Source: DSC_5793, City of Bellevue, WA, Flickr
When you compare themes in two different texts, you look for similarities and differences in how the themes are portrayed. When you contrast themes, you look for differences. Although two texts might contain the themes of coming to America and looking for respect, there will be both similarities and differences in how these themes are portrayed in each text.
In the previous section, you read texts that dealt with the experience of Russian and Irish immigrants. One of the experiences occured more than a century ago. Think about current immigration. How has the immigrant experience differed during different time periods?
Source: Jose Antonio Vargas, The Opportunity Agenda, Flickr
To compare and contrast the previous excerpts you read with a contemporary perspective, read an excerpt from a 2011 article “My Life as An Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas. Before you read, you’ll need some context for the purposes of analyzing the theme of this excerpt and comparing and contrasting it to the themes of the short story and poem from the previous section. At the turn of the twentieth century, immigrating legally to the United States was relatively easy, provided you could get here. As the numbers of immigrants increased, quotas based on national origin were implemented, and it became increasingly difficult to immigrate to the United States. By the time Jose Antonio Vargas came here, legal immigration was tightly controlled.
Now that you have read the excerpt, complete the following activity.
Using your notes, answer the following questions: Compare and contrast the theme from “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” to the theme of “How I Found America.” How are they similar? How are they different? When you’re finished writing your answer, check your understanding to see a possible response.
Sample Responses:
Both pieces tell the story of an immigrant who wants to take advantage of the opportunity that comes from living in America. However, Anzia, the narrator from “How I Found America,” seems to be discriminated against much more than the author of the second piece. Vargas seems to have had much more outside help in finding the opportunities he sought. Both narrators seem to feel pressure to hide their true selves. Vargas needs to hide his family for fear of being discovered as as an undocumented immigrant, and the narrator of the short story is told to deny her thirst for knowledge because she is an immigrant. She is told to learn a trade and worry about knowledge later.
Understanding how different texts may have similar topics but different themes can be difficult, but knowing how to use a few easy reading strategies and graphic organizers makes comparing and contrasting themes easy, even when you read challenging texts.