1. Group H--igalvez26 (Replacement C)

In my novel “Girl In Translation” - Jean Kwok it is about an 11 year old girl who moved from Hong-Kong to New York with her mom which was a big cultural change for them as they spoke a different language, did their own things differently than others etc. Kimberly and her mom, who is called Ma in this novel, were looking around for apartments but the only ones they could find were described as no heat, no furniture, and kind of in a sketchy area.

I've noticed that since my character doesn't speak clear English she is being treated different and not being shown what is right and what is wrong which brings me to the question which says "what are examples you're seeing of where Americans aren't explaining things clearly to immigrants and it's causing problem." in the novel while Kimberly was in class she had no idea what was going on and the teacher just ignored her and kept explaining her class while Kimberly sat there helpless because her teacher wouldn't help her respond since Kimberly didn't know English. therefore Kimberly struggled and didn't have anyone to lean to to help her understand more clearly just because she was labeled different because she was from a different country.

well Peyton, that is a very astute observation you have confined to that response. I have to say, I am quite impressed you had managed to make a connection that acute to how this book's plot functions. it is quite the common theme these books to have the protagonist have some sort of mishap attempting to communicate to others. the strife brought by this obstacle is emphasizes an immense amount in all shapes of immigrant media.  

I find your reading material summary to be one of which is very well expressed and, to my knowledge, passes on an astute clarification of said reading material. I believe that the answer of which you hath, with the understanding of which you have possessed, gives an in-depth explanation on how this persona interchanges with a society of which they are adventitious of, and, to a great degree, how it pertains to their immeasurable magnitude of incomprehension of the English language and how it makes their life in the Americas strenuous and burdensome. I tip my hat to you. 

In my book Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue. The main characters Jende Jonga and his wife Neni move to America from Cameroon. To have a better life for themselves and their six-year-old son. Jende lands a job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards who works as a senior executive at Lehman Brothers a big corporation. Through this job, he is able to support his family.  Throughout the book Jende Mr. Clark's driver meets a lot of people surrounding Mr. Clark including his secretary who when Jende has a conversation with for the first time has a misunderstanding because he doesn’t know much about American culture “This person, Enron … I don’t know who he was.” Leah burst out laughing. She laughed so hard Jende feared she was going to choke on her smoke. “Oh, Honey!.” she said, still laughing. “You really just came to this country, huh?”(Mbue 50) This quote shows that because Jende didn’t know much about the culture of America instead of trying to teach him about it she made him the butt of the joke to make fun of him for just coming into the country. This happens quite a bit more throughout the book as he talks more with Mr. Clark and Vince he doesn't understand American culture fully because he just moved to this country and they don’t attempt to teach him about it. Causing further misunderstandings.

In Out of Nowhere, Maria Padian tells the story of Tom Bouchard, a high school senior living in a small town in Maine. Tom’s life is relatively quiet and revolves around playing soccer for his school team. However, this changes with the arrival of several Somali refugees, particularly one named Saeed. Tom becomes curious about him, and he admires his soccer skills. Although Saeed doesn't speak much English, Tom, as captain of the team, offers to help him. Over time, they become close friends. However, things take a turn when Tom and his friend Donnie are caught sneaking into another high school to paint over their rival's rock. Tom is sentenced to 100 hours of community service and must repaint the rock. Meanwhile, as more immigrant groups arrive at school, communication becomes difficult due to language barriers. This leads to segregation based on culture, religion, and language.

Tom is walking through the halls of his school when he sees a black kid sitting on the floor: "There he was, a random kid sitting on the floor" (Padian 43). He is totally lost, with no clue what to do or where to go, and he barely speaks English. Also, he doesn't know anyone: "Everyone - black, white - just ignored him" (Padian 42). Tom waits for the halls to clear out, then tries to talk to him and walks him to guidance.

In the book Immigrant Odyssey: A French-Canadian Habitant in New England by Félix Albert, Albert and his family, who do not speak English and are illiterate, move from Québec to Lowell Massachusetts in hopes of better fortune. In May of 1894, after Albert had somewhat established himself as a businessman in Lowell, a depression hit and everybody was suffering. During this time, a creditor from whom he had borrowed a lot of money threatened to foreclose his mortgage if he didn't pay him immediately. After some negotiation, they agreed that if he paid off an interest payment by June, he would give them another year. Feeling thankful, Albert pays him immediately on the spot. Unfortunately, this man was not honest with Albert. Albert writes, "It had occurred to me to ask for a written agreement to extend the payment date, but I decided to take his word. This was a mistake because a few days later he came to my house with a lawyer and announced that he had decided to foreclose his mortgage." (Albert 83). Since it was the middle of a depression, Albert could not borrow money anywhere. He had to sell out by selling a few of his stores at a loss of $10,500, when the buildings had cost him $16,500. He was losing them for a $6,000 mortgage. Many deals fell through, and creditors pawned and auctioned his possessions. He was able to find a little luck and settle on a run-down farm, back on the lower rungs of the ladder.