Open Collections

Lee, Jieun

University of British Columbia

Immigrants make up almost a quarter of the Canadian population (Statistics Canada, 2017), but the emphasis on success and integration in immigration discourse overshadows the difficult aftermath of relocation for many immigrant families, especially on immigrant children. After all, “if the promise of citizenship is offered as a promise of happiness, then you have to demonstrate that you are a worthy recipient of its promise” (Ahmed, 2010, p. 133). However, many factors make it challenging for even families to discuss these complexities with each other. In this thesis, I will first outline the intricate nuances of the changes in immigrant family dynamics, then illustrate the importance of establishing a space where immigrant children can fully express and process their experiences and emotions in order to write a narrative that transcends their identities as ones solely defined by the hardships and trauma of immigration. Then, I will discuss why the epistolary form, with its intimate and candid nature, can provide this space for migrant children, and how its representation of consciousness can be an effective tool in constructing truth and identity when it comes to narrating migrant child experiences.

Text

2022-02-02

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/80766

Children's Literature

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/