In the Land of the Free Essay

In the Land of the Free Since the first wave of Chinese immigration to the United States in 1850s, the Chinese experienced discrimination and often overt racism. According to Holland, during 1870s, a large number of Chinese laborers flooded into American job market after the completion of transcontinental railroads. Since the Chinese laborers were willing to work for lower wages, they took jobs away from white workers which caused negative feeling toward Chinese. At the same time, the economic downturn and the increasing unemployment rate led to more heightened outcries against Chinese immigrants. Eventually, the United States government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, a law that restricted the number of Chinese entering into America. (Holland 2007) Sui Sin Far, the first fiction writer of Asian descent, wrote an impressive story called â€Å"In the Land of the Free†, which portraits the harsh treatment a Chinese immigrant couple faced and the tremendous pain they suffered due to racism and discrimination upon entering the United States in the late 1800s. The story unfolded with a loving, caring and self-sacrificed Chinese young woman named Lae Choo, who was so excited about the reunion with her husband, Hom Hing, a legal Chinese merchant in the United States. Traced back to three years before, when Hom Hing learned his wife was pregnant, he decided to send Lae Choo back to their native country, China, so they would have their first baby, the little one, born there. They had been separated for three years since then, and this was the first time the little one would see his father. But misfortune fell upon this couple–upon entering the land of America, the little one was denied the entry to the U. S. The reason was that the little one was born in China and there was no paperwork to verify he was born to Lae Choo and Hom Hing. The little one was taken away by the US custom officers. The winter had passed, but the couple still couldn’t get their baby back. Lae Choo got into a depression, going to the point of starving herself. At the end, she had to pay a lawyer with her entire life saving except one ring, a gift from Hom Hing for her pregnancy, to get her baby back from the mission. But the ending was heartbreaking that the little one couldn’t recognize his mother after nine month separation. â€Å"In the Land of the Free†, with it darkly ironic title, gives readers deep insights into the Chinese immigrants’ experience in America in late 1800s. The United States is a country with reputation for liberty, and Government is supposed to help promote and protect human rights. But throughout the story, readers only see the fact that rigid Government policy infringed upon the couple and the baby’s human rights. Hong Hing couple had never expected that their basic human rights– the rights of parents to be with their children was deprived as soon as the wife and the baby arrived this country. In the story, the nine month of forcible separation between Hong Hing couple and their son shows the complete absence of compassion in the American government. During the nine month, the government didn’t make any progress except for keeping sending 16 same letters to Hong Hing couple. And without the lawyer’s interference, it might take years for Hong Hing couple to get their baby back. The government’s total indifference to the spilt of an immigrant family was inhuman and cruel. In the story the author also demonstrates the human costs of U. S. Government’s discriminatory policy. Lae Choo, a caring, loving and self-sacrificed Chinese young woman, couldn’t bear the pain of the separation from her son, almost starving herself to death. The words she said â€Å"how could I close my eyes with my arms empty† (P 151) express the pain which Chinese immigrants underwent in the United States. For many Chinese immigrants like Hong Hing couple, there might have been economic opportunity in America, but the discrimination they faced made life phenomenally challenging. Besides Chinese Exclusion Act, during the late 1800s, federal, state and local government enacted a series of other discriminatory law, such as Sidewalk Ordinance, Cubic Air Ordinance, and Queue Ordinance, etc, which specifically targeted Chinese immigrants. (cr. nps. gov, 2004) Hong Hing family just represents the thousands of victims of discriminatory laws. In addition, Lae Choo spend all of her money on legal action pleading with the â€Å"Great Government at Washington† to return her son. When the little one was finally returned, the family became impoverished. The experience taught the couple that the reality of life in America was brutal. Government policy could bring an immigrant family to a ruin. In the story, the author also describes the other form of discrimination the couple faced while living in the United States. As new immigrants, Hong Hing couple lacked the ability to speak fluent English and write appropriate letters to solve the problem they faced. Since they were new to the country, they didn’t know how to advocate for themselves through the right channel. Relying on a white lawyer was their only hope to get the little one back as soon as possible. The lawyer was supposed to be there to help them; unfortunately he was trying to take advantage of them. The sentences â€Å"The young man eyed the Chinese merchant furtively,† (P152) and â€Å"He had a proposition to make and was pondering whether or not the time was opportune,†(P 152) tells readers the lawyer was thinking about cheating and exploiting them. He could have helped the family reunion early, but he didn’t do that until the couple were willing pay him at a very high price. The lawyer didn’t care about their problem and was only thinking about his idea to get money as much as possible. Instead of making money and becoming successful in the land of opportunity, the couple lost all of their money to him. In the Land of the Free is a strong and powerful work that takes readers into the painful life of a Chinese immigrant family of the time. The story helps readers truly understand the hardships Ch