It is a fact that almost all of the people in Canada are immigrants, or come from
             immigrant descent. If it were not for the millions of people who have fled to Canada in
             hope of a better life, Canada would never have prospered into what it is today. As a result
             of this fact, it is hard to believe that immigrants are still faced with many hardships when
             they enter Canada. Most immigrants have good intentions in mind when coming to a new
             country. Immigrants coming to Canada believe that they will be able to keep their culture,
             become successful and prosper. These misleading hopes set the immigrant up for a life of
             continuous disappointment. Canadian Literature portrays the immigrant experience in a
             negative light. The Canadian experience for immigrants appears to be programmed for
             failure. Immigrants try to adopt a new identity in hope that this will enable them to
             succeed in the future. Venturing to new lands often compels immigrants to isolate
             themselves from society, by holding onto their own traditions and disregarding the new
             culture. Immigrants who seek to become successful in Canada are often let down by
             what they have found, and are left feeling fearful, desolate and helpless.
             Immigrant characters in Canadian literature often express a fear of losing their
             identity and culture. For most immigrants, culture is the only thing that truly belongs to
             them when they come to a new country. In the novel The Black Madonna by Frank Paci,
             Assunta Barrone is one of the main characters who has immigrated from Italy to a small
             town in Northern Ontario. Her refusal to adapt or change herself in any way to become
             more 'Canadian' exemplifies her desire to keep her Italian heritage.
             "It had been a long time since she had stepped off that train with her
             dowry trunk. And in all that time she had never ceased to puzzle him. He
             didn't know whether she had purposely refused ...