In Mount Allegro, the author paints America in light that reflects what and how the immigrants defined it during their struggle to assimilate. The Mangione family soon learned that ‘America’ was more than a piece of land. They found, as Gruesz defines, “…the meaning of America might be said to be a national characteristic” (Gruesz 17). In this novel, it is presented as a goal that immigrants are striving to reach. And if you reach it, you and others can sincerely consider yourself a genuine part of America. The narrator airs this deep desire, defining, “…as much as we wanted them [our families] to live an American life, we did not have the vaguest notion as how to go about it” (Mangione 208).
Mangione challenges Gruesz’s explanation of what
Mangione challenges Gruesz’s explanation of what