Life away from home on foreign territory always seems more complicated and thornier than life on home soil. Thus, migrants face various difficulties every day: the language barrier, cultural characteristics, and legal aspects. In his essay “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant,” Jose Antonio Vargas recounts his personal experience of living in the United States as an undocumented migrant. In the beginning, the author tells the story of his move to America. Jose Antonio Vargas, like most migrants, moved to the United States as a child in search of a better life. However, from an early age, he was faced with the problem of his illegal status in the country. The inability to talk honestly about himself with friends, participate in school trips, get a driver’s license and other hardships were a heavy burden for the author. Thus, this is an essay about the difficulties, sufferings, and vicissitudes of the life of an illegal migrant in the United States. The essay by Jose Antonio Vargas traces its purpose, audience, and methods of persuasion to demonstrate to the readers, that there is nothing shameful in being an immigrant.
Each essay has its own unique goal, which the author tries to achieve in one way or another. In this vein, the purpose of this essay is to demonstrate that there is nothing shameful about being a migrant. Assessing his own life, the author believes that he spent most of it is a lie. He had to lie to his friends and classmates about not being an illegal migrant because he could not let the truth be known. Thus, Jose Antonio Vargas from school made a promise to become a real American so that no one dared to doubt his right to be in the United States. This promise he made to himself after one curious incident when for the first time in his life, he was faced with the problem of the language barrier. Thus, for a person, and a child, in particular, a sense of shame is a critically burdensome factor. It was out of this feeling that Jose Antonio Vargas forced himself to study English more diligently. Among other things, he began to try to integrate more into American society so that no one could doubt his belonging to this community.
In addition to the above episode, Jose Antonio Vargas describes how for the first time in his life, he learned that he was an illegal immigrant. This happened when the author was 16 years old and wanted to get his first driving permit for a bicycle. At the time he handed the D. M. V. office employee his green card, he claimed it was a fake. Then, when he returned home, he asked his grandfather if this was true, to which he received an affirmative answer. This episode certainly left a vivid imprint on the memory of the young author, as it also made him feel ashamed of his status. Moreover, to the feelings of Jose Antonio Vargas, in addition to shame, there was also had a constant fear of being discovered. Vargas writes: “It means going about my day in fear of being found out. It means rarely trusting people, even those closest to me, with who I am” (1). In this way, the author described his feelings and experiences as a child. Thus, Jose Antonio Vargas set out to prove to readers that there is nothing shameful in such a status.
The readers to whom this essay is dedicated are the same illegal migrants as the author, who also face difficulties and obstacles. Talking about all the barriers that the author faced in school when entering college, and when looking for a job, Jose Antonio Vargas wanted to show the audience that they are not alone. Every person in this position can find support in the author’s essay and an example of how not to give up in the face of difficulties. Dreaming of a career in writing and journalism, Vargas was forced to once again face the peculiarities of his status in the United States. Without a successful internship, it becomes quite difficult to find a good job in a publishing house or news agency. However, if no one thoroughly checked the author’s documents during school days, then everything is different when applying for an internship. Thus, having acquired several acquaintances and friends who knew about the illegal status of the author, he was able to stay not alone.
Jose Antonio Vargas had certain support to help him overcome all the obstacles in difficult times. Moreover, obtaining a driving license at the age of 30 allowed the author to find a small base for life in America. However, even this support did not remove the overwhelming and burdensome feelings of shame and fear. «This offered me five more years of acceptable identification – but also five more years of fear, of lying to people I respect and institutions that trusted me, of running away from who I am» (Vargas, 6). Thus, the target audience of the author of this essay is people who face the same problems. With the help of his story, Jose Antonio Vargas demonstrates to readers that they should not be ashamed and afraid of themselves and their status.
To achieve the purpose of the essay and to convince the audience, the author certainly resorts to some techniques. Thus, it becomes possible to conclude that Jose Antonio Vargas uses the technique of persuasion pathos, which appeals to the emotions of the readers. Describing multiple cases from life, the author does not leave the audience indifferent to him and his story. To do this, the essay uses a variety of epithets and metaphors that allow readers better to understand the emotions and experiences of the narrator. Vargas writes: “About four months into my job as a reporter for The Post, I began feeling increasingly paranoid, as if I had “illegal immigrant” tattooed on my forehead…” (5). Moreover, since the purpose of the essay is to convince readers not to be ashamed of their illegal migrant status, the description of the author’s life should be colorful and detailed. Being not only an illegal immigrant to the US but also openly gay, Vargas appeals to the emotions of the audience. In this vein, the technique of persuasion pathos and various literary techniques make this essay effective. After reading, the reader gets the opportunity to feel in the place of the author and make sure that he is not alone. After all, it becomes difficult to remain indifferent to the story of Jose Antonio Vargas, who had to overcome so many obstacles on the way to a successful life in the United States.
In conclusion, the difficulties, sufferings, and vicissitudes of the life of Jose Antonio Vargas do not leave the readers of this essay indifferent. With the help of his story of childhood, growing up, and life in general, the author proves to everyone who finds themselves in this situation that they are not alone. The illegal status of a migrant carries with it many burdensome feelings, such as shame and fear. So, in this way, it becomes critically important for Jose Antonio Vargas to share his story with the world and help immigrants to the United States like him.
Reference
Vargas, Jose, A. My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant. The New York Times, 2011.