Lazarus VS Bruchac

Emma Lazarus and Joseph Bruchac are two authors with very different backgrounds who have in common a symbolic message about the Statue of Liberty and what she, Ellis Island, and America meant for them. Their poems convey the different perspectives of different cultures and the impact that the time they wrote about had on their subjects. Bruchac’s poem brings forward the dualism of his heritage identifying with both his immigrant, Slovak heritage and his Abenaki heritage and how he the ideals of “Liberty” affected his respective grandparents.(http://www.scholastic.com/browse/media.jsp?id=249). Bruchac is a man who is active in a variety paths perhaps most importantly his work with Native American tribes and publishing of Native American literature (josephbruchac.com).

Lazarus also shared a loved of activism but for immigrants although she was fourth or fifth generation American Jew (Leyden). Her writing abilities flourished in the no doubt well-stocked library of her wealthy father (Leyden).  Emma’s interest in immigration may have reflected her often unexpected and unpredictable point of view (Leyden). However both authors find common ground yet differing perspectives with Liberty.

The New Colossus opens with negative yet bold images of bronzed Greek statues and empires of a world-left-behind and delivers the reader into the nurturing arms of the “Mother of Exiles” in line six of the poem in our text (Mano). Lazarus is saying that Liberty is not like the Greek Statues of the empires. Liberty cries out in line nine to the old countries of the immigrants, “Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!” then she tells them to give her the impoverished and immigrants who are tired of laboring on land that will never be theirs. Instead, she welcomes them to supposed opportunity with her idealistic and welcoming lamp (Lazarus. The New Colossus. 14).

Ellis Island opens in the same location not at Liberty’s feet but at Ellis Island detailing his Slovak paternal grandparents’ arrival at Ellis Island (Bruchac. Ellis Island. 1-4. P12). They too have left “the old Empires of Europe to enter meet the “tall woman” with her green patina (Bruchac. Ellis Island. 9. Pg12). Not unlike The New Colossus, Bruchac also refers to the idea that his grandparents worked land that would never be theirs and that situation would change with their coming to America ( Bruchac. Ellis Island. 10-13. Pg12). Next, in contrast to The New Colussus, Bruchac’s poem takes a turn. The speaker of the poem is at Ellis Island, ninety years later and refers to the island perhaps sarcastically as “the island of dreams” in line 17 (Bruchac. Ellis Island. Pg12). Then his duality comes to service in the next lines when he says “Another voice speaks/ of native lands/ within this nation.” (Bruchac. Ellis Island. Pg12). He is saying that inside of him is another voice, hat sharply contrasts with his Slovak grandparent’s perspective. He speaks from the perspective of his Abenaki grandfather and what immigration and land ownership meant to his people. From the American Indian’s perspective, their ways, lands and beliefs were being invaded. Bruchac conveys this dualism in Ellis Island in contrast to the hopeful ideals in The New Colossus.

 http://www.scholastic.com/browse/media.jsp?id=249. n.d. internet. 11 9 2012.

josephbruchac.com. n.d. Internet. 11 9 2012.

Leyden, Jacki. Emma Lazarus, Poet of the Huddled Masses . n.d. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6359435. 11 9 2012.

Mano, Barbara Roche Rico and Sandra. American Mosaic. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001.