Statue of Liberty

The monument selected is the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal. Emma Lazarus funded the
statue’s construction with the money she raised from the ‘The New Colossus’ exhibition. Emma
Lazarus authored the poem, ‘The New Colossus, whose content was engraved on a plaque inside
the monument. Her words, such as “Give me your tired, your poor, / your huddled masses
yearning to breathe free” (10-11), became one of the American’s cultural identities. The
monument was a gift from France to the United States.
The original intention of the monument was to represent the strong relationship between
France and the United States, especially in the pursuit of liberty. However, Emma Lazarus’s
poem, written before the construction, changed the statue into a beacon of hope and an American
symbol of immigration. However, during the unveiling of the statue ceremony, her poem was not
mentioned. Fifteen years after her death, the poem was engraved on a plaque and placed on a
pedestal. Both the poem and the statue became symbols of the nation’s immigrants. In the poem,
Lazarus declared that America would be a nation where people forced to leave their homelands
will be seeking refuge (Lazarus, 2005). The sonnet’s female figure, a mother of exiles, portrays
America’s new identity as a whole leader who will be a mighty woman. The interpretation of the
monument changes the overall cultural understanding to shape America into a nation where
liberty is free and rightful to every individual.
Lazarus’s poem is closely related to the statue of liberty and almost inseparable. Using a
mother figure portrays the future of America and how it will accommodate immigrants and
refugees at all costs. As a mother, America will offer refuge and comfort to the oppressed. Such
will allow America to achieve the long pursued liberty.

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Reference

Lazarus. E (2005). “The New Colossus.” Emma Lazarus: Selected Poems. Ed. John Hollander.
New York: Library of America. 58. Print.