On the Threshold of a new world

Transcription

1 On the Threshold of a new world Commentary Introduction Extract from a book by Mark Helprin called Ellis Island and other stories. The passage deals with the arrival of an immigrant in the Usa at Ellis Island. 1 st person narrative : I The passage can be divided into 3 parts: - Lines 1 to 15 : Physical tests - Lines 16 to 31 : Intellectual tests - Line 32 to the end : The American dream First I m going to talk about the narrator s situation, then I ll show why immigrants such as the narrator decide to knock at the door of the new world.

2 Part 1 : The narrator s situation - Who? An immigrant - Where? Ellis Island, New York. Before they could be accepted into the new world, immigrants were parked at Ellis Island, an island situated off New York city. - Why? It was a way to control newcomers. They had to undergo a series of tests. I was taken from room to room (l.1) to check diseases or any physical problems. after lifting..no trachoma (l.2-3) someone else made me cough and breathe (l.3) I had to take off my clothes and turn several times (l.3-4) to check intellectual abilities a pretty woman..if I know how to read and write (l.16) and asked me what I did for a living (l.20) Only people who were healthy were accepted into the new world, so that they wouldn t be a burden on the American society (medical expenses, Unemployment allowances.) Moreover only people doing a job that was valuable for the American economy were accepted. New brains were of course welcome in America. - Attitude of the people in charge towards the narrator: immigrants were treated like animals / cattle looked over rather carelessly (l.1-2) they were humiliated with an unfriendly attitude now do it or I ll send you back to Serbia (l.10-11) They could be sent back at any time, for any reason. she made a letter on my back with a piece of chalk (l.28) (voir feuille sur Ellis Island: Medical inspections) They were marked like cattle. We may wonder why people kept coming to America since they had to undergo such an inhuman treatment.

3 Part 2 : An immigrant knocking at the door of the new world - Where did immigrants come from? * Eastern Europe Southern Europe (Italy) Asia! Hispanics came from the Mexican border and also went to Florida - Why did immigrants leave their country? bad economic conditions in their country. Need to find a job, better opportunity. war / civil war: many people fled their country because of insecurity persecution: Religious >> the Jews. In the text the narrator is perhaps a Jew. He is asked what languages he can read and write. He answered Hebrew, Yiddish. (l.19) Social >> Irish left Ireland in the 19 th century because of the potato Famine >> potato disease = potato blight. They all thought that the new world was the solution to their problems and that a new and enjoyable life could start in America. In fact they were responding to the Declaration of Independence promising Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness According to Michael Cuseak in his book The American Dream in 1981, immigration was also the only way for a person to change his social status. As a matter of fact, in Europe, a coal miner could only remain a coal miner, whereas in America, they thought that everything was possible. It s the American Dream.

4 - Problem with the American dream Immigrants over-estimated what they would find in America. They just wanted to escape from their country and start a new life. The last paragraph is a good justification to this point: I imagined myself.the Berner Oberland (l.32-34) there, in front of us, would be..castles (l.36-37) use of the conditional would be Immigrants coming to America thought that everything would be marvelous, that they would have a great job, a huge house and that they would melt easily in the American society, and that they would have been warmly welcome in the Usa. Yet the situation was generally else. A lot of immigrants lived in very poor conditions and were exploited at work. Immigrants were not prepared to the treatment they received at Ellis Island. Conclusion As a conclusion, I would like to add that in my opinion, the title of the text is paradoxical and the word Threshold is here highly meaningful. Give a quick summary of the main ideas you developed in your commentary. End your exposé with a few laws on immigration to show your knowledge. Several laws on immigration were voted in the Usa in order to restrict immigration - Literacy Act : immigrants had to prove that they could read and write English. - Immigration Act : Various laws in order to restrict immigration from certain countries. - Quotas : Quotas were created to limit the amount of immigrants. We have to keep in mind that as J.F. Kenndy wrote it in A Nation of Immigrants in 1958, every American was and is today either an immigrant or a descendant of immigrants. There is only one exception: The Indians.

5 ENTRETIEN Garder en reserve l explication du titre qui a été annoncé comme paradoxal lors de la conclusion. L examinateur reviendra surement dessus pour avoir des précisions. Si ce n est pas le cas, il faut réussir à en parler lors de l entretien. I think the word «Threshold» is symbolic. This word is usually used for a door, the doorway. Various symbols: - The threshold is the separation between Americans and Immigrants (Happiness / Misery) - The threshold is also the last stage, the last step of the travel for the immigrants coming to the New World. - Indeed, here in the text, Ellis Island is compared to a threshold you must go through in order to reach / enter the New World. As a matter of fact, when you knock at a door the person behind the door can decide if he will let you in or not.