The Leavers by Lisa Ko presents a situation that many Chinese immigrants face. When people come over from China, they are often discriminated against and are unable to land a job outside of manual labor. Peilan Guo is a good example of how much Chinese immigrants will give up getting to the United States, but often experience extreme disappointment upon arrival. Her story is an example of the challenges that immigrants face when coming to the United States as many Asian immigrants have been forced into working in factories or other manual labor positions to survive due to the inherent racism present in the United States history. This presentation will discuss the difficulty of Chinese immigrants to successfully assimilate into American society to survive in different periods of history in the United States.
Initially when Chinese immigration began to the United States, it consisted of male workers who took manual labor positions in agriculture, mining, and other uneducated positions. Americans became so upset about tine influx of Chinese workers that in 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed to prevent this immigration. This horrible act was not repealed for over 60 years until 1943, but the problem still exists in the United States today. As shown in The Leavers there are still individuals who make it into the country and are forced into menial jobs to try and create a better life for themselves and their families. This happens to many immigrants, some who have professional education in their home country and are then forced into these positions to repay debts. Unfortunately, this discrimination also extends to those with professional degrees in China. While Peilan may not have had any professional experience, there are those who immigrate that were doctors in China or other Asian countries but are unable to continue pursuing these careers in the United States due to race and the language barrier it sometimes presents.
This is a fatal flaw of the immigration policies that are enforced as law within the United States, as it puts these people in an impossible situation. This issue does not receive enough attention from most of the citizens in the United States. There should be a greater focus on allowing and easing the process of integration for these immigrants into the country. This problem existed back in the 1800s when Chinese immigration to the United States began and still existed during the unstated, but recent, period during The Leavers. Chinese immigrants like Peilan are forced to take on huge amounts of debt from illegal and shady sources such as loan sharks and sacrifice living their lives at their fullest potential, all in the hope that they too might be able to achieve the “American Dream.”
Hsu, Irene. “The Echoes of Chinese Exclusion.” The New Republic, 28 June 2018, newrepublic.com/article/149437/echoes-chinese-exclusion.
Ko, Lisa. The Leavers. Little, Brown, 2018.
I appreciated reading your context-research presentation because it helped me better contextualize Ko’s novel and better understand the perspective of the characters. I am glad that you brought up the fact that oftentimes those with professional degrees in Asian countries generally are not able to practice in the United States due to barriers until they have repeated certain aspects of their training in the United States. This happened to my grandmother when she immigrated to the United States from India as well–she was forced to repeat her residency in the United States even though she had graduated from medical school and already finished residency in India. I definitely agree that immigration issues generally do not receive enough attention and focus from American citizens. We must look for ways to improve this corrupt system.
I do agree that the laws of the U.S do limit other minorities from getting major job opportunities. It’s really interesting that something that you have jobs in other countries that are considered professional positions, but in the country that has sayings that you can be whatever you want and whoever you want in land of the free, there are a lot of hoops that have to be jumped through. At times you may never get the chances like the majority of people who are white. It is sad for some people like Peilan who are also are forced to take on debt and be left with as you said, menial jobs who can deserve a better position.
It has always been my understanding that when Asian Americans (along with other minority groups) came to America and were properly assimilated, they created great opportunities for themselves. It was estimated that 15,000-20,000 Asian Americans were part of the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad (a massive accomplishment for the time). They were revered for their work ethic and that has transitioned to today’s world in Silicon Valley. Asian Americans again find themselves at the top of their game and have cornered the market in tech. So although we have competing narratives I think similarities drawn between the two boils down to exemplary work ethic and drive to better yourself through your actions.
Hello, I agree with you that so many people had to take a less paying job after coming to America from a different country and are not really given a chance. Some people are not allowed to work for a certain period of time after immigrating to America. I believe that a lot of Americans are racist towards immigrants and treat them poorly. I think that everyone should have a fair chance at any job if they are qualified no matter where they were born at. It is sad that because so many restrictions that so many immigrants have to borrow money from people who are scamming them due to their desperation. Nice post