How does Immigration affect a person’s development?

Many people that make up the United States have migrated here from other countries. This shows us how diverse our country is and with this diversity comes a lot of cultural problems. Some people struggle to maintain their true self while trying to fit in to their new countries societal norms. Others may have identity crises from migrating such as Anon in the play Anon(ymous). Anon is a perfect example of how kids and families are affected by immigration and how hard it is to adjust. Due to these effects, immigration has a huge effect on a person’s development whether its positive or negative.

Immigration nowadays is either seen as illegal Mexicans coming to the United States and doing “bad” stuff or refugees escaping Syria or Iraq. This mentality has to be abolished because immigration is something many people do and it’s not just one certain group. These stereotypes really affect the people that are migrating. The immigrants might feel alienated and worthless which can really set them back. Without that support that they need, they may tend to lose hope and choose a wrong path. Some people may be resilient to these obstacles that they now face and be motivated to do so much more with their life’s, but the risk factors are so big that many immigrants are forced to live their life’s in fear instead.

With this fear that the immigrants have to life with, comes their social life. Many kids also migrate here, not just grown-ups which is another idea people need to clarify. Some kids are sent alone by their parents because their families want them to escape poverty and get a better life which isn’t guaranteed but they’re willing to take the risk. According to an article by UNICEF, “Independent migrant children are significantly affected by the absence of protection and support from their families, and by the challenges of their new situations after migration.” This quote is crucial to understand because these kids are not only losing everything they’re used too but they are also left to face a new world all on their own. It’s almost unimaginable to think that a eighteen-year-old or younger can be sent to another country to help their family and themselves, however, this is happening. Not all kids come alone but they all face similar things, discrimination, identity crises and some may even experience PTSD.

Kids who came with their families may be given an education compared to the kids that come alone. Although they get to go to school it may not all be as perfect as people think. The kids can experience bullying because of their nationality, they may have to learn the language of the new country and this can set the kid behind academically. Some kids may be put in special education classrooms because of things such as language. The kid may also be traumatized that they are also put in those classrooms, they may not want to speak or socialize. They also are trying very hard to fit in and as a child that’s developing everything can be so confusing. Another effect kids may face is not having that much reinforcement from their parents due to the language barrier and fear. Some families are made of many different legal statuses’ which is known as “mixed status families” according to Luis H. Zayas and Mollie H. Bradlee. This doesn’t mean that the kids don’t have motivation from their families, support can be given regardless of the language. What does affect the kid is not having their parents as involved in their academic life as native parents may be to their kids. If the parent is illegal they could be fearful of being caught and separated so they decide to stay inside there are of comfort.  It is clear to see that kids with undocumented parents have more struggles compared to kids whose parents are from the country.

In the play Anon(ymous) we can see many things that were mentioned previously. Not only did Anon lose his mother during their immigration journey but he fits in with the group of kids that end up alone. Anon has to face the world alone and due to his traumatic past, he doesn’t know who he is or if he’s even worth something. Anon is bullied by people in power which can be a factor of his low self-esteem. Nowhere in the play did Anon go to school, he was too busy trying to survive and figure out what he should do next and where his family went. All these struggles can be relatable to kids that have experienced immigration.

Due to my research I was able to dig deeper into Anon(ymous). Reading it isn’t enough to understand the play. After many discussions and research, we are able to see the underlying factors of the play. Immigration is just one tiny topic next to the many the play touches upon. Immigration is a crucial part in the play and in Anons life. Anon struggles throughout the play because of all the negative things that come with immigration. Many people are on the same boat as Anon; each with a different story but they all have one thing in common: hope.

Works Cited:

Luis H. Zayas and Mollie H. Bradlee, Illegal Immigration

UNICEF, ” Migration and Children”,

 

Questions:

1. Is my thesis clear and arguable?
2. Is the connection between Anon(ymous) and my research clear?
3. Does the paper flow?
4. Are there parts I should take out or expand on?

Sanjida Ridhe

Professor Jay Polish

First draft

May 1st, 2018

Was memory loss the most effect way to cope with trauma?

Memory loss is a tricky and frustrating situation which is caused by multiple factors. There are many specific cases where trauma is the reason behind your memory loss. According to research physical and emotional trauma can directly affect your memory. Sometimes the memory loss may be temporary but there are cases where it can become permanent regarding the type of trauma you went through such as a possible severe brain injury or psychological trauma. Luckily our character Nemasani, mother for “Anon”, her memory was not permanently impacted. Although she did use memory loss and forgetting her son and repeatedly telling herself and others that her son was dead to copy with losing him.

Anonymous is a thrilling and intense play written by Naomi Iizuka that tells the heartbreaking story of the separation between a mother and her son during the midst of horrible war occuring in the background. This play starts of anon telling his story and his journey to finding and reuniting with his mom only to realize that she has forgotten him and is in denial when he is pushing the truth on her which is that he was never dead only lost. The play does go back and forth between Anon’s life and Nemasani’s and her story is everything that happened to her after her dear son was “killed in the storm”. Nemasani is working in a sweatshop, always being bothered by her boss who has no boundaries and each time she is asked about her son, she repeatedly says he’s dead. This play is definitely one for the feels and the harshness of this story becomes obvious when Anon soon does find his mother and it’s heartbreaking where she refuses to believe he is who he says he is. She constantly told herself and others that she no longer had a son. She started to believe the truth. Her true recollection of the facts refused to kick in even after Anon constantly told her what she is saying is true.

What Nemasani has done here is a clear fact of her decision to cope with trauma with Denial. Denial is in fact a psychological defense. It is one of the many reactions to trauma. Denial can involve denying or rejecting the traumatic event happened, refusing or denying that it was traumatic and pretending to feel an emotion of certainness when you aren’t. It is said that “If you’re in denial, you’re trying to protect yourself by refusing to accept the truth about something that’s happening in your life”. (mayoclinic.org, lines 1-2). According to an article written by Mayo Clinic discussing denial and its effects, some symptoms of denial are (you) “won’t acknowledge a difficult situation, try not to face the facts of a problem, and downplay possible consequences of the issue”. On page 50, during the scene where Nemasani and Anon look at each other for the first time after Anon says in broken lines which in a full sentence would be “What if I told you…what If somehow…But what if- you have a son?” Nemasani is refusing to let him say what she is scared he might say. She replies with lines such as  “No. Don’t say it..please don’t”. And when Anon says “What if?” Nemani replies with “ I don’t believe in “what if”. “What if” will break your heart. After she hears that he says she has a son she immediately says “My son died. He died a long time ago. He was just a little boy and he died”. Anon is begging for her to listen and she apologizes and just simply says that she can’t. This is an example of how Nemasani fits 2 of the symptoms described above. She isn’t trying to acknowledge the truth of a difficult situation that she is speaking to the son that she thought she had lost. She also isn’t trying to face the facts of the problem. She only assumed he was dead. She never really found his body or reported what had happened to him. She was only left with having to cope with her loss and to starting a new life without him.

Nemasani dealt with trauma one way and Anon dealt with it another which was memory loss. Throughout the story, he does seem to be repeating the story of him and his mom multiple times but there are still some hazy facts here and there. He isn’t sure of most things but one thing he is of course sure of is that once he woke up from the wrath of the terrible storm and was taken in by an American family is that he knows this isn’t his real home. He also changes his name multiple times throughout the story going from “Anon, to nobody, to koori..etc”. One of his names was even “Monkey”. That’s cause to smirk! He doesn’t ever give his actual name. There was an important scene during this play that I’d like to focus on. He had trouble getting recollection of his memory but after talking to this girl Naja she helps him remember. On page 24, Naja is repeatedly asking “what do you remember?” When anon says “I don’t know where to begin. I dont know how. I dont know how to begin”. Naja replies with “Begin in the middle, on the border, on the crossing. Begin in the place in between”. Naja is trying to help him gather his thoughts and it works. He soon starts to remember his mother and how she used to hold him as a baby. Nemasani and Anon both had memory loss but in the sense where they pushed the trauma to the back of their mind and as for Anon his perseverance in finding his mother is what was helping him get through this and remember. According to research, “Memory loss is a natural survival skill and defense mechanism humans develop to protect themselves from psychological damage”. (casapalmera.com) It is also said that “A person will often suppress memories of a traumatic event until they are ready to handle them, which may never occur”. Nemasani clearly has done this to get through the loss of her son.

1. Is my thesis good?

2. Am i using my research correctly and providing enough in my essay?

3. is the idea relevant enough or should i focus on another question?

4. do you have any recommendations on how i can connect my research to the story?

5. how is my format for the essay, is it all over the place or is topic placement correct

The different causes of migration by refugees, undocumented migrants and any vulnerable demographic.

Different methods of migration and their risks

Traumas experienced during migration

Structure of support upon arrival

The migration process and its consequences as portrayed in Anon(ymous)

Is it accurate? Does it define Anon? Why?

Does deterrence work as a strategy and does the US have a responsibility to the migrants and refugees before they arrive in the US? (Thesis here: it does not, and yes, the US has a responsibility to refugees and undocumented migrants).

Jaylin Pinguil           

Does Anon from the play Anon(ymous) suffer from dissociative amnesia resulting from his experience with war?

    War is an element that greatly affects individuals both physically and mentally. People who are often caught in the middle of war often face trauma as loved ones are lost in the crossfire, or families are separated as they try to escape looking for a safer home. In Anonymous we see how Anon is greatly affected by war especially after being separated from his mother. He copes by constantly referring to himself as someone else or as no one stating “ I changed my name, I became Anonymous, my name is Anonymous.” Part of his coping mechanisms refers to him becoming forgetful or repressing past memories. As they often stem from torment and experiences of the war. How he hears bombs dropping, smells the sweet and spicy odor of death or seeing bombs planted like flowers in the ground. Often leading him to block out information often as a result of these stressful or traumatic events.

Cited sources-

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2013.

Effect of War Upon the Minds of Children
Bert I. Beverly
Am J Public Health Nations Health. 1943 Jul; 33(7): 793–798.

1. Does my research question make sense?
2. Is my question to lengthy? Show I cut it down?
3. As I continue writing should I dedicate a paragraph where I only talk about and explain what dissociative amnesia is? Should it include Anon’s mother?
4. As this is the first paragraph is my research question and examples straightforward?
5. Is the idea interesting?

Q: How does a reserved person deal with traumatic memories or symptoms of PTSD?

Traumatic issues can happen to anyone, it is common, and you always need help going through it. Going through traumatic issues in life is always a difficult thing to go through on your own, and since some people do not always have the faith in them to talk to others about it, they can make it worse by bottling it up. Recovering from PTSD can have its steps, the most stressful one can be having flashbacks, “a sudden, vivid memory that makes you feel like you are experiencing your trauma all over again. It’s a physical feeling of being there, not just a normal memory where you are recalling what has happened.” (Deloe, Jami 2015). In the play, the main character anon experiences the same flashbacks, and describes his memories as if he were there as well; “where I come from there was a war that lasted so long. Where I come from bombs rained down from the sky night after night.” (Iizuka, Naomi pg.4) War can be a traumatic moment and have a big impact in anyone’s life, due to the stress, fear, and the loudness of it. Through his descriptions, we can see where anon comes from and see from his perspective. Psychologists even agree that “a sustained stressful experience that might involve multiple trauma types (e.g., experiences at war) are also vulnerable to memory distortion. In fact, traumatic memory distortion appears to follow a particular pattern: people tend to remember experiencing even more trauma than they actually did.” (Lents, Nathan H. 2016). Perhaps that is also why he has trouble accepting his real name to other strangers, his trust issues get to him and he is still haunted by his past.

 

Works Cited

Deloe, Jami. 2015. “How To Cope With Body Memories in PTSD Recovery.” Healthy Place.

https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/traumaptsdblog/2015/10/ptsd-recovery-dealing-with-body-memories/

Iizuka, Naomi. 2007. Anonymous. An Adaptation of The Odyssey.

Lents, Nathan H. 2016. “Trauma, PTSD, and Memory Distortion.” Psychology Today.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beastly-behavior/201605/trauma-ptsd-and-memory-distortion

 

Questions:

Are my sources for my research topic good? Or should I get more sources?

Does my research topic fit the assignment?

Is my rough draft well cited and organized so far?

 

Anon(Ymous), the play that left its audience with more questions than answers, the play that left me with unquenchable desire to know more; was written by Naomi Iizuka and was published in 2007. The author took us on a journey, where the protagonist of the story was introduce. A young refugee that goes by multiple names and each different name had their own unique stories to share and also their own nightmare to face. “Where I come from mines are planted in the roads like deadly flowers, and the air smells like death, rank and sticky sweet”^1[2] (Iizuka, Anon, 2). Anon was a refugee who fled his home country due to an endless war, where being civilize held no apparent meaning. For safety purposes, Anon and his mother had decided to migrate somewhere safer but during their travel, they were separated in a storm. The play enfolds various controversial themes such as border crossings, wars, dehumanization, immigration, sexual harassment, and the endeavor to identify one’s identity in the midst of all the unstable chaotic shifts and forced dream sequences.

Truth be told, to be able to fully comprehend the meaning behind the play Anon(Ymous) and this research paper, I must first break down the author past life.  Naomi Iizuka was “born on April 22 ,1965”^1[3] in Tokyo but grew up in Japan, Indonesia, The Netherlands and Washington D.C. With Iizuka’s mother being an American Latina and her father being Japanese, her life was very complicated as a teenager, she never completely fit anywhere due to her multicultural background. Nonetheless, Iizuka never let society held her from chasing her dreams and although her works often follow a non-linear storyline, majority of her plays are influenced by her multicultural background.

 

 

 

Work Cited Page

 

Iizuka, Naomi. Anon(Ymous): a Drama. Playscripts, 2007.

https://outragerous.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/anonymous.pdf

 

Naomi, Iizuka. Background- Age. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naomi_Iizuka   

Questions: 

1-  Do I have enough information within my rough draft to convince my reader?

2-  Am I on the right path with my research paper and Am I answering the question?

3-  Do you believe Anon(ymous) represent different characters within the play?

1. I’d like to know more about Nemasani’s motivations and goals. If she assumes Anon is dead, is she trying to go back home? Finishing the shroud is not an option. I’d like to know more about her.
2. I would also like to know if there’s a reason for all the connections between the characters. Some are necessary for the plot to move along, but some others (e.g. Strygal being Mr. Zyglo’s son) seem unnecesary to me.
3. Has the author ever directed this play? I’m curious about the choices she would have made about putting this play together.

While reading this play, I squinted a couple times and I also tilted my head slightly to the left. I “hmmmed” and said “what?” a couple times too.

3 questions: the events change up and down and the characters are always changing will the conclusion have all the answers? is anon confused? what is the story or main message the author is trying to portray and what the audience to understand? the main body gestures i had was shaking my head when there would be change of events. when anon is meeting his mother i was feeling intrigued and i guess you’d say one of my body gesture was mainly out of curiousity. i was on the edge of my seat waiting to figure out what would happen and the next lines he’d say. the only sounds i found myself mainly doing is probably saying huh? and that was because of confusion. the story kept changing and i was trying to figure out whether or not i liked these characters. i do admit that i sympathize anon so as he was trying to find home which i assume is the whole reason for this story i was just sucking in my teeth everytime he’d say his story or talk with his mother.

1. With so many random beginnings and advancing characters how does the writer still find a way to connect it all together?

2. How does the writer make Anon pop out of nowhere as the story continues?

3. If Anon could have met his mother quickly without distraction would the story still be interesting?

When reading the play a body gesture and sound that inspired me was a head shake and saying “the heck.” It was the part where Nemasani was talking with Helen Laius about her lost son and hoping he is alive and she responds with ” maybe. Probably not. But maybe.” My reaction was just shock that someone would say that to a mother. My second body gesture and sound was a light laugh and bringing my hand up while nodding my head. My reaction was based off the quick romance that came out of nowhere.