FIND a small detail, or a quotation, that particularly impressed you. Write the reason why you chose it.
It must be something SMALL: ex. do not talk about "poverty" in general, find a tiny detail that illustrates that poverty.
1) Read all the posts before yours: DO NOT REPEAT. Find your own original item.
2) As you read the posts before yours, chose one that has not yet received a reply. REPLY and tell the writer if you had noticed or not noticed the same detail and what it means to you.
you too- want to go away . her son wanted to go with his father and that for a mother is so sad. because most boys are mams boys and they are there to protect the family if the father out to work . some mothers like to hold to there children for a long time , its hard to let them go or to fly all on there own . the mother in son Italy was so sad by this and think she just did not want to lose her family.
ReplyDeleteThis detail was small but holds a strong common feeling that all mothers have. I agree with your reasoning as it is commonly depicted for the oldest son to become the head of the household or take care of the family when the father is away. In this case, you can understand the conflict inside the mother as she realizes both father and son are leaving to an unknown land where it is uncertain if they'll return.
DeletePage 41 " And of a sudden she must have realized how hideous and repulsive she was- and of a sudden she must have realized what a twisted horror her life has been." I like this sentence in particular because the whole chapter he was describing this witch in a bad way and when she actually smiled at him, he got scared and stepped away from her, in that moment I felt bad for her when she was trying to be nice to him. For the boy she still remained very ugly and bad.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis line also stood out to me, it was interesting to see how D'Angelo himself came from a very poor family which struggled to put food on the table, but when she cried out in hunger prior to this quote he did not hesitate to hand her his lunch. In a way he felt obligated.
Delete"I began to notice that there were signs at the corners of the street with "Ave! Ave! Ave!" How religious a place this must be that expresses its devotion at every crossing." (Page 53) I found this quotation quite interesting as that particular thought process never crossed my mind; it always correlated ave on the street signs for avenue. Though the quote refers to "Ave" as in the Catholic prayer Ave Maria, it’s quite amusing that it was mistaken for religious devotion as Catholicism was not the prominent religion in America and in a couple decades the issue of JFK being a Catholic president became a large controversy.
ReplyDeleteI also found a little chuckle when reading this part of the book. It never ceases to amaze me how different life becomes when viewed from a different perspective. Something little like "ave" may not mean anything at all to someone coming from a background of virtually any other language, but to an Italian [speaker] this appears thought provoking to say the least. "1st [hail]" might be a command one might expect to receive in church, not when trying to find a Starbucks!
DeleteA line from the reading which struck me quite profoundly (or profoundly enough to dog-ear the page) was found just about half way through the assigned reading
ReplyDelete"A large group of men were gathered in the tavern. As is usual for men, after a few applications of wine, they seemed to have reached the acme of eloquence." (page 30)
Though the idea of a man getting on his soapbox after a few adult beverages isn't an earth-shattering idea, the way in which the author explained the scene/mood made quite the impression on me. Unsure if D'Angelo was being literal or instead using a bit of tongue-in-cheek wit, I find the idea of reaching the "acme of eloquence" a profound way to paint the picture.
When I read this part of the story it reminded me of the Roman/Italian saying that I recently learned, "In vino veritas" which means "In wine there is truth". It is very amusing how the these wine-drinkers know the effects of their beverage very well.
DeleteOn page 48, "Our people have to emigrate. It was a matter of too much boundless life and too little space. We feel tied up there." This stood out to me in particular because it shows the Italians felt obligated to leave their country because of how restricting and limiting it was to them and their families. D'Angelo states that people knew of America, they knew it as the land where people went and didn't return but they went anyway. One thing Americans didn't know was the life Italians were coming from was much worse.
ReplyDeleteThis stood out to me as well, i thought about our class discussion about the comic depicting cramped conditions for Italian American immigrants. These people in book think that America has more space but they will soon come to realize that they face obstacles there as well.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Delete"I was lingering outside the door, in a shivering sort of curiosity. From what I had gathered the witch must have entered as a spirit through the keyhole, for there were no horns in back of the door to prevent her"(Page 34).
ReplyDeleteI chose this quote because to me I found it profound that the people in this community not only believed in the witch and her many powers, but also that they all were so afraid of her that they gave many goods to her as well.
The same thing came to mine when I read this part because with all the evil things the Witch was doing by getting all the babies sick, yet no one knew what was causing the illness.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"She said get the onions from under the bed, and we will roast and eat them"(page7).This quote stood out to me because it shows how poor the family was and that they had to store every little food they had even the smallest as an onion. I imagine how hard it was for them to provide food each day, especially for their children. By reading this sentence I appreciate what I have each day because a lot of people out there in the world have it really hard to make provision for their families and even themselves.
ReplyDeleteI could relate to this quote because back in my country my life was similar to Pascal D'angelo life. I like the fact that you notice this quote because now days you will see a lot of homeless everywhere asking for food or spare changes. I'm happy now my life have turn a better light because my living condition change ever since I move to New York and I'm glad I'm eating better and growing healthy because like you say "Sherica Dawkins" (a lot of people out there in the world have it hard).
Delete"Without realizing it, I had learned the great lesson of America: I had learned to have faith in the future." (pg. 156) This quote, to me, signifies the American Dream. A lot of people come to this country looking for an easier/better life than the one they were living prior. But living in America is far from easy, especially when you come from nothing. It takes time and effort to make it to where you really want to be in life. It may not come overnight, but as long as you don't give up, your future can become what you've always wanted.
ReplyDeleteI think this one line is one of the strongest ones written in this book. He really the hammer on the nail with this while describing America. One of my parents is an immigrant, and growing up I would always hear how my family lost everything they had so we could be successful and live a happy and fulfilling life. The pain and sufferings each immigrant went through was not for themselves at the moment, but for their future, for their family's future. Even D'Angelo's father himself went to America to secure his family's future.
DeleteWhen they found the witch badly beaten near a stream, I thought that the young father must have done it. The book didn't mention the culprit and I was impressed by this because when they asked the lady who beat her she did not accuse anyone or mentioned any names. I was a little sad that she got blamed for something that was not her fault because the superstitions that clouded the townspeople's judgement. In the end, she died for a sin she didn't commit and the child passed away because the efforts they could have spent on finding a proper treatment was poured into their superstitions.
ReplyDeleteWhen they’re walking in the street and they see the woman dressed in over the top extravagance, he calls her an example of “brutal vanity.” I loved this entire section because there seemed to be a lot to it. On the surface it seemed like he was just speaking of the fact she was covered in dead animals. It also referred to the fact that there’s such a thing as being overly dressed, and the way he described it made it sound like she was hard to look at. Yet, she was only judged by the 3 italian men roaming the streets, and the men were being judged every where they went just because they were immigrants.
ReplyDelete"The father had gathered some of his braver relative and compari and they had beaten and driven the hag out into the night and destroyed the hut in which she lived." ( pg 39) To me this quote mean that the father was upset about the baby sickness and thought it was the witch fault so he gather his strongest relative to accompany him on his journey of revenge to the witch hut. In my opinion I dislike what the father did, and I felt like it was a crime to beating an innocent old woman witch or not. I felt it was wrong for the families to accompany the father to do such crime just for vengeance with no proof of the witch causing the baby death just because she was the town witch they assumed she was the reason the baby was sick and died.
ReplyDelete"The father was swearing vengeance and wandering aimlessly around the town and on the highlands."(pg 42) This quote mean that the father anger was so high for the baby death that he finally successfully kill the witch. She died of shock and sadness because she see's how her life ended and how her death make her regret of living in this town she call home.
"All my works are lost, lost forever. But if I write a good line of poetry - then when the night comes and I cease writing, my work is not lost. My line is still there. It can be read by you today and by another tomorrow. But my pick and shovel works cannot be read either by you or by any one else tomorrow. If I bring you to all the above mentioned places you will never be able to understand all the work I was compelled to do, while I labored there. You cannot feel from the cold roads and steel tracks all the pains, the heartaches and the anger I felt at the brutality of enforced labor" (72).
ReplyDeleteOut of the entire book, this was the part that stuck out to me the most. We take for granted the technology and industry we have today. We drive our cars, take the buses or trains wherever we need to go without giving a second thought to the blood, sweat, and tears put into everything. My great uncle helped build the Twin Towers. About a week before 9/11, my great uncle passed away. When I saw the second tower fall, my heart immediately went out to my uncle, whose hard work along with the hundreds of men he worked with, was wiped out with one man's decision. This quote shows that we will never understand the pain and the struggle that went through and still goes through the workers who work day in and day out to keep us safe, happy, and successful. I also really love this quote because it shows the importance of writing. Writing is the only way we can learn about the past, and truly understand the emotions of those before us.
The disconnect between American Culture (specifically of the New York) that Pascal encounters and that of his native land in Abruzzi, Italy is the one that most impressed me. It's always interesting to me when cultures become apparent to one another when someone visits or comes to live in an entirely new world. It can be alienating at times, such as on page 73 when Pascal remarks:
ReplyDelete"Not a man in the crowd had put a twig of sweet basil over his left ear as the men -real men- of our town do on summer evenings."
This sentence struck me as both funny and relatable because it reminded me of how my parents' customs stood in conflict with the world of the US and how they tried to instill that in me. I would always do a sign of the cross if I passed a church until my late twenties because I thought that's how life always was. It was what I was taught was the custom. Pascal had been taught as part of his culture and tradition, that men were to put sweet basil over his left ear. This remark also made me reflect on how passionless and uncreative American customs can be. It can be seen as cold and alienating to people whose cultures, like mine and like people from other countries and cultures, can attach meaning and significance to objects and rituals that seems out-of-place to people who only know American life. That aspect is the basis for which America can still hold promise to those who come here. It can be a place for us to learn from each other and introduce ourselves through our traditions, rituals and beliefs. I'm only hoping that given our political climate, that that promise still holds out.
"At least if my body was living in a world of horror I could build a world of beauty for my soul." (154)
ReplyDeleteI instantly attached myself with this quote because to me it sums up the entire book. This is a story of achievement through struggle. After all the suffering and mistreatment due to the social injustice I found inspiration that made the hardships worth reading through. I truly feel aspired by this book. I admire his internal strength of hope which he explains he builds by himself. I'm glad that his battle with external conflicts of life was defeated by his will to obtain success.