Basic elements
Characters: Mum, Liam, Dad, Jack, Marry
Setting: Ship to New York
Plot: They will soon be in New York
Perspective: 1st person viewpoint
Genre: Realistic fiction
The story “Leaving Ireland Behind”, talks about a little boy named Liam, who is with his mom on a large boat filled with Irish immigrants. They changed to their best clothes because they would arrive at New York very soon. They went on the deck to observe the shore. Soon, other passengers joined them; he also met his new friends, Jack and Marry, who all left for the same reason. Life in Ireland was very hard. A terrible rot had killed their farmers’ potatoes, their most important food. Some of their family members went to New York first to find a better place to live. All the passengers on the boat are all coming to join their loved ones. Finally, they arrived at New York’s East River port. After somewhile, they spotted their father’s red cap. The family came together again after two years.
The Irish immigrants came to America, New York because of the Irish Potato Famine. The Irish Potato Famine, also known as the Great Hunger, began in 1845 when a mold known as Phytophthora infestans, caused a destructive plant disease that spread rapidly throughout Ireland. The infestation ruined up to one-half of the potato crop that year, and about three-quarters of the crop over the next seven years. Before it ended in 1852, the Potato Famine resulted in the death of roughly one million Irish from starvation and related causes, with at least another million forced to leave their homeland as refugees. In the story, Liam’s father told them to come to America to escape from Irland as the Potato Famine occurred. America meant hope and change for Liam’s whole family, also start their new life. Everyone wanted to go to America because everyone thought they could have a better life. America suffered immigration waves.
A person who is optimistic and hardworking can finish any hard work. If you are lazy, you will never finish a work. For example, an essay that would take you four hours would take you days to complete if you were lazy. If you were pessimistic, you will soon be bad tempered and can’t think of solutions when there are problems. In the story, even though dad lives in a tiny room in an apartment filled with people and worked in a dangerous factory with small pay, he didn’t complain. The letters he sent to home were always cheerful. This shows that dad can get used to everything if he insist on doing it and never afraid of dilemma. Being lazy and pessimistic can slow you down from finishing work, you should be optimistic and be concentrated all the time.
There are lots of people who have the same goal as father and eager to fulfill their dreams in America. In the 1800- 1900s, all the people from all the world are coming to America, not England, Africa, China. They all had dreams of having a better life. This includes getting a better job, a better payment, a better place to live, etc. This is called the American Dream. American Dream, ideal that the United States is a land of opportunity that allows the possibility of upward mobility, freedom, and equality for people of all classes who work hard and have the will to succeed. In the story, Liam’s father held a family dream. He worked very hard with little pay and finally got enough money to buy two tickets for his family members. Father is one of those who came first to find a home. Many of them succeeded, but some failed. Everyone has a dream. In the past, lots of immigrants went to America because the country was strong, rich and powerful.
In conclusion, the story “Leaving Ireland Behind”, talks about a little boy named Liam who is on their way to America to meet his father. His father managed to find a job and a poor house to live. Finally, they arrived at New York and saw his father’s red cap. From this story, I learned three themes. Firstly, the Irish people came to America because a mold killed all their potatoes and caused a huge famine. Secondly, a person with the spirit of perseverance and optimism can overcome problems. Lastly, lots of people have American Dream because they think they can get the freedom and treasure.
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