The Journey to Becoming an American
In a time when the immigration train ran at full speed, America found itself introducing millions of foreigners to the world of freedom and opportunity. In multitudes, natives from countries such as Italy, Germany and Poland traveled to Ellis Island in search for something greater than what their modest indigenous land could offer. Unfortunately, when America began to accept immigration, it also found itself amid conflict, cultural discrimination and war. Many of these newly accepted immigrants came to achieve the “American Dream”, yet found themselves becoming a part of the war effort. In the Long Way Home: An American journey From Ellis Island to the Great War, author David Laskin delivers the heroic …show more content…
Laskin sets the stage of the war by describing the sights, sounds and actions each immigrant faced in their time as soldiers in the war. We as readers come to learn of the involvement and eventually, the fate of Laskin’s protagonists. Throughout this journey, we come to understand the irony of these men serving a country that sometimes made them feel like unwanted strangers. The second half of the novel does more than just detail the position each immigrant experiences in the Great War, it assists in helping the audience to see each solider as a dedicated hero in a country that did not welcome them. The loyalty Laskin details that each immigrant soldier embodies aides in the theory that despite the distain they faced as immigrants they still viewed themselves as men who took pride in serving their new …show more content…
The Long Way Home: An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War offers not only a personal narrative, but a historical account of America in the midst of great change and improvement. Laskin’s emotionally and historically charged novel brings to light the situation many immigrants faced in a new land. While Laskin’s novel may focus on many characters from different walks of life, the audience can appreciate the individual journey each character took from becoming a new citizen in a foreign land to becoming a true American
In a time when the immigration train ran at full speed, America found itself introducing millions of foreigners to the world of freedom and opportunity. In multitudes, natives from countries such as Italy, Germany and Poland traveled to Ellis Island in search for something greater than what their modest indigenous land could offer. Unfortunately, when America began to accept immigration, it also found itself amid conflict, cultural discrimination and war. Many of these newly accepted immigrants came to achieve the “American Dream”, yet found themselves becoming a part of the war effort. In the Long Way Home: An American journey From Ellis Island to the Great War, author David Laskin delivers the heroic …show more content…
Laskin sets the stage of the war by describing the sights, sounds and actions each immigrant faced in their time as soldiers in the war. We as readers come to learn of the involvement and eventually, the fate of Laskin’s protagonists. Throughout this journey, we come to understand the irony of these men serving a country that sometimes made them feel like unwanted strangers. The second half of the novel does more than just detail the position each immigrant experiences in the Great War, it assists in helping the audience to see each solider as a dedicated hero in a country that did not welcome them. The loyalty Laskin details that each immigrant soldier embodies aides in the theory that despite the distain they faced as immigrants they still viewed themselves as men who took pride in serving their new …show more content…
The Long Way Home: An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War offers not only a personal narrative, but a historical account of America in the midst of great change and improvement. Laskin’s emotionally and historically charged novel brings to light the situation many immigrants faced in a new land. While Laskin’s novel may focus on many characters from different walks of life, the audience can appreciate the individual journey each character took from becoming a new citizen in a foreign land to becoming a true American