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02/04/2026 9:45 am
In Phuc Tran’s book, Sigh, Gone, he discusses the difficulty of figuring out his identity as an immigrant in a mostly American neighborhood. From questioning his name to determining where he fits in the social structure of his high school, Tran has to navigate learning who he is with an additional barrier to the average teenager, having a whole other culture as a large part of his life. As he ages, he realizes that he wants nothing to do with his Vietnamese heritage and works hard to present himself as anything but an Asain nerd stereotype. By the time he reaches middle school, his parents have been able to move into a house in a new part of town. Phuc takes this opportunity to reinvent himself into a full punk skater. No matter how hard he tries, however, people often slip back into only focusing on he’s clearly not white. Finally, as he’s getting close to graduation, he feels like he’s made a version of himself that he likes, but even when he should be having a moment of joy, it’s overshadowed. People still single him out, “With the leaden weight of gook slung around my neck, I was dragged back in my place at the familiar bottom. Back to ‘Nam. It didn’t matter that I was going to speak at graduation or going to Bard or that I was on the prom court or any of that crap…I was still, shocking even to myself, a gook no matter how hard I tried not to be.” (Tran 283)
Similarly, in “Don’t feel sorry for refugees—believe in them” by Luma Mufleh, tells us, “We have seen advances in every aspect of our lives—except our humanity.” (Mufleh). As a refugee, the grandchild of a refugees, and someone who runs community programs for refugees, Mufleh is disgusted with the treatment the United States, and the world, have toward how they treat people who have been forced out of their homes. In one circumstance, a boy is jumped while playing outside of his apartment, waiting for her, and is badly injured, strictly because he was an immigrant. His family had been lucky enough to be in the .1% who get to resettle in the United States after escaping the Taliban in Pakistan. What she notes is, despite all of the targeting and ignorance she sees with refugees, she also sees the good, “Their journeys are haunting. But what I get to see every day is hope, resilience, determination, a love of life and appreciation for being able to rebuild their lives.” (Mufleh).
To be continued to be treated this way, despite all of the accomplishment and innocence of a young adult trying to do their best, it really speaks to the culture that Americans have toward immigrants, especially refugees.
Based on what you’ve seen in your own book, and the other Ted Talks, what is missing from the American mindset and culture to create a better environment for people coming into our country? What needs to change for these people to experience more success and acceptance?
This topic was modified 3 weeks ago by jennifer.chick@rsu4.org
07/04/2026 9:16 am
One of the things people could do to help people who aren’t from the country or are children of immigrants is to just try to be more accepting of those different from them, unfortunately a lot of people have a hard time with that. In Junot Díaz’s book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Oscar’s sister has a problem with being bullied earlier in her life because of her appearance, “...they called me Blacula, and the morenos, they didn’t know what to say: they just called me devil-b##ch” (Díaz 54). Some people don’t even want to try accepting others, and basic respect is what’s missing from a lot of people. That’s something that needs to change.
14/04/2026 11:16 am
The book The Sun is also a Star by Nicola Yoon is about two teenagers in New York City named Natasha Kingsley and Daniel Bae. Natasha is a practical, science loving girl whose family is being deported back to Jamaica. She doesn’t believe in fate or love–she believes in facts and logic. Natasha is spending her last day in New York trying to find a way to stop her family’s transportation. Daniel is a Korean American boy whose parents immigrated from South Korea. His parents want hom to become a doctor, but Daniel secretly wants to be a poet. Natasha is trying to save her family, Daniel has an important college interview that could decide his future. Natasha and Daniel meet by chance in New York City. Daniel instantly feels a connection and believes it’s fate. Natasha doesn’t believe in love at first sight, but Daniel challenges her to spend the day together to see if he can make her fall in love with him using science. The character Natasha Kingsley knows she is different from the people around her because of the way she thinks about life and love, which is completely different from her peers. While Daniel believes in fate and destiny, Natasha has her roots in science and facts. As the day goes on, Natasha and Daniel spend more time together, visiting different places around the city and having deep conversations about their lives, families, and beliefs. Even though Natasha is determined to stay logical and not get emotionally attached, she slowly begins to feel something for Daniel. Daniel, on the other hand, becomes even more convinced that their meeting is not just a coincidence but something meant to happen. Natasha continues her mission to stop her family's deportation, holding onto the hope that something will change. At the same time, Daniel struggles with the pressure from his parents and begins to question whether he should follow his own dreams instead of the chosen path from his parents. Natasha finally reveals that her family is being deported that night to Daniel, and it creates tension between the two, as Daniel feels hurt that she didn’t tell him sooner, and Natasha is overwhelmed by the reality of her situation. Their time together begins to change both of them. Natasha starts to question whether love and fate could be real, while Daniel begins to confront the pressures his parents have placed on him and what he truly wants for his future. They form a strong, emotional bond. As Natasha’s deportation becomes unavoidable, the hope that things could work out starts to fade. Daniel, who has been trying to prove that love can change fate, realizes that he can’t fix everything. Despite their quick connection, they’re forced to face the reality of Natasha having to return to Jamaica with her family. At the airport, their goodbye is painful and unresolved. Both of them are changed by the experience of meeting each other. Natasha, who didn’t believe in love, had felt it for the first time. Daniel, who believed love could solve anything, learns that life is more complicated than that. After Natasha leaves, Daniel struggles to move on but eventually begins to accept what happened. He chooses to pursue writing and poetry instead of following the path that his parents had planned, showing how Natasha influenced him to be more true to himself. By the end of the book, further into the future by a few years, Natasha and Daniel meet again in New York City by chance. The biggest barrier for Natasha that would need to change is the rigid immigration system. For her to succeed and feel accepted into the country she's known for most of her years is that the system would need to be more flexible, humane, and willing to consider individual circumstances, “She glances up at me again but shows no sign that she recognizes me, even though I've been here every day for the last week. To her I'm just another anonymous face, another applicant, another someone who wants something from America.” (Yoon 8). The system treats people in a similar circumstance to Natasha more like numbers than individuals. The people and system do not recognize Natasha as a unique person with her own story and struggles. She's just another anonymous face. For her to succeed and feel accepted into the country she's known for most of her years is that the system would need to be more flexible, humane, and willing to consider individual circumstances. Without this pressure, she would have the chance to build a stable future in the U.S. and fully pursue her goals. In the TedTalk "What's missing from the American Immigrant narrative," Gutierrez faces the same barriers as Natasha, “--I mean, we were in America, and so as a child, this made me have these crazy, ambitious, and elaborate dreams for what my future could look like. But the ways in which the world sees immigrants, it affects more than just the narratives in which they live. It also impacts the ways laws and systems can affect communities, families and individuals. I know this firsthand, because these laws and systems, well, they broke up my family, and led my parents to return to Mexico…Despite being American citizens, we both felt defeated by what we had always known to be the land of opportunity.” (Gutierrez). She grew believing in the opportuinity of the "American Dream", but was forced to face the strict laws of immigration.
