Literature Analytical

The short story “America and I” tells what happened to Anzia Yezierska when she immigrated to America. Anzia had come to America filled with hopes and dreams, but almost right away they were dashed. She had been told she would be able to do what she wanted,“In the golden land of flowing opportunity I was to find my work that was denied me in the sterile village of my forefathers.”(69). Once she arrived in America she took a job working at the house of former immigrants. For a month she did everything she was asked of, but when it was time to get paid her bosses refused. They said that it was enough that they fed her and gave her a place to live. Anzia assumed it would be easy for her once she got to America, but immediately she was faced with the challenge of people taking advantage of her. One of the reasons she was not able to ensure that she would get paid was because of the fact that she could not speak English. In order to survive in America an immigrant needs to be able to speak the language. It will help them in both the work place and being able to assimilate into the culture. Not being able to speak English makes the difference between the immigrants and everyone else more obvious. The American people do not want different, so it would be to the immigrants benefit to learn English. By Anzia not being able to speak English various employers were able to take advantage of her. The employers see that the immigrants are easy prey and will do almost anything to make money, so they make them work extremely hard for little compensation. At Anzia’s third job they began to teach her English, yet she did not understand why people did not just speak the language of their birth place. One of the main ways to become and an American is to be able to speak English; it would help her to reach the dreams that she once had. As time went on Anzia had to find a way to survive in America and in order to that she had to “Americanize.” In order for her to feel welcomed she has to find a way to fit in more to the culture, but try not to lose herself in the process. Most immigrants come to America like Anzia Yezierska, filled with desire, but it is much harder once they actually arrive. In the end Anzia realized, “America is no Utopia. First you must become efficient in earning a living before you can indulge in your poetic dreams.”(75). As demonstrated by the trials Anzia had to face, it is not easy to be accepted into the American society. To be accepted and to succeed the immigrants need to be able to adjust to the new culture.The culture in America is pretty set, and before a person can add their ideas to it, they must become part of it.