Holding onto traditional Italian codes of behavior and attitudes toward the family as a means to mitigate the confusion associated with assimilating into American culture is a central idea that occurs in both The Fortunate Pilgrim and The Right Thing to Do. Due to the differences in Italian and American cultures, many Italian American immigrants struggled assimilating into American society while retaining their cultural identity. For first-generation Italian American immigrants, like Octavia and Gina, the action of assimilation included letting go of their traditional Italian heritage. For Italian immigrants, like Lucia Santa and Nino, who immigrated to America, however, instead of letting go their traditional beliefs and attitudes, they hold …show more content…
Nino’s allegiance to the “old ways,” in which Angelo describes as Nino always “arguing for the old ways [, you] don’t just follow them, you hang on to them as though they’re all that’s saving you from going under” (Hendin 18) demonstrates how Nino uses traditional Italian beliefs and attitudes as a way of navigating life in a conflicting bicultural environment. Having grown up in Italy, Nino’s perspectives of the proper way of living life is different from those of first-generation Italian American immigrants, as seen by how he tells Angelo, “you were born here and you haven’t made up your mind which rules to follow” (Hendin 18). To Nino, the act of looking for rules based on “truth” and “feelings” is impossible, as there is no “foolproof way of telling which is which” (Hendin 18). In addition, Nino’s use of traditional Italian beliefs and values to navigate the conflicting bicultural environment around him is also shown through how he follows an Italian, instead of an American, code of ethics or rules. In his conversation with Vinnie, Nino criticizes the American way of doing business through contracts, saying how “[you] want to follow their rules instead of ours [, but] what are their rules?” (Hendin 19). Criticizing the American way of doing things, Nino further comments on how “contracts …show more content…
When Octavia tells Lucia Santa about her wanting to become a teacher, Lucia Santa “objects out of superstition,” emphasizing how “life was unlucky, you followed a new path at your peril” (Puzo 12). To Lucia Santa, taking risk when everything in life is already stable is the same as “[putting] yourself at the mercy of fate,” and because Octavia was [too young to understand,]” the only way to protect her against the uncertainties of life is to restrict her freedom. Similar to how Nino wants to protect Gina from the disappointment of not getting into a fancy women’s college or from getting pregnant in an uncommitted relationship with Alex, Lucia Santa wants to protect Octavia from losing what she already has obtained “to be happy” (Hendin 12). In addition to protecting Octavia from the uncertainties of life, Lucia Santa’s fatalistic perspective is also shown through their cynicism against upward mobility, as “the greater the reward, it followed, the greater the risks,” as you can “become helpless in a shattering defeat” (Puzo 138). Thus, instead of taking risks and trying to achieve richness, it is better to have a “modest safety” (Puzo 138). The idea protecting what you already have, instead of trying to strive for more, is also apparent through Lucia Santa’s refusal of letting Frank return home,
Life in Italy is much different than life in the United States. Italians live at a much slower pace, than American’s and they have a desire to enjoy life instead of rushing through it as many American lifestyles exhibit (Zimmermann, K. (2015). The extended family is very important in Italy, whereas in the United States, the focus tends to be on the nuclear family, which includes mom, dad, and children (Zimmermann, 2015). The differences in Italian culture and American culture are vast and varied, but with a few comparable components to demonstrate similarities.
Immigrants come to America, the revered City upon a Hill, with wide eyes and high hopes, eager to have their every dream and wild reverie fulfilled. Rarely, if ever, is this actually the case. A select few do achieve the stereotypical ‘rags to riches’ transformation – thus perpetuating the myth. The Garcia family from Julia Alvarez’s book How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, fall prey to this fairytale. They start off the tale well enough: the girls are treated like royalty, princesses of their Island home, but remained locked in their tower, also known as the walls of their family compound. The family is forced to flee their Dominican Republic paradise – which they affectionately refer to as simply, the Island – trading it instead for the cold, mean streets of American suburbs. After a brief acclimation period, during which the girls realize how much freedom is now available to them, they enthusiastically try to shed their Island roots and become true “American girls.” They throw themselves into the American lifestyle, but there is one slight snag in their plan: they, as a group, are unable to forget their Island heritage and upbringing, despite how hard they try to do so. The story of the Garcia girls is not a fairytale – not of the Disney variety anyway; it is the story of immigrants who do not make the miraculous transition from rags to riches, but from stifling social conventions to unabridged freedom too quickly, leaving them with nothing but confusion and unresolved questions of identity.
In 1620, seeking refuge from persecution in Europe, William Bradford and his small colony of one-hundred and three Protestant separatists, later known as the Pilgrims, arrived in New England to found Plymouth Plantation. Winthrop established the Massachusetts Bay Colony, now known as Boston, as a theocracy, where elected leaders such as Winthrop himself made decisions with the advice of the clergy based of their belief of pre-destination and enforced strict religious laws upon all people who lived in the colony. Although most of those who migrated to America in 1630 shared a common Calvinist theology, there was by no means unanimity regarding how they would practice their religion. Two prominent figures soon brought dissent among the community; first, Anne Hutchinson spread her sharp challenge to the Puritan faith by spreading the idea that a holy life was no sure sign of salvation and to not bother with obeying the law of either God or man; second, Roger Williams urged
The first paragraph evokes the normal and typical structure of the Italian-American immigrant family in this era. In the Vitale family, everyone has their own role. The father, Giovanni Vitale, has the duty of working long hours to provide for his family. The mother, Lisa, has the role of a homemaker, making dinner for the family, and takin...
...rthy Italian has his redeeming traits” (Reading 11, p. 2). These better traits are their honesty, hotheadedness, faithful wives and devoted mothers, and lastly happy and lighthearted. As for being lighthearted, Riis compared the Italian to a child in that there is no social filter, which can come off as rude. Although there are mixed feelings towards the Italians as a whole, Riis felt that they are preferable to Germans and other immigrants because they can be taken advantage of. He feels pity and sympathy for them. The comparison to a child connects to an image of the children of the Gilded Age (Slideshow 7:33). In this image the child is depicted to be serious and not to to what a child is usually thought to be. If an immigrant is like a child, then Americans must teach them to become a responsible American and educate them to progress, known as progressivism.
Do the Right Thing lands at number ninety-six on the American Film Institute’s List of the one hundred best movies of all time. In 1997, the American Film Institute selected the one hundred best American movies of all time and updated the top one hundred list in 2007. The director of Do the Right Thing is Spike Lee, the main actors are Rosie Perez and Danny Aiello, and the cinematographer is Ernest Dickerson. The movie stars Danny Aiello as Sal, a tough guy who owns a Sal’s Famous Pizzeria. Also, Do the Right Thing portrays Spike Lee as a kid delivering pizza named Mookie who knows that there is no future in his job. The setting is in the Bedford-Stuyevesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The main source of conflict is the race relationships
Strained relationships arise between first-generation Americans and their immigrant parents due to differing cultural and societal expectations between the respective groups. Understandably, the first-generation American children quickly grow accustomed to the demands of society in the United States because of the youthful ability to adapt. However, such demands are often at odds with that of the parents’ foreign land. Consequently, tension erupts as a result of conflicting cultural values. As illustrated in “Who’s Irish,” the daughter has assimilated to life in the United States, which includes an
Unless you are a wealthy Italian, you live a much humbler lifestyle. A lot of Italians homes are meager, and the material goods Americans want and vie for, aren’t as important to them. I realized how fortunate I was for all the belongings I took for granted. Some Italians would view the home I grew up in as a mansion compared to their own. They seemed so much happier and it was humbling to see them content by having a lot
“Chi la dura la vince.” This soft-spoken Italian proverb sums up the series of events that Italian immigrants endured on their journey in America. Between 1880 and 1920, more than four million Italian-Americans immigrated to the United States of America in hopes of temporarily escaping Southern Italy’s impoverished and overpopulated society. Once in America, these new Italian-American citizens started ‘Little Italys’ or ethnic enclaves of Italians. Some Little Italies were even large enough to support a full economic structure of their own, providing a plethora of job opportunities. These ‘small’ Italian communities shielded themselves from general stereotypes and provided a sense of belonging which helped Italians establish their roots. America’s attitude toward these new Italian-American citizens can be summed up in part by Congressman James McClintic, a Democrat Oklahoman: "I say the class of immigrants [Italians] coming to the shores of the United States at this time are not the kind of people we want as citizens in this country." Inplace of responding by aggressive human nature, America’s new Italian citizens viewed this as an opportunity to enrich family and community bonds. As for Italian traditions, they struggled to be accustomed between the two Italian generations as the already ‘Americanized’ Italian children clashed with their parents, which resulted in altered traditions. One major example is Italian-American food which chain restaurants have come to paint as a type of restaurant that specializes in spaghetti with meatballs, pizza, and has red checked tablecloths.
They stifle me with ridiculous rules and regulations they have brought with them from Europe… There’s always something that shouldn’t be said or done. There are always jobs I have to learn because all good Italian girls know how to do them, and one-day ill need them to look after my chauvinistic husband. There’s always someone I have to respect. (Pg. 38)
In 1903, Nicola Gentile, a native of Siculiana, Sicily, finding no occupation in his village, came to America as a stowaway on a ship to soon begin his life full of crime. Although barely able to read and write, he believed that he possessed an uncommon strength of will to be sinister. This trait would soon help him to rise to the high rank in the Mafia. After arriving in America, he was amazed at the grand vastness of the buildings and streets he was surrounded by, but moreover, by the attitude of the new people around him. They walked briskly, giving him the impression that all had an urgent mission to perform.
John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress is an allegorical story about the Christian religion. It allegorizes the journey of a Christian into "the Celestial City, which represents heaven. Although Pilgrim's Progress may seem simple and straightforward, there are many deeper meanings throughout the whole story. Bunyan uses the names of his characters to signify whom the character represents in the story, for example, the character Hopeful represents hopefulness, Help represents people who are willing to help others in need of assistance, Faithful represents people who are faithful to whatever they are associated with, and the main character, Christian, represents all young Christians in the world. His journey to the Celestial City is a journey every Christian must face in their lifetime before allowed into heaven. Within his journey there are many obstacles such as temptations both tangible and intangible for instance, the merchandises sold at Vanity Fair and the shortcuts offered, illustrate temptations real Christians must face and overcome; finding an easy way into heaven, and being thrown off course by material things. The character Christian overcomes many obstacles before reaching his destination, the Celestial City. But during his journey he does not face all these obstacles alone. He meets a variety of people all through his journey to the Celestial City; some of these people mock his traveling to the Celestial City, some decide to follow him, and some help him along his way. Christian meets Faithful who decides to join him on his travels. Faithful is a character that faces many difficulties on his own journey to the Celestial City; his journey has many diff...
When Italian immigrants came to America, many were not welcomed in the communities of the Germans and Irish. The neighborhoods that the Itali...
...” (Myers 119). I have, for as long as I can remember, been aware of the cultural winds. With each Italian tradition that my family embraces, we are fighting the winds of a more mainstream tradition that seeks presence in our home. But I am glad that we have fought these winds. I am glad that I did not spend my Christmases in the same way that many other children did. I am glad that I believed that my Christmas presents were left by La Befana while all the other kids believed they had come only from Santa Clause. I believe that living in America is about embracing difference. My family forces me to embrace difference through our Italian traditions each Christmas, and it has taught me how beautiful and valuable difference can truly be. Buon Natale!
The author of The Pilgrim's Progress is well described by Coleridge's remark: "His piety was baffled by his genius; and Bunyan the dreamer overcame the Bunyan of the conventicle." This remark points out the difficulty that Bunyan faces when he attempts to write a religious piece of work in the style of allegory. The Pilgrim's Progress is "pious" because it is a piece written in dedication to God. It contains important religious teachings -- what a good Christian should do and what he should not do. What Coleridge means by Bunyan's "genius" is basically the story itself. The story is so well written that people become so interested in the story and forget the whole spiritual truth behind and this worry Bunyan. Coleridge also indicates in his remarks, the tension between "piety" and "dreaming". "Dreaming", as we know is unreal, and it can hardly be connected with "piety". But Bunyan, through his "genius", not only managed to bring these two things together, but in way that would be satisfiable to all.