to adapt to the new ways
or if she was incapable of doing so. She was certainly stubborn. She had
strange old-country customs that she insisted on maintaining even though
they were primitive and embarrassing" (Paci 11).
Assunta's desire to keep her customs was what helped to preserve her Italian identity. By
keeping her identity Assunta felt like her homeland was somehow constantly with her.
The poem "Alien" by Mary Elizabeth Colman also exemplifies the immigrants fear of
losing their identity. "Dear hills of home, why did I leave your arms?/ How can I love this
vast, clamorous land?/ Whose noisy people hold me in contempt?" (Colman 9-11). This
immigrant is in fear of the new land which they have come to, and is afraid of the people
around them. Because immigrants hold their culture so close to them when they travel to
new lands, they defend it with every ounce of their being. Without culture or identity
immigrants are defenceless in a new country.
The immigrant in Canadian literature is often regretful of leaving their homeland
because of the disappointments they discover about Canada. Most immigrants believe
that getting a Canadian passport and citizenship is their key to unlocking 'the good life'
In Canadian literature the opposite of this occurs because the ideal of what Canada is
does not meet it's reality. This is best exemplified through the short story "Hunky" by
Hugh Garner and the poems "Land of Opportunity" by F.R. Scott and "I Fight Back" by
Lillian Allen. In the story "Hunky" the main character Hunky is a German immigrant
working in the tobacco fields for a very arrogant employer. Hunky wants nothing more
than to become a Canadian citizen because he feels that having his citizenship is the key
to obtaining 'the good life'.
"He placed great stress on the fact that he ...