Historical Approach in Analyzing Poetry

1. How do the poems relate to and describe the history and life of Chinese
Immigrant in America?
- The writer of the poem shows that the poem is related to the history and life of
Chinese immigrants in America. It can be proven by reading the poem that the
sentence used by the writer is describing a Chinese Immigrant. To take an example
we can see in the poem 2 line 1 up to 2 “At home I was in poverty, Constantly
worried about firewood and rice.” These lines can describe the history of Chinese
Immigrants. According to the article Chinese American Authors and Their Depiction
of Immigrant Life in the US points out that the immigration was caused by political
and also by economic reasons, when thousands of Chinese decided to leave their
home country and find home somewhere else. Another example of the relation
between the poem and the history and life of Chinese is also in poem 2 line 3 up to 5
“I borrowed money, To come to Gold Mountain. Immigration officers cross-examined
me.” These lines describes the history of Chinese people who heard about the Gold
Rush in California and the immigration burst out as a consequence. This was a chance
for poor people to temporarily leave their country, gain wealth, support their families
in China and then come back with more money to live in better conditions. These two
examples can prove that the poem is related to the Chinese Immigrant.

2. What kind of bad treatment did the Chinese Immigrant receive in the USA as
depicted in the poem and described in the real life in the USA.
- In poem 2 the writer tells that the Chinese had a bad treatment in the USA. This can
be proven by reading the poem 2 line 7 up to 13 “Deported to this island, Like a
convicted criminal. Here— Mournful sighs fill the gloomy room. A nation weak; her
people often humiliated Like animals, tortured and destroyed at others’ whim” These
sentence means that Chinese in USA is treated like criminal indeed humiliated like
animal. USA people also treat Chinese by torture them and destroyed them. This bad
treatment that Chinese receive in the USA is also proven in poem 4. Poem 4 line 1 up
to line 3 “A transient living beneath a stranger’s fence. Cruelties increase day by
day. Though innocent, I am arrested and thrown in jail” These sentences also support
the point of Chinese being treated badly in the USA. They were treated cruelly and
even though they are innocent, they still can be admitted as a criminal. According to
 the article, the history of Chinese immigrants in the USA explains that one of the
reasons why Americans treat Chinese badly is that American society did not want to
accept Chinese immigrants; they saw threats in several ways. The American people
were afraid about their own culture which could be in danger.

Name: Cinta Rahma Hasari

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