The Uprooted written by Oscar Handlin is one of the most thought provoking and powerful books written about the mass migration of European immigrants to the United States in the 19th century. The Uprooted was awarded the Pulitzer prize for history in 1952. Oscar Handlin was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1915 from parents of Jewish descent. Handlin started working at a very young age and entered Brooklyn College. Oscar Handlin at the age of 18 was accepted into Harvard University. Oscar Handlin was a well-educated citizen and in his book The Uprooted he writes from the perspective of an immigrant travelling to the United States in times of distress. Oscar Handlin offers an analysis of history in the most challenging way. Oscar Handlin’s thesis …show more content…
Handlin used statistical evidence to help enhance the low wages of the average immigrant “But it was significant that the most desirable forms of labor for municipalities in 1900 brought only two dollars a day” (Handlin 69). The invisible boundary that immigrants had to face or the alienation of coming to America was explained by Handlin. The housing arrangements for immigrants separated immigrants and religion played a large part in alienation. Handlin used various forms of rhetoric, including pathos, ethos, and logos in his novel to establish his credibility as a writer. Handlin uses vivid language when speaking of the housing arrangements of immigrants and the emotional appeal from imagery of life in the settlement is critical. Oscar uses historical evidence to enhance the book’s credibility and having a logical aspect of history is a necessity. The style of writing in the Uprooted was blissful and was full of confidence. Handlin wrote with confidence and this gains the trust of the reader and engages the reader in the historical significance of alienation being correlated with
For a girl from Bohemia, learning to speak English and living on the prairie in Nebraska was a hard life in the late 1800’s. The cultural beliefs and traditions of America were both different and similar from Antonia’s Bohemian culture. Antonia and her family had to learn how to farm so they could make a living using the American’s culture of independent capitalism and private ownership. She survived her father’s death by using her bold and free spirited personality to work as hard as any man, which showed her strength, courage, and the immigrant spirit for a better life. This family tragedy also brought the community and the Shimerdas together through religious differences to mourn and respect a man.
Riis’s goal in composing his data was to inform the middle class and upper class on the living conditions of ones living in the terrible tenements. Jacob Riis collected his thoughts well in the writing of How the Other Half Lives. The book was very well put together and an engaging read. Although, Riis used numerous offensive words about several of the immigrants, however, years ago it was normal language describing many of the
The experiences of American immigrants is as diverse as the immigrants themselves. Joseph Bruchac’s grandparents were Slovak children who immigrated to Ellis Island. Bruchac, who is half Native American, perceives the mass arrival of immigrants as negative, since they took the land of the Native Americans through violence. He is torn between the immigrant part and the Native American part of himself. In contrast, Phillis Wheatley, who was forced into slavery and brought to America from Africa, sees this forced immigration as a positive.
To do so, I will begin with a general overview of the “Gilded Age” and the immigrants’ situation during this era. Afterwards, I will examine the characteristics of Riis’ work. Following this, I will show the immediate impact Riis’ publication had.
From our textbook we are able to learn the base information of the depression and migrant workers. The document provides a deeper insight with first hand views on the mistreatment of workers by wealthy landowners. First hand photographs allow a real view of how the impoverished migrant camps actually looked. The photos, along with Steinbeck's firsthand observations and genuine concern for the human suffering that was taking place allows for students to be further engaged into the topic. Our Texbook, Give Me Liberty, describes how the depression transformed American life.
Driven from Home, written by David Silkenat, is a book that studies North Carolina's refugee crisis throughout the Civil War. This refugee crisis, occurring in the American Civil War period, was prominent among many peoples, including African Americans and poor whites, both of which were affected by the occurring war. In his introduction, Silkenat stresses the idea of continuing to gain knowledge on historical events, noting historians such as Leslie Schwalm, Yael Sternhell, and Jim Downs, all of whom have helped deepen the understanding of the refugee crisis itself. This book is no exception, allowing for and building off of the new information that has been recently researched and discovered, creating a deeper explanation of the topic for
In the book, American Exodus: The Dust Bowl Migration and Okie Culture in California, James N. Gregory attempts to change readers perspective of stereotypes created by artist during the Great Depression, such as those created by John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and Dorthea Lange’s photograph of the “Migrant Mother”. In his book, Gregory “takes us back to the dust bowl migration” to reveal that there is more to Oklahoman, Arkansan, Texan, and Missourian immigrants than economic hardship. He focuses on regionalism, and an “Okie” subculture that was created due to the high rate of migration to California. Gregory sets out to prove that they also had a mass effect on Californian culture and social patterns. Using extremely efficient primary
The United States, during the 19th century, was a growing nation with much promise to prosper and urbanize. An integral aspect that contributed to the nation's expansion were immigrants, Individuals who were seeking more opportunities came from countries such as China, Germany, Ireland, etc. to work in the United States and earn a better living. In 1830, John Downe, an immigrant from England, is an example of a individual emigrating their home country to improve their life. John, in a letter to his wife trying to persuade his family to emigrate as well uses a mixture of tone, atmosphere, and pathos to envoke an overall hopeful but yet melancholy mood.
In the first few chapters alone he references a book on the architecture of railway stations (pg 21, note 1), the weather section of a newspaper (pg 33, note 1), and a marriage licence (pg 48, note 42); all of these sources only supported minute details, but they gave significant credibility to how meticulous Boyle was when he researched the book. His attention to detail continues to be apparent when looking at the sources he chose when supporting the wider narrative. Boyle makes use of everything from court transcripts and witness testimonies, to census data and immigration data, to create an exquisitely detailed window into the race relations and political environment of 1920s
In conclusion, Handlin’s work provides and argument communicating the hardships immigrants during the Second Industrial Revolution experienced. His points are supported by the misfortune of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and the treatments of the company’s laborers. These issues challenged their ideas, beliefs, and cultures. However, the immigrants endured in the face of
Tenements were the first home for several immigrant families across the nation. Initially beginning their lives in America in New York caused them to suffer severe conditions such as a high risk of fire, dirty and stuffy rooms, and limited access to the necessary supplies to live. The Tenement Museum at 97 Orchard Street in New York’s lower East side represented the lives of these immigrants and accurately portrayed several encounters seen in the book Jews without Money by Mike Gold. A notable idea represented in both the museum and the book is how life goes on no matter what is occurring around you.
In The Harvest Gypsies, Steinbeck also describes decreasing morale in the displaced farmers as he says “the dullness shows in the faces…and in addition there is a sullenness that makes them taciturn.” The difficulty of finding adequate work to support a family during the Dust Bowl was extremely high—and as the work was competitive, these farmers implicated the work ethic that began at the beginning of the 20th
The daughter dreams vividly of the farm under her ancestors' care and is deeply saddened. She recalls “That night I dream / of my fathers out of Bohemia / filling the blue fields / of fresh and generous Ohio / with leaves and vines and orchards. ” The visual picture given of luscious and rich farmland is in direct contrast with the current reality of the land the two women are farming which can barely sustain them alone. This imagery of flourishing farmland highlights the family’s extreme fall from grace and the guilt the two women no doubt feel at squandering such a legacy. By referencing ancestors from Bohemia, now the Czech Republic, Oliver incorporates an American Dream like immigration story made all the more bittersweet by the two women’s current hardship.
This novel holds such a significance and truth about American history that it should not be banned in general. On the one hand, parents‟ and teachers‟ concerns are understandable because they only want the best for their children, and shielding their children from vulgar language and explicit content seems suitable. On the other hand, if one were to look past the language and obscenities, I feel as though one could see that the novel explores the bitter truth behind our beloved America. This bitter truth is of the migrant workers, the deaths of their innocent family members, the starvation, and the poverty – essentially it is the struggle of those who fell as victims to the terrible circumstances of this period in time. Ultimately, high school students, who I believe are old enough to comprehend this novel, should not be restricted from reading this book.
Israelis now inhabit their ancestral lands and have violently displaced this population of Arabs, causing diaspora. As Susan Abulhawa is a diasporic Palestinian herself, the novel Mornings In Jenin is an understandably hard-to-read narrative of a fictionalized but realistic Palestinian family – all who suffer from being extradited from their own familial homes and cities, only to become a refugee on their own land or in countries far away. The concept of diaspora has been also a sensitive issue with Jewish people, thus motioned to create the state of Israel, over another populated country. Abulhawa’s experience was reflected onto these characters, particularly Hasan and Amal, both of which were not able to find a permanent and secure place to call home, harnessing her feelings of diaspora that would make many people understand the feeling of displacement and unjustified