Pro- and Anti-Immigration

Pro: ImmigrationWorks USA

ImmigrationWorks USA:
The home page of the website uses a red, white, and blue colour scheme, indicating a patriotic leaning. The slideshow which draws the visitor's attention gives the website a professional appearance. The slides point the visitor to various pages they may be most interesting in, such as: how immigration affects businesses, the relation between Republicans and Latinos, and the testimony of an immigrant who has been helped by the organisation.

The home page also features news such as debunking the job-stealing immigrant myth, and reports of what political leaders such as Jed Bush and Barack Obama have said on the topic of immigration. The website features many useful and easy-to-find links, such as a donate button, how to get involved, and a menu which directs the visitor to what they may be most interested in, such as the aims of the organisation, information on immigration, and contact information.


Anti: NumbersUSA

NumbersUSA:
The home page of this website is fit for a wider screen, and has a lot more information on the front page, such as news posts, and comments on immigration from users. The menu is in a drop-down style, providing links to sub-menus. These menus can direct the visitor to information such as what the organisation does, their stances on how to treat immigrants, news, the issues caused by immigration, and offered solutions.

The organisation claims to be pro-immigration and anti-immigrant bashing, and say their focus is instead on controlling and decreasing the numbers of immigrants being allowed into the country. They specify - at the very end of the 'about' page - that they do not condone xenophobia or racism. The website includes a log on, and claims an open forum for discussion. Similar to ImmigrationWorks USA, it has a donate button, but uniquely it also offers an app version of the website.

Overall, the NumbersUSA website is more modern, with the page dimensions fitting a modern laptop, and the availability of an app, as well as the option for interactivity, makes the website more visually appealing, and appears more informative than the ImmigrationWorks USA website.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

The home page of the CJCLDS website prominently features a slideshow of four photos of smiling people, with brief heart-warming descriptions of them and their happiness brought by being part of the Mormon church. An additional fifth slide shows a painting of Jesus, and offers the visitor to learn more about Him.

The menu bar across the top of the page lists: people, values, beliefs, visit, FAQ, and blog.

• The People page allows the visitor to view a gallery of existing Mormon profiles, search this gallery by filters such as age and gender, and contact members of the church either via live chat or over the phone.
• The Values page features information on "cultural priorities", such as the importance of marriage and family, freedom of choice, and missionary work. The section on missionary work ends with links to find a church, meet missionaries, live chat with church members, or order a Book of Mormon.
• The Beliefs page highlights the beliefs of the church that differentiate them from the other churches, such as Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the Restoration of the Gospel.
• The Visit page again directs the visitor to find a church and/or get in touch with church members and missionaries.
• The FAQ page provides an extensive list of questions one might have about the CJCLDS. Each question comes with an official answer from the church, along with several personal answers from church members. This variety of answers offers an interesting array of Mormon perspectives.
• The Blog page offers blog posts on topics such as online resources for bible study, parenting/marriage tips, scripture analysis, and the meaning of being Christian and/or Mormon.

The website is extremely informative, particularly with the FAQ section, and is clearly aimed towards recruiting people to join the church and to follow Jesus. There is a large emphasis on family and community, demonstrated with the section allowing visitors to look at profiles and stories of Mormons, and the constant encouragement to find a church and communicate with church members. Many of the FAQ answers and the information on the 'values' page discuss family and a commitment to marriage and children, illustrating the emphasis on family.

Chapter 23: Indian War-Cry

Consider the different types of hardships faced by the Ingalls family - natural, political, social. Make a list of examples.

The chapter opens with Pa returning from the burnt prairie, which was burnt by the Indians. Although he is covered in black soot, he is grateful the tall grass has gone; one hardship of nature has been replaced by another.

The hardships faced in the rest of the chapter are mainly focused around conflict with the Indian people. As multiple Indian tribes converge on the nearby camp, the threat they pose rises, as the Ingall family begins to fear they may be attacked. Laura describes the threat of the Indians to be "worse than wolves", a threat they had previously encountered.

What attitudes are revealed through the representation of American Indians?

The higher the number of Indians, the higher threat they pose. The single Osage Indian seen riding past, Soldat du Chene, is in fact seen as a "good Indian", and despite the chapter's depiction of the imminent threat from the Indians, the chapter finishes with Pa's sentiment that "no matter what Mr Scott said, [he] did not believe that the only good Indian was a dead Indian." Other than Soldat du Chene, the Indians are completely demonised, their war cries likened to the howls of wolves, suggesting that the Ingalls see the Indians as unfriendly wildlife.

Discuss the operation of traditional gender roles seen in the novel. Are there any surprises in the depiction?

Pa's role as protector is emphasised throughout the novel, including in this chapter. After the war-cries end, Pa leaves to investigate what had happened, and the women are scared without him, Their protector in Pa's absence is Jack, their dog - suggesting that they need a male protector so much that even a dog would suit.

Social conditioning is abundant throughout the novel, with Laura's narrative voice constantly reminding her that children should be seen and not heard at the table, that little girls shouldn't ask questions, and that it's rude to interrupt - but it's okay for Pa to do it. In this chapter, Laura and Mary are curious as to what a stockade is, but when Laura dares to ask, she is reminded she shouldn't be asking questions.

What relevance does this text have for today? What does the marketing of the book suggest?

The 1992 Mammoth edition of Little House on the Prairie's blurb describes the novel as a "classic and popular story", indicating the novel to be a timeless tale that has been and will be loved for a long time. The book features illustrations throughout, and the writing is plain English, clearly illustrating that the target audience is young children. The cover illustration by Caroline Binch features iconography of the West that paints it as an idyllic landscape, with a wide expanse of flower fields, a wagon in the background and two girls (presumably Laura and Mary) in the foreground.

Today the novel stands as an example of the romanticisation of the movement west, and its continuing popularity in the USA illustrates how Americans still want to believe the idyllic depiction of the American West.

Anna Yezierka's short stories

What are the moral lessons in each story and how would you account for their meaning to immigrants?

The Lost 'Beautifulness'
In The Lost 'Beautifulness', we are told the story of an immigrant woman, Hanneh Heyyeh, living in a small, cheap, run-down apartment. A lover of beauty, Hanneh saves up the money she earns from doing laundry for richer people to buy some paint, which she uses to paint her apartment for her son's return.

Hanneh proudly shows off her work to everyone she knows, including her landlord, who takes the opportunity to capitalise on the new attractiveness of the place and adds $5 to her monthly rent, which she struggles to afford. Although she disputes the increase, she is eventually evicted from her apartment.

This story is clearly illustrating the negative effects of the capitalist society of the USA, and the ways in which the bourgeois Americans exploit the immigrants. Hanneh deeply loves both beauty and her son, and the capitalist landlord takes advantage of that, by increasing her rent, clearly demonstrating that he cares more about taking the opportunity to earn more money than he does about his tenants.

Soap and Water
This story is told from the first-person perspective of a Russian immigrant, who specifies neither their name or their gender. By not specifying either of these, Yezierka allows more readers to identify with the character, implying through their lack of specific identity that the character could be anybody.

The character tells the story of how they attempted to do what Americans described as the path to success - they worked hard, with a low-paying job doing laundry for the bourgeois every morning and every evening, and they studied hard, going to college during the day. Despite all their hard work, the character is declined their diploma not because of the quality of their work, but because of their self-presentation - by working from waking until sleeping, the character has no time to wash, and despite the hours put into their job, they are paid so low that they cannot afford to live somewhere with a bath.

Through this story, Yezierka is illustrating the hypocrisy of the bourgeois, showing how they value appearance and presentation over effort and heart, and do not take other people's situations into account - the character talks about how the dean of the college berates them for not washing, saying that "soap and water are cheap," not considering that the character has no access to a bath, or time to wash.

Unlike The Lost 'Beautifulness', this story ends on a happier note - the character, after many years, finds Miss Van Ness, a teacher from their college who had always been kind to them. Just this simple act of friendship from Miss Van Ness is spectacular to the character - by simply making a friend and having the opportunity to tell their story, the character believes that they have "found America".

Stephen G. Lonefeather, "The Deputy of Allentown"

The Deputy of Allentown is told from the point of view of a retired deputy, watching out the window as the current deputy, Dave, is involved in a skirmish involving the girl he loves, Lilly, and a bank robber, Charlie.

The narrator describes how Dave was known as Midge in his youth, due to his short height. Dave was once a bandit, but quit his criminal life when he fell in love with Lilly, taking up the role of deputy sheriff in Allentown. The narrator then describes the skirmish he is watching, which ends with Dave aiming his gun at Charlie, shooting just as Lilly, having fallen on the floor, begins to get up. The scene then changes, and it is revealed that none of this has really happened; Dave, Lilly, and Charlie are children, playing outside with rocks and toys.

This story is illustrating the idea that the Wild West is the product of imagination; that it is not dangerous, it is a place where children can play with their toys and pretend to have shoot-outs. The moment when Dave nearly shoots Lilly shows the children's lust for danger, and the blase way in which they act this out suggests that they have never actually experienced any event like this.

The Searchers - closing scene

This closing scene of The Searchers features several parallels to the opening scene of the movie. In fact, the entire scene can be said to be the opening scene in reverse.

Opening scene:
1. Door opens
2. Ethan approaches from the wilderness
3. After many years apart, Ethan is reunited with the family
4. The family enters the house

Closing scene:
1. The family comes out of the house
2. After many years apart, Debbie is reunited with the family
3. Ethan retreats into the wilderness
4. Door closes.

There are key differences in terms of characters and attitudes - in this scene, we are with a different family, and they are less welcoming to Ethan. Whereas Ethan enters the house in the opening scene, in this scene he lingers on the threshold, before retreating back into the wilderness. As he retreats, the same song as was heard at the beginning of the movie plays. Specifically, as Ethan makes the decision to leave, the lyric "ride away" is repeated - echoing exactly what Ethan has decided to do. As Ethan walks further into the distance, his retreating figure becomes smaller and he begins to blend in with the mise-en-scene, suggesting that Ethan will always be a part of the wilderness. The shot ends with the closing of the door, graphically matching the very first shot of the movie, of a door opening.

The Gambler Wore a Gun (1961)

The Gambler Wore a Gun is a 1961 Western film directed by Edward L. Cahn and starring James Davis.

Davis plays Case Silverthorne, a professional gambler from the East who decides to quit gambling and move to the West. He purchases a ranch through the mail, but upon arrival, finds Will Donovan, the man who sold him the ranch, hung up on a tree. The film follows Case as he discovers that Donovan's grown son and daughter, Jud and Sharon, have no idea their ranch has been sold. This leads Jud to discover that Will was killed by three cattle rustlers pretending to be ranch hands. Jud confronts the rustlers, only to be shot, and Case framed for the murder. With the help of Sharon and Marshal Dex Harwood, Case proves the ranch and the cattle to be his, culminating in a shoot-out between Sharon, Case, and the Marshal, and the three cattle rustlers. Case et al are victorious, and Case settles in to his new life in the ranch with Sharon.

The Gambler uses all the typical iconography of the Western, such as the saloon, the ranch, stetson hats, guns, and horses. Although the story is initially about Case's efforts to prove his claim to the ranch, it becomes a revenge story, as Jud seeks revenge for his father's death, then Case and Sharon seek revenge for both Will and Jud's deaths. Arguably, the sub-genre of this film is that of the man of honour, as Case develops from a gambler to an honest man. A link is implied between the West and honesty; Case was a dishonest gambler in the East, and his decision to quit goes hand-in-hand with his decision to move west. Additionally, the law is emphasised greatly; Case's claim to the ranch is believed as soon as he produces the letter in Will's handwriting promising him the ranch; after Case strays and finds himself gambling again, he realises the error of his ways and gives Jud back the $300 he had lost; even the cattle rustlers, in the final confrontation, admit the bill of sale as legitimate.

Clip: In the final scene of the movie, the legalities of ownership are emphasised as the last note - before the big kiss.

As opposed to the typical hero-excluded-from-society trope, Case's fate is the opposite - at the beginning and throughout the film, he is already an outsider: new in town, and demonised by the citizens when they think he has killed Jud. The only people on his side are Dex and Sharon, who help him defeat the rustlers and prove both his innocence and his claim.

A character of interest to me was Sharon; although she is the only woman in the film, and clearly has her domestic role - until the climax, she is not seen outside the house setting - she is represented well. After Jud leaves to find the Marshal, Sharon is worried about attack from the rustlers; when Case and Dex knock on her door, instead of hiding, she confronts her visitors with a rifle in her hand. In that same scene, Case tells her that Jud is dead and he's going after the rustlers. Sharon immediately chooses to confront them too, with little protest from the men. Approaching the hill the rustlers are hiding out on, we see Sharon is wearing trousers, not a skirt, and sits atop the horse normally, instead of side-saddle. Even during the climactic shoot-out, Sharon is the one to give the final shot, killing the last rustler.

The Surround

This landscape was painted by American painter Alfred Jacob Miller in 1837, commissioned by William Drummond Stewart, a Scotsman, after they visited the annual fir trading fair. The piece was painted at a later date, in Miller's Balitmore studio, and returned to Scotland with Stewart for display in Murthly Castle. The scene depicted in the painting is a "surround", an Indian buffalo hunting method.

The people in the painting are mostly facing west - identified by the rising sun - which illustrates the progress west. Even the tree on the left of the frame is pointing west, suggesting the naturalness of the expansion west. The mountains in the background appear small, illustrating the vastness of the plains. The people are difficult to recognise as Indians, suggesting that Miller may have painted them ambiguously intentionally, so as to erase the Indian identity. Furthermore, the Indians are all on horses, which were an import from Europe, suggesting that the lives of the Indians have been improved by the introduction of European culture.

Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head

The Wampanoag Tribe are situated in Aquinnah and throughout the island of  Noepe.

The tribe website is simple, keeping images to the home page. An automatic slideshow of pictures shows the Aquinnah land, and is surrounded by menus, including events and news. Although the special events are up-to-date, the tribal news has not been updated since 2010.

Looking through the menu pages, the website is short and to the point. The History & Culture page gives a brief history of the tribe and the arrival of the European settlers, as well as some information on the legal status of the tribe.

The Tribal Council page gives a table of information about the council, and informs the visitor how the tribe's government works. The Departments page is much the same, containing just a table of information on each department.

The Special Events page features a calendar, which has no events listed, and the Tribal Housing Authority page, just as the Tribal Council page, has just a table of information and a brief description of the housing authority's purpose and aims. The Tribal Enterprises page features only two hyperlinks, one of which links to a page of the tribe website that gives no information other than an address and telephone, and the other of which links to an external site for the company, which is much more professional than the tribe website itself.

The simple and to-the-point website suggests that it is there for functionality, to provide an online resource for basic information and contact details of the tribe. The Aquinnah Wampanoag Enterprises website, meanwhile, was likely built by a professional web builder.

Letters and Journals of Narcissa Whitman

The letter discussed here is from a pioneer's wife, Narcissa Whitman, to her family back home.

On 30th Match 1837, Whitman wrote home to describe the birth of her baby daughter a fortnight earlier. Interestingly, she mentions that the she gave birth on her own birthday.

Whitman mentions that during the winter she was able to work, suggesting that it was not unheard of for women to work throughout pregnancy, as long as they were healthy. She then describes symptoms of an inflammatory rash and bleeding a week prior to the birth, and mentions a Mrs Pambrun, who had also been ill and had visited two weeks prior to Whitman falling ill - although Whitman doesn't specifically suggest it, it can be inferred from this that Mrs Pambrun may have infected Whitman with the illness. Mrs Pambrun is revealed to be a Native, when Whitman mentions that she was accustomed to dressing babies "in the native style."

Whitman then goes on to describe the baby's disposition for the first few nights. The baby cried the second night, and Whitman says it was because "she was hungry, and [they] did not think to feed her soon enough", a curious thing to hear today, as we are accustomed to knowing that babies should be fed almost immediately.

Whitman praises her husband's role throughout the labour, and mentions that he did the washing and cooking while she was unable to. She then describes how a group of Indians arrived, and many were curious to see the baby, having no doubt never before seen a white newborn. One of the Indians, Kee-low-ki-ke, tells Whitman that the baby is a "Cayuse te-mi (Catuse girl)." Interestingly, the pioneers here and the Indians appear to have a friendly relationship.

Moore Longhorn Ranch

Moore Longhorn Ranch is a working ranch which doubles as a holiday destination in Texas.

As the home page loads up, the banner stands out at the top of the page.

As seen here, the banner advertises the ranch in a font typically associated with the Old West - it is the font one would usually expect to see above an Old West saloon. The text is accompanied by a background consisting of a wooden pattern as well as three images - two of people with horses, and another of cattle silhouetted against the sky. All these elements of the banner work to immediately present the website's visitor with the aesthetic of the Old West.

The design of the website itself brings a visual of the Old West, with the content made to look like a notice pinned on a wooden board, and the sunset on the horizon as the background image.

The text on the page presents a concise description of the ranch and the role of the visitor. Various phrases are bolded, such as "working ranch in the wide open prairie", "home-cooked meals" and "three day cattle drives". These phrases, along with headings using phrases such as "authentic Texas" and "real ranch experience" grab the attention of the visitor, ensuring that if the visitor is not going to read all the text, they see the important information - the emphasis on authenticity, informing the visitor that were they to stay at the ranch, they would get the idyllic Western experience.

The information pages are much the same, presenting the information in concise paragraphs, with key phrases highlighted. Each page is also illustrated with images, again advertising to the visitors of the experience they will have at the ranch, with images of animals and white people enjoying themselves as they conduct ranch activities.

Although there is no specific mention of the Old West, the website is clearly designed to cater to those with a lust for the Old West, with features such as font, page design, images and emphasis on phrases associated with the Old West clearly demonstrating that this website is designed to capitalize on the public romanticisation of the idyllic image of the Old West.