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Because immigrants have always been particularly prone to repetition - it's something to do with that experience of moving from West to East or East to West or from island to island. Even when you arrive, you're still going back and forth; your children are going round and round. There's no proper term for it - original sin seems too harsh; maybe original trauma would be better.
Zadie Smith
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The immigrant experience involves continuous movement and struggle, impacting generations.

Zadie Smith's quote reflects on the profound internal conflict and cyclical nature of the immigrant experience, highlighting the unending sense of displacement that accompanies leaving one's homeland. It emphasizes that even after settling in a new place, immigrants face a constant pull between their origins and their new environment, which can resonate through their children and descendants, creating what she terms 'original trauma' rather than 'original sin.'

Themes

ImmigrantsExperienceTraumaDisplacementIdentity

In practice

Example use cases

During a speech about cultural diversity, one might refer to this quote to emphasize the shared challenges of immigrants.

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