Essays on Angel Island

The American Dream is the widespread assumption of a better life in the United States of America. It has long been believed that America is the epitome of a land that brings almost ultimately only prosperity and success to everyone who dares to dream the American dream—regardless of his or her origin. No wonder many people from the poorest countries of Asia dare themselves to fly thousands of miles away from the comforts of their homes to challenge the unknown and find out what is in store for them in the land that promises so much to people who are ...

In Maxine Hong Kingston’s “No Name Woman,” the author explores her childhood in a Chinese American community in Stockton, California. Through these recollections, Kingston reveals Chinese-American culture as one rooted deeply in tradition, but still struggling to find its place in the larger American canvas. Issues and questions of identity were still being found, which is part of the incredibly difficult and arduous history of the Chinese-American culture in America. Understanding the context of this culture helps one to appreciate “No Name Woman” all the more, as noting the struggles Chinese Americans had to go through allows us to ...

Book Review - Contagious Divides

Nayan Shah's 2001 book Contagious Divides: Epidemics and Race in San Francisco's Chinatown provides a unique portrait of the different representations of Chinese immigrants in the twentieth century, particularly in San Francisco, and how they have changed in the intervening years. The book itself takes a dramatically close look at public health issues surrounding Chinese immigration as well, as the portrayal of Chinese immigrants at first was extremely negative. The urban landscape of San Francisco was dramatically changed by the large influx of Chinese emigrating to the US, and the public health concerns that followed were dramatic and stifling to racial ...