Essay on Unfulfilled Dreams for Immigrants

Introduction

It is common for people from some parts of the world to move into developed countries as they seek for greener pastures. This is in the form of good jobs and a decent education. In the case of "Under and Over," a life story of a Pakistani girl is used to define challenges faced by immigrants. By using the context of culture and the association with the foreign society, the author appeals to the reader to empathize with immigrants. In this case, the title is about the sari to elaborate what an Asian immigrant wears beneath and on top of it. There are two meanings in this case because the clothes also signify the confidence and ambitions of the immigrant girl. The poem is simply a narration of unfulfilled dreams, pressure from the family, and moving on to run away from failures.

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Foreign students often have great ambitions on how they want their life to turn out while in college and after that. The author, Shailja describes her failed ambitions and heartbreak as she was unable to maximize her potential with education. Studying in the UK was a challenge for her especially due to the lack of adequate finances. She had to work on the lowest paying jobs to make ends meet, and occasionally, she would meet her sister to catch up and encourage each other. To get fifty pounds, she was required to wash dishes for twenty-five hours (Patel, 40). This is why it was a big sacrifice by Shruti to buy her sister a scarlet worth fifty pounds. The case of unfulfilled dreams is showcased by the fact that the author was unable to find a job in London. With her studies breathing down her neck, she was also overwhelmed and ended up failing her finals. In the end, she did not finish college and moved to the US in search of another dream. By this time, her hopes were much lower than before her twenty-first birthday.

Their family usually gives immigrants, especially from Asia unnecessary pressure. The family is important, but at times, they put all hopes in one person and expect too much. The author states that such pressure results in lies to the loved ones on successes yet in a real sense, there is none. The thought of disappointing family members is unbearable, and there is a tendency to do everything humanly possible even at the expense of one's happiness. She acknowledges that the immigrants carry the hopes and aspirations of their people and work hard to manifest them. The pride does not allow acceptance of failure. On the other hand, the family also serves as motivation. For instance, Shailja values the scarlet bought by her sister. She wears it for all job interviews and even strokes the wool whenever she felt lonely and terrified (Patel, 40). The fact that Shukri had sacrificed fifty pounds created a debt in the mind of Shailja, and hence, she did everything knowing that she was not supposed to disappoint her sister. It reaches a point that she does not even consider her needs first.

The symbolism born by "Under and over" is significant. By under, Shailja refers to the skin and by extension, the woman herself. The sari covers the beliefs of the immigrant and instead manifests the culture of her people. The fact that she wore her coat on top of every sari even if they did not match denotes that she was burdened by family. As she went to America after losing her job permit when she failed her exams, Shailja is advised to use family as protection (Patel, 41). In a real sense, she had been naked. As much as she was clothed and every part of her skin covered, she was exposed and felt like she was no longer existing independently. It was her culture which had superseded her personality. Over her saris, she wore her sisters, and this was not helpful but rather, stressful.

Conclusion

Challenges faced by immigrants arise from the fact that they are different from the natives. For instance, Shailja and Shukri attracted discrimination from a waiter. People looked at them as if they did not deserve to be in their country. Finding a job was difficult an on campus, they were entitled to the lowest paying just because, legally, immigrants were not allowed to earn a lot of money (Patel, 39). The bigger challenge, however, is that immigrants tend to bite more than they can chew. As much as they have been given an opportunity to make their lives better, the expectations are too much and usually end in disappointment. Under the sari, the skin defines unblemished and unrealistic perfectionism. This is not achievable. Not even for the UK citizens and hence, it would be much harder for a Pakistani immigrant. By lying to the relatives and loved ones, the author just puts herself in deeper waters. Acknowledging failure should be an option because it is from such occurrences that human beings learn. Over the sari, there is torture from the family who push the immigrants to achieve what they want. The final result is unfulfilled dreams, pressure from the family, and moving on to run away from failures.

References

Patel, Shailja. "Chapter 8. Under and Over" MIGRITUDE, Kaya Press, 2010, pp. 39-41.