality, and being easy prey for people looking to take advantage of them.Even though there were struggles, many immigrants like Shannon and Joseph were able to fulfill their dreams of eventually owning land in America.
Far and Away. Dir. Ron Howard. Perfs. Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman. Universal Pictures, 1992.
While these struggles were typical of immigrants in the 1890’s, do they still apply to immigrants coming to America today or are the prominent struggles of today’s immigrants different?
If so, have the changing struggles affected the demographics of immigrants today?
Those are really good questions. It is extremely hard to say what the answers to these questions would be unless I knew an immigrant my self or was one. Considering there are so many minorities in the United States these day I would guess that things are much different now. Im sure at first it would be a struggle as it would for anyone moving to a new and unfamiliar place. There are so many immigrants coming to America these days that the struggles must not be too bad. It is hard and strict to get here but once you are here it seems as though it wouldn't take much to get out there and start creating a life for yourself.
I would imagine that immigrants still struggle today with coming to America, in some ways the same and in some ways different. Each time you move to different places, whether it just be to different places in America or to other countries there are going to be struggles. I don't believe American's treat immigrants as bad as it seemed for Joseph and Shannon, but there are still people that may. Especially looking at the case in AZ where all people that don't look like they belong are being asked to show their immigration papers... we clearly have some things to hold against immigrants, although I do personally agree with this case because illegal immigrants should be taken out. I just think times are different but there will always be struggles for some immigrants no matter what way you look at it.
I believe it is still difficult for immigrants to come to America. I think it is easy for them to find a job, but I also feel that more often than not they are used as cheap labor. Like in the movie Shannon and Joseph were definitely taken advantage of and I feel like that is still a problem for immigrants today. I also feel that many people still discriminate against immigrants solely because their customs are different or they don't speak our language. I don't know that I would say the demographics of immigrants have changed so much. Typically people come here because their country is in turmoil or they are very poor and seeking a better life. The regions they are coming from have changed but I still think they have similar reasons to come here. More people probably come here for education or for professional jobs though.
I think most of us living in the Midwest are at a disadvantage to answer answer your questions Jordan. I think so because the Midwest moves slower than places like Boston, New York, or California. I can easily see the same unfairness that Shannon and Joseph lived through with immigrants today in more indiscreet places such as New York and Boston.
As for your second question, I think immigration demographics will always change with respects to the changing conditions of other countries. I don't mean the age or income of the immigrants will change, but rather who is emigrating away from their homelands. For instance, emigration generally increases when conflict starts. For instance, when the Britons (former inhabitants of England) were invaded by the Anglo-Saxons, many Britons emigrated away. Then the same happened to many Anglo-Saxons when the Normans (The French) invaded England a while after. So, in the end, I think the demographics of immigrants changes with our actions as human beings. If conflict rises in certain areas, then more individuals will look to emigrate away from their lands. And if history is correct, there will always be individuals facing similiar issues as Joseph Donnelly emigrated away from.
You all brought up good points. I think that immigrants will always have to deal with some of the basic struggles that Shannon and Joseph faced but there are some new ones too. One of the biggest challenges immigrants face these days is going through the naturalization procedures. It seems to be a very long complicated process compared to what it was in the 1800's. Cheryl I definitely agree with you that more people are coming to America for professional jobs and education.
Those are really good questions. It is extremely hard to say what the answers to these questions would be unless I knew an immigrant my self or was one. Considering there are so many minorities in the United States these day I would guess that things are much different now. Im sure at first it would be a struggle as it would for anyone moving to a new and unfamiliar place. There are so many immigrants coming to America these days that the struggles must not be too bad. It is hard and strict to get here but once you are here it seems as though it wouldn't take much to get out there and start creating a life for yourself.
ReplyDeleteI would imagine that immigrants still struggle today with coming to America, in some ways the same and in some ways different. Each time you move to different places, whether it just be to different places in America or to other countries there are going to be struggles. I don't believe American's treat immigrants as bad as it seemed for Joseph and Shannon, but there are still people that may. Especially looking at the case in AZ where all people that don't look like they belong are being asked to show their immigration papers... we clearly have some things to hold against immigrants, although I do personally agree with this case because illegal immigrants should be taken out. I just think times are different but there will always be struggles for some immigrants no matter what way you look at it.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is still difficult for immigrants to come to America. I think it is easy for them to find a job, but I also feel that more often than not they are used as cheap labor. Like in the movie Shannon and Joseph were definitely taken advantage of and I feel like that is still a problem for immigrants today. I also feel that many people still discriminate against immigrants solely because their customs are different or they don't speak our language. I don't know that I would say the demographics of immigrants have changed so much. Typically people come here because their country is in turmoil or they are very poor and seeking a better life. The regions they are coming from have changed but I still think they have similar reasons to come here. More people probably come here for education or for professional jobs though.
ReplyDeleteI think most of us living in the Midwest are at a disadvantage to answer answer your questions Jordan. I think so because the Midwest moves slower than places like Boston, New York, or California. I can easily see the same unfairness that Shannon and Joseph lived through with immigrants today in more indiscreet places such as New York and Boston.
ReplyDeleteAs for your second question, I think immigration demographics will always change with respects to the changing conditions of other countries. I don't mean the age or income of the immigrants will change, but rather who is emigrating away from their homelands. For instance, emigration generally increases when conflict starts. For instance, when the Britons (former inhabitants of England) were invaded by the Anglo-Saxons, many Britons emigrated away. Then the same happened to many Anglo-Saxons when the Normans (The French) invaded England a while after. So, in the end, I think the demographics of immigrants changes with our actions as human beings. If conflict rises in certain areas, then more individuals will look to emigrate away from their lands. And if history is correct, there will always be individuals facing similiar issues as Joseph Donnelly emigrated away from.
You all brought up good points. I think that immigrants will always have to deal with some of the basic struggles that Shannon and Joseph faced but there are some new ones too. One of the biggest challenges immigrants face these days is going through the naturalization procedures. It seems to be a very long complicated process compared to what it was in the 1800's. Cheryl I definitely agree with you that more people are coming to America for professional jobs and education.
ReplyDelete