Final answer:
Life as an immigrant on Angel Island led to cultural tension as Chinese immigrants were detained and interrogated under discriminatory policies like the Chinese Exclusion Act. Preserving their culture within their communities juxtaposed the societal prejudice they faced, highlighting the struggles of assimilation and maintaining heritage.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Angel Island, life as an immigrant created tension between familiar and unfamiliar cultural norms largely due to the discriminatory policies and societal attitudes prevalent during the time. Upon arriving at Angel Island, Chinese immigrants faced an intense and often unfair interrogation process that could keep them detained for extended periods, separate from family, and in limbo between fear of deportation and hope for a better life. Policies like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and societal prejudice led to an environment where immigrants were viewed with suspicion and hostility. This fundamentally opposed the familiar societal norms of their homeland, which were rooted in family and community support systems.
Racially discriminatory laws and attitudes fostered an atmosphere of exclusion and inequality, which exacerbated the challenges of cultural assimilation. Immigrant communities sought to preserve their own customs and language within the confines of their neighborhoods, creating a sense of home in a landscape that often rejected them. The tension between maintaining one's heritage and adapting to American cultural expectations was a daily reality for those on Angel Island, symbolizing the broader struggle faced by many immigrants in America during that period.