The Leavers tells the story of Deming Guo, who was left by his mother at 11 years old. Polly Guo, his mother, was an undocumented Chinese immigrant who originally came to New York because she wanted an abortion, but was unable to in China. When she comes to New York she finds out that because she´s well in to her third trimester she cannot get an abortion there either. She starts working at a nail salon and meets her new partner, another Chinese immigrant named Leon. After six years she gets a job opportunity in Florida, but Leon refuses to leave, and Polly agrees to not move. One day she gets taken by immigration authorities and gets deported.
According to The Migration Policy Institute Chinese immigrants are listed as the third-largest foreign-born group in the United States and they came in two waves, 1800s and late 1970s. It motivated by labor, they can get jobs like mining, construction and other jobs. Late in 1882 the future of Chinese immigration looked not so bright anymore, the Chinese wanting to emigrate to the US was set on hold because of the Chinese Exclusion act. This resulted in a strong decrease of immigrants until the law was not in place anymore in 1943. The second wave started around 1965 when immigration act in the US when they started migration pathways for non-europeans again.
Polly had the mentality that if she seeks new experiences and are open to possibilities, her life will improve and this mentality is what drove her to move to the United States. She believed that change and a life in America would ultimately make her happier, so she struggles a lot when it all got flipped upside down and she was deported back to China. Back in China she marries a successful man and lives in an expensive apartment, but she feels trapped. So she eventually moved to Hong Kong and that’s where she starts feeling free, and that freedom is what makes her realize that a wealthy life doesn´t mean happiness. Freedom does. Her story is written in first person which gives the readers a good look of what happens during her immigration struggles, how does the portray of immigration services make you feel?
Bibliography
Re-Imaging Migration, Chinese Immigration, Past and Present, conducted oct. 30, 2021
https://reimaginingmigration.org/chinese-immigrants-to-the-us-past-and-present/
Lisa KO, The Leavers: A Novel, conducted oct. 29. 2021
http://lisa-ko.com/theleavers/
The New York Times, Gish Jen, Migration, a Makeshift Family, and Then a Disappearance, May 16, 2021
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/books/review/the-leavers-by-lisa-ko.html
Hello.
The immigration services you talked about look harsh. The Chinese exclusion act seems like a racial injustice. Banning migrants solely because of their nationality is not fair. Perhaps Chinese immigrants back in the 1800’s took job spots from Americans such as mining but that isn’t a good reason to ban Chinese immigrants. In addition, deportation laws aren’t positive. Managers can use deportation laws as threats to underpay their undocumented immigrants or do other negative acts.
Great presentation, which I enjoyed reading as you provided in-depth supporting details about immigration, both the positives and negatives as well as background information about Polly Guo and her experiences. In regards to immigration services, as well as according to your presentation, these services are illustrated as barriers to a better life which involved overcoming many obstacles. The most prominent immigration act was the establishment of the Chinese exclusion act which acted to restrict Chinese immigration due to the fear instilled by Americans in regards to their jobs being taken away as well as facing declining wages. Due to the increase of Chinese laborers, legislation laws were passed limiting the future immigration of Chinese immigrants. They were also prohibited from becoming citizens leading to a decrease in obtaining many freedoms. These immigrants were not treated fairly and equally, such as working in very dangerous conditions especially in the garment industries as well as being underpaid for working long and numerous hours. Other examples of negative acts included discrimination, as well as anti riots against Chinese immigrants often in support of the government.
Really well written post! I admire Polly’s story and the bravery that she displayed as her life turned upside down. It is inspiring to see how hard she worked and the things she sacrificed as she hoped to make a good life for herself.
Really great post! I actually just learned about the Chinese Exclusion Act in my history class. I could not believe that this was my first time learning about it. The video we were shown was extremely disturbing and upsetting to watch. The way these people were stripped of all of their rights because of their ethnicity was heartbreaking. Reading the story from Polly’s perspective put the video I viewed to life. It was told from her first-person point of view which made the story much more saddening to read.
A lot of people make the same mistake thinking that wealth and expensive things will make you happy. Polly realized that she wasn’t happy with those monetary things and she made a life change to become happy. I think this a valuable life lesson for everyone, no matter where or what you come from you have a choice to become happy.
Thank you for the information! Your connections to the The Migration Policy Institute shed some light on important aspects of the novel and Lisa Ko.
Hello! Your presentation was very nice! I really like how you expressed how harsh it was for many people during this time! I remember talking about the Chinese Exclusion Act back in high school but didn’t really remember what all it included.
Hello, I first wanted to say that I found your context presentation to be quite informative and full of good information on the 1800s and 1900s, as it relates to immigration. After reading your post, I can’t help but wonder how different the United States would look today if government intervention had never happened as it relates to immigration from China. I believe that it is an interesting question to ponder, and one that we simply don’t have a clear answer to.
Hello, I really enjoyed reading your post. There’s a lot of important information in here that helps you get a better understanding of immigration. I think it is important for everyone to get a better understanding of how immigration is for many people.
Hello! You did a great job on your presentation and it was put together very well. I liked how you talked about polly’s thoughts and the course of action she took. I think it was very unfortunate that she just wanted a better life and she was working but she got deported.
Hi! I really enjoyed your post and appreciated how you gave important information that add to the background history of the story. It’s heartbreaking to hear of how harsh these laws were and how deeply it affected immigrants.
I think that immigration portrayed in this story are probably very similar to how it really is everyday. Immigrants in the United States fear daily for their citizenship and are afraid they could be deported at any time. It is hard for us to realize how scary it is for immigrants because most of us were fortunate enough to be born in America. Polly realizes how difficult it is to make a living in the United States and be happy, then her life is turned upside down when she is deported back to China.
Hello, I really enjoyed your presentation I think how you went into detail about immigration was my favorite and very helpful! How horrible the laws were back then, and how terrified the immigrants feel. Polly realized she wasn’t happy, so she made it possible for her to move to the United States.