The scene we have decided to depict from the novel Americanah is Chapter 30, when Obinze was getting arrested by immigration officers in England prior to completing his secret contract for permanent residency through marriage with Cleotide. This scene is not unusual in real life. While there are many possible processes for acquiring permanent residency, one of the options is through what is commonly known as a “Green Card Marriage.” The scene highlights Obinze’s situation and resorting to marriage just to stay legally in the United Kingdom. In a dialogue between the policemen and Obinze, Obinze was being asked his legality (Adichie 344):
“Were you aware that your visa had expired?”
“Yes,” Obinze said.
“Were you about to have a sham marriage?”
This scene is important because it emphasizes people’s unwavering desire to live in foreign countries for a better life, while also portraying the struggles they face in pursuit of acquiring it. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. citizens are able to petition their foreign national fiancé for a K-1 nonimmigrant visa to travel and apply for permanent residency (USCIS). This is similar to Obinze’s situation because he is marrying Cleotide to obtain his permanent resident status in the U.K. Applying for permanent residency in the U.K. is somewhat similar from the U.S. in that migrants are eligible to apply for permanent residency if they have a spouse that is a citizen of the United Kingdom or part of the European Economic Area. Obinze was trying to acquire his legal residency through this process with Cleotide, however, he was arrested and placed in a detention center moments before they were married.
We decided to use StoryboardTHAT as the medium to portray the scene because the audience are able to visually see the process that took place before his marriage, his arrest, and the detention center Obinze was placed at before his deportation. Using a storyboard to showcase the marriage and arrest would have a greater impact on the audience as opposed to if they were to read it because they aren’t afforded the same visual queues as a storyboard. The website allows us to use visual, linguistic, and gestural modes which will have a profound effect on the audience as opposed to other formats.
I’m mainly Peruvian but there wasn’t much on it so I looked up my other half which was El Salvador. El Salvador has the largest migration of mainly unaccompanied youths. Most people leave El Salvador because of the war or because of gangs. El Salvador has the greatest number of gang members and the highest homicide rates. Immigration into the United States from El Salvador started around 1980 because of the war. My family from El Salvador came in the 90s because of the war. My father’s father died in the war so they fled to the United States. Their push factor is the gangs violence since they take over most of the country so many people feel unsafe to stay in their home country. The size of gangs continue to grow due to deportation. “Police corruption and misconduct are also part of the problem because police maltreatment of citizens amplifies distrust of law enforcement due to corruption among some officers” (Roth 2018). Most gangs recruitments occur in prison which puts fear in the Salvadorians and make them want to flee to the United States.
In the Fox News Article, What Trump’s ‘zero-tolerance’ immigration policy means for children separated from families at border, it opposes the idea of immigration and detention centers mainly with children. It mentions that children don’t have it harsh like other refugees and immigrants have. According to DHS, “the child can be placed in the care of a relative already in the U.S.; however, a minor can also be put into foster care or a temporary detention center.” I feel this is a good chance for a children because they get the chance rather than be detained for so long. They mention that minors can only be detained for 20 days and transported to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). DHS help minors by giving them medical attention and mental health attention as well as educational programs. I find that it’s nice they give children a chance to be able to reunite with their families within the United States. It’s difficult to be separated from your immediate family but at least the children would be safe and getting all the attention they need rather than being detained in the harsh conditions of the detention centers. I think this is a better outlook of immigrants and refugees coming into the United States because they emphasize DHS and HHS to help the minors. Although, it’s still difficult because you know parents or adults are being separated and are detained longer and don’t get the opportunities that minors get.
Schallhorn, Kaitlyn. “What Trump’s ‘Zero-Tolerance’ Immigration Policy Means for Children Separated from Families at Border.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 2018, www.foxnews.com/politics/what-trumps-zero-tolerance-immigration-policy-means-for-children-separated-from-families-at-border.
My article was posted from the Baltimore Sun in March and was a very heartbreaking article to read because I know many of these cases. However, the article mentions a new policy that sends asylum seekers waiting for responses from San Diego to Tijuana, Mexico after six weeks. The U.S. border patrol agents are targeting “people who speak Spanish and come from Latin America…” (Spagat). I find this bizarre and unfair to spanish speaking people because they are targeting them and not someone who speaks any other language. This is unfair to them because Tijuana is nowhere safer than the U.S. Juan Carlos Perla left El Salvador for the main reason many Salvadorians leave, gang related threats. Mr. Perla was threatened by the 18thstreet gang who are dangerous but as dangerous as others however, being beaten up for missing a payment is very scary then being threatened to be killed if you miss the next payment is even scarier. In the Tijuana holding areas, the men say it’s “inhumane” since it’s cramped, bright lights and cold. There are no available legal services unless they can find someone who can practice law in Mexico. The heartbreaking line was the last one with Mr. Perla saying, “My case is a lost cause.” Many immigrant and refugees feel this way because they know the system will not help them and they have so much to lose. You will not meet an immigrant who doesn’t feel safe every day because you know never know what will happen which is disappointing to know how these situations are handled. This was a negative experience for these people going through the system.
References
Spagat, Elliot. “Asylum Seeker Abandons US Plans in Face of New Policy.” Baltimoresun.com, Baltimore Sun, 22 Mar. 2019,
In chapter 23 of Americanah, Obinze makes a deal with these Angolans to set up a green card marriage with a girl named Cleotilde. She was a UK citizen and Obinze’s visa just expired. He decides to marry a stranger to be able to gain UK citizenship. If an immigrant marries a citizen of that country then they are able to obtain citizenship for that country. Obinze goes to the London building to register for a marriage license and woman walks by saying, “Look how crowded this place is. It’s all sham marriages, all of them…” (Adichie 286). This worried Obinze because what he was doing was a scam to get his citizenship and what the woman was saying was true.
I chose this section because it is so interesting how this is very common everywhere. But, Obinze’s case was unfortunate in the end and does happen to other immigrants. There are many options to obtain a green card and I find it crazy how many people cheat the system to be able to obtain green card status. Many immigrants who have American children can sponsor their parents but that’s a long process waiting for the child to turn 21. So, it does make sense for many to go for marriage since it’s a quicker process.
Do you think marriage to obtain citizenship should be allowed? Do you think there should be certain limitations or checks for marriages?
“Chapter 23.” Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie et al., Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, 2017, pp. 281–291.
Carlos Hernandez came to our class on Wednesday and spoke about his experiences as a writer and first generation immigrant. He is an amazing speaker and writer! When he spoke to us, he sounded like us and didn’t think of himself as superior. He’s a very successful man and explained what it’s like. Someone asked him how he gets into his mind space to write and he said that he doesn’t stay in one place which I thought was interesting. Since he lives in New York, you travel in the subway so I didn’t know that people write on their phones. That’s so cool! I thought he would be a writer who writes pen to paper but he’s a digital writer. I think it’s amazing how he was open to explaining his work. I think he’s very inspiring based on all his work he has done especially to work with Disney! I feel the thing I could take away and learn from him is that it’s okay to fail at first. So, it’s fine to fail or not be good at things but you will learn and you will improve and always take criticism. It’s good to hear other’s opinions and know that you’re not perfect.
For this grant, it was hard to decide what I wanted to do. But, AWE focuses on women and children which is amazing and I wanted to focus on the children because these children don’t know this area or country. But, what’s cool is that this idea works for adults as well! I feel that if we set up a Little Free Library at their location, they’ll have something to enjoy. Education and reading is important to advocate for them so this is perfect for them to have. Growing up you know you had your favorite book that you always wanted mom or dad to read, so, yes a book can be your best friend! I want to give them that option with books that you donate in the library and take one with you. I think it would be a great idea for them because it’s difficult sometimes to get to library and obviously expensive to buy books so this is an opportunity for them to have it at the step of their door. This project is affordable! We can purchase a “Free Little Library” through the website which ranges from $150-$1,000. I feel if we choose one that’s a larger built library with a post and could be around the price of $500-$700, then we could use the rest of the money to buy books to start the library! What’s great about this idea is that it’ll be there for years to come and will be a functional and interactive activity.
The entrepreneurship career panel consisted of 6 main panelists from a variety of backgrounds and industries who included, John Dinkel of Dinkel Business Development LLC, Chris Daley of Whirlaway LLC, Andrew Murphy of Flying Frog Publishing, Elizabeth Trimm of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Andy Brown of Eat Pizza, and Garrett Pfeifer of Maryland Brand Management. I feel they all gave great advice. Each of them shared their own stories about their businesses and reflected on their outcomes. They all shared similar experiences or wisdom of speaking to multiple entrepreneurs and building relationships with other to have those connections and mentors close by. All the panelists highlighted the idea that to run a good business, you need to hustle! I feel that is the strongest thing you can take from the event because you need to be sure about why you are doing what you are doing. Andy Brown mentioned something that I thought was important which was not letting anyone get in your way and to be ready to work hard because if you believe in yourself then you should do it while not worrying what others think about you. That represents a strong and independent person who knows what they want, and I feel that was inspiring. They all mentioned that it was difficult in the beginning and hard to get their name out there so that was nice to hear how they persevered and made their businesses successful.
I feel that their advice about entrepreneurship can relate to this course. School is difficult just like a business and you need to learn to balance out your life with that focus. Just like this course, it may get difficult at times but if you push through you can become a successful student in this course it’s all about hustling. I want to become a nurse then eventually become a nurse practitioner but that can be accomplished by hustling. Many say you will never make it or you can’t do it but like Andy Brown said, if I believe in myself then I shouldn’t worry about others and just go for it. I think this is the advice I will take dearly because it’s hard to go on sometimes since others like to push your ideas down. I think this event was very helpful and insightful.
The rhetorical analysis is everywhere andis a method of describing the context in which an author wants to communicate their purpose or call for action to the intended audience in a genre (Arola, Sheppard, Ball 22). We use it to analyze text that you read or media you listen to or watch. According to Writer/Designer, “the five areas to address -audience, purpose, context, author, and genre…” I analyzed the website catholiccharities-md.orgthat provides a strong sense of audience, purpose, context, author, and genre by using organization and persuasion to help their users learn more information about their organization.
AUDIENCE
Theaudience, according to Writer/ Designer “is the intended readership for a text.”The Esperanza Center is a non-profit organization who’s intended audience would be people who want to donate to this organization since they have that option on their main page. The author tries to get the intended audience’s attention by using the donate button and explaining their mission. I believe the secondary audience are religious members (Catholic) because they want to help their Catholic community or political advocates. The Catholic people are drawn in mainly because it’s an organization created by the Catholic Church. They provide more information about the catholic charity under “our History” tab. There is also a page for users to go to that says “Advocate” to show the user their intended purpose for this organization. I feel they achieved this area because looking at their mission and stories about how they’ve impacted the community draws a bigger picture that they are determined to help their community and I would want to donate since it’s easy to get to that donate button and everything is right there on the landing page (home page).
screenshot of Catholic Charities homepagescreenshot of Catholic Charities homepage
PURPOSE
Purpose is the overall intention of the author in their text (Arola, Sheppard, Ball 22). Esperanza Center of Baltimore’spurpose is to help serve the families within Baltimore and to who help like the “people living in poverty, individuals with intellectual disabilities, immigrants and seniors.” Their mission is noticed on their homepage which allows users to understand their mission which brings the community together to help those in need within the Baltimore area. They add how many people are involved in this process to thank them which sounds genuine. I think they did good in serving the purpose of trying to get people to donate and pushing their mission statement with testimonies on the website. The idea is to get new people to donate and with their testimonies and commitments show new people they are a dedicated organization built on helping the Baltimore community.
screenshot of Catholic Charities impact page
CONTEXT
Based on Writer/ Designer, thecontext is the what, where, and how of the source. Inthis source, you would it online since it’s a website which allows users to be interactive between the pages rather than a magazine. I feel the author chose to use a website to be able to reach everyone on the online community and spread the word rather than our own community. Where can they see this? They can read and look at content while sitting at a desk on their computer or on the go using their phones or tablets. This source would be found under non-profit or religious websites that surrounds the idea to help others in the Baltimore, Maryland. I think this was good because the author needs to think ahead of our time and do things that would be used later on. The use of flyers and advertisements are great but to be able to reach the greater mass, the use of the internet is the ideal way to go. The author achieved that by creating the website for public consumption. Below, you can see there is the mobile device version and desktop version which shows that they are both accessible not matter which medium you decide to view it on. That helps the user because they can access it anywhere and there are multiple ways to view it.
screenshot of Catholic Charities homepage on mobile device
screenshot of Catholic Charities homepage on desktop
AUTHOR
To find out who the author is of the Esperanza Center was a little difficult to know whether he is behind this whole website. The believe the intended authoris William J. McCarthy Jr. who is the executive director of the Esperanza Center. You can locate a picture of him and the organization’s contact information on the “about us” page. The addition of a letter format on the “about us” page signed by Mr. McCarthy adds a personal and authentic touch to the site. Mr. McCarthy also has more information about him on one of the links below his letter and also has a blog where he posts many things as to their mission and what the catholic church does to help others. However, I cannot tell if he is a credible source since he is the executive director, he does have a bias towards his organization. Since, they are trying to reach out to their audience to get more attraction, it’s safe to say that bias would be a great choice to make an organization better than it probably is. The purpose for the Esperanza Center is to get the attention of the primary and secondary audience which they succeeded in with the number of donators and contributors they have within their organization.
screenshot of Catholic Charities about us page
GENRE
The genre “helps us recognize how to group similar texts and understand their communicative purpose” (Arola, Sheppard, Ball 22). The Esperanza Center is projected as a non-profit and religious genre. Based on the business dictionary website, non-profit organizations are “association, charities, cooperatives, and other voluntary organizations formed to further cultural, educational, religious, professional, or public service objectives.” I feel that this was accomplished because the website follows what other non-profit organizations use as their template for their websites.
screenshot of Stevenson University homepage
As you can see, Stevenson University is also a non-profit organization that has a similar format the Esperanza Center Website. They both have their logos in the upper left-hand corner and search button on the upper left corner. The pages to find more information are located in the middle and has a pretty consistent color scheme going on for each website. Below you can see the similarities on the Esperanza Center website.
screenshot of Catholic Charities homepage
This source uses multiple modes used to grasp the attention of their readers which was were linguistic, visual, spatial and gestural.
screenshot of Catholic Charities volunteer page
The linguistic mode explains the author’s thoughts in written text but is helped by visual mode to represent what the organization does. For example, on their volunteer page, users will find information on ways you can volunteer at their facility then shows a photo of volunteers helping serve food.
screenshot of Catholic Charities events page
The spatial mode serves as a visual alignment where the user can focus on the information needed in a organized way that makes it interesting. For example, in the events page, there are small calendars on the right hand side that for a overall visual of the month but on the left there are specific dates for the user to focus on which makes it interesting.
The Gestural Modeserves as an interactive tool on a website. This is represented through clicking of links or through a gallery. For example, on the website the user is able to click on different pages or on different posts to get more information or is able to donate using the donate button. By swiping up and down is also an example of gestural since the user has to move the page up and down by touching the screen.
CONCLUSION
This source has everything a religious, non-profit would have based on their colors and layout of the website. It is easily noticed who they are trying to reach and what their purpose is. The use of visuals and linguistics allows the user to grasp a better understanding of what they are trying to accomplish. After analyzing the Esperanza Center, I feel the author executed their strong sense of author, purpose, context, author, and genre by using organization and persuasion to help their users learn more information about their organization. I would say that they should add more colors to help brighten their landing page since it seems light. Another suggestion would be to add testimonies on the landing page instead of news so that the new people on the website can see what their organization has done. I feel those testimonies could be more from donators and volunteers since they are the ones persuading others to join this organization and support the Esperanza Center.
REFERENCES
Arola, Kristin L., et al. Writer-Designer: a Guide to Making Multimodal Projects. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014.
“What is a Non Profit Organization (NPO)? Definition and Meaning.” BusinessDictionary.com, www.businessdictionary.com/definition/non-profit-organization-NPO.html.
