Two Ways to Belong in America

Two Ways to Belong in America

Juxtaposition

Syllogism

• subtly argues with her sister about many aspects of immigration and traditions
• "...we'd had our polite arguments over the ethics of retaining an overseas citizenship while expecting the permanent protection and economic benefits that come with living and working in America"(Mukherjee 6).
• "Mira and I differ, however, in the ways in which we hope to interact with the country that we have chosen to live in"(Mukherjee 15).

• puts her and her sister's lives side by side to show their differences but also how they are still close as sisters
• "...I married a fellow student, an American of Canadian parentage"(Mukherjee 5).
• "Instead, Mira married an Indian student in 1962 who was getting his business administration degree at Wayne State University"(Mukherjee 3).

Bharati Mukherjee

Anaphora

Anecdotes

Ethos- appeals to authority figures such as congress and I.N.S. to gain credibility and trustworthiness

• "My employer went to the I.N.S. and petitioned for the labor certification"(Mukherjee 8).

Audience

• helps the author gain credibility when she is stating the downsides of immigrating to the US
• shows the differences between her and her sister
• "In Iowa City in 1963, I married a fellow student, an American of Candian parentage"(Mukherjee 5).
• "'I feel used,' Mira raged on the phone the other night"(Mukherjee 8).

• repeats the word to exaggerate her point she is trying to get across, how much she has invested
• "I've obeyed all the rules, I;ve paid my taxes, I love my work, I love my students, I love the friends I've made"(Mukherjee 8).
• "Mira's voice, I realize is the voice not just of the immigrant South Asian community but of an immigrant community of the millions who have stayed rooted in one job, one city, one house, one ancestral culture, one cuisine, for the entirety of their productive years"(Mukherjee 12).

• people who don't have knowledge on how long immigration can affect a person
• those who have opposing views on immigration and don't believe you can stay true to old traditions
• anyone looking for an interesting read

Pathos- relates to the emotional connection between her and her sister

• "We were always unacknowledged adversaries, and we are now, more than ever, sisters"(Mukherjee 7).

Logos- struggle of keeping citizenship benefits because of the sudden change in America's laws

• "How dare America not change its rules in midstream?"(Mukherjee 8).

Summary

Background

Purpose

Bharati Mukherjee and her sister Mira Mukherjee immigrated to America in their early twenties. Bharati compares how she fully accepted American ways to how Mira kept many traditions from India.

• Born in 1940 in Calcutta, India
• immigrated to the US in 1961
• earned an M.F.A. and Ph.D. in literature
• author of several novel and short stories
• teaches literature and fiction writing at the University of California
• she wrote "Two Ways to Belong in America"
• address Congress about resident alien laws
• confront immigrant issues in America

• Make the reader aware of social injustices that come with being an immigrant in the US
• Show two different ways to experience life in a different country
• uses rhetorical devices to make the essay more understandable and interesting