Preview

Mother and New American Friends

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
496 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Mother and New American Friends
12/20/1890
Today we heard the news that we will reach Ellis Island any day now. It amazes how fluent I have become in Yiddish. I still remember at the beginning of the voyage how my father and mother had to translate everything I said. However, now I regret learning Yiddish because now I understand why many of the fellow passengers were always crying. It wasn’t because of missing the old country which I earlier believed, but of the loss of their close family members and friends. I remember back in Russia I had heard the term Pogrom but I had no idea what it meant. I wonder now, if the main reason we left Russia really was because of the job offer dad received from an old friend of his.
12/21/1890
I woke up to the loud sounds of hundreds of passengers cheering and clapping. I rushed myself to the front and then I at last saw it. In the horizon just like it was described to me stood the Statue of Liberty. From that time until we arrived passengers we laughing, singing, and crying. When we arrived and got off the boat everyone walked into the biggest building I have ever seen in my life. Here the doctors examined us I had no idea what they were saying or checking but after a couple of hours they let us pass. However, before I left I did see some passengers from our ship desperately yelling. I guess I’ll never know what happened with them. As we left the huge building we when through a magnificent gate which Dad said was called the Golden Door. From there we took a ride in a wagon in which I fell asleep. Late at night we arrived at our destination. When we walked into our room I noticed how tiny it was compared to our house back in Russia. But I didn’t mind I was still used to the tiny space I had on the boat in which we were packed with many other families in one room.
12/22/1890
Mom woke me up in the morning and told me it was time to go to an American School.
At first I was worried that it would be a problem that I don’t know English but after a while I

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Because of the Polish heritage of Skrzynecki’s parents the only way to feel they belonged in the migrant hostel and in society in general was to take comfort in shared experiences “Years and place-names/Recognised by accents”.…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Immigrant Book Critique

    • 1525 Words
    • 7 Pages

    “Where do we go from here?” This is the question that resounded through most peoples’ heads as they walked through the Golden Gates of Ellis Island into America for the first time. Ellis Island Interviews by Peter Morton Coan does a great job describing the history of Ellis Island and the personal encounters of a fraction of immigrants who passed through in their journey to start a new life. Ellis Island was active from January 1, 1892 to November 12, 1954. During that time, more than 24 million people were processed for immigration into the United States of America. The beginning of this book, Coan gives a very thorough explanation of the history of Ellis Island and what happened there. After the background information comes the many different stories of the personal accounts from the last surviving immigrants who came through Ellis Island. 28 different countries are represented in this book with multiple stories for each country about why each person came to America, their experience coming through Ellis Island, and what happened to them after they assimilated into the American culture. After reading this book, Coan makes it clear why we must be informed about the history of immigration, not only because it is our ancestors, but also because of the similarities to immigration issues today. Ellis Island Interviews is a great book to learn about the history of immigration in America.…

    • 1525 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Late nineteenth century and early twentieth century America experienced a giant scale of immigration. By those days, America was known for receiving the waves of immigrants who were not from English speaking countries (excluding the Irish). Because of their language and their background, it was really hard for them to adjust in the society and call themselves Americans, especially during twentieth century culture. In order to become full citizens and avoid constant discrimination and marginalization, immigrants started to enlist themselves into the U.S army. Some fought because they wanted to do something for the country while some became soldiers because they were told so.…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Feliks Skryznecki Journey

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages

    'Immigrants at Central Station, 1951' uses a variety of different techniques to show the struggles and hardships immigrants within the physical and emotional journey faced as they leave their country…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    All of us followed the Naval Officer to his life boat. We all went onto the navy war ship and then we were all assigned cabins. I was given one with a window. It was late and we were told to sleep. The doors locked, and the pale light of the moon shone through my room. In the room stood a sink, toilet, and a small cot. The room was made of metal, and the door had a glass window that reflected fluorescent light into the room. The window on the opposite side of the room let in the natural light of the moon.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Immigrants Horrible Lives Have you ever wondered if you are related to one of the immigrants in the 1900’s? The immigrants had a dreadful life at this time. Immigrants were brave because they crossed the ocean and went through the checkpoint at Ellis Island. To start the immigrants take an awful voyage across the ocean. Immigrants had a lousy boat ride to get to America.…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ellis Island History

    • 1770 Words
    • 8 Pages

    "Over 15,000,000 new Americans entered the Golden Door passing through Ellis Island (Adams, 267)."[6] More importantly, we can see with clarity that Ellis Island served as a fort, which helped defeat the British. Then eventually it became the biggest immigration center; and lastly, it transformed into a monument. In essence, this landmark’s evolution has made New York. It is part of its fundamental core. It is the heart and soul of New York. Because of the rich history behind its creation, it has, in reality, increased the wealth of New York. Today, New York is what it is because of its history and significant events. Imagine not having this port during the Revolutionary War, perhaps, we would not be Americans today. Perhaps we would have been British slaves. Imagine Americans not being able to strategize justly and could not negate the British. What would happen to New York or to America? What would happen to the present and the future of America? When alarming questions such as these are raised, we reflect and realize the significance of this landmark. We can embrace the actions and courage of our past American heroes and accept the decisions made by our government. The beauty of history is that it happened in the past, and we can learn, respect and grow from the previous events. Today, " New York is still the largest immigration port of…

    • 1770 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    This is a creative essay on Ellis Island, describing life as an immigrant who went to Ellis Island through first-person. All facts and dates are historically correct.…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Let me tell you about my journey to get to Ellis Island. As you know, I went to Ellis Island to live with my mother since my father had passed away roughly 7 years ago and I was living with my aunt and uncle in Italy. My mother had gone to Ellis Island a few years previous to my own journey to start a new life for us. My aunt and uncle had to save up to five years wages (2200 liras). I had to walk about 50 miles to get to the seaport! The trip across the Atlantic lasted about a week and a half. The fortunate first- and second- class passengers stayed in staterooms and cabins. Alas, like the majority of all the people on the steamship, I was in third class, which is…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the autobiography, “Out of the Shadow”, author Rose Cohen, a Russian-Jewish immigrant, explains the social and economic conditions during the late 1800s and early 1900s for Jews immigrating into the United States. Cohen explains how many Jews fled Eastern Europe and Russia during this time due to the ruling of the tsar, fear of religious persecution, and economic restrictions. Because these restrictions were becoming the norm for Jewish people in their county, Rose’s father, a tailor, began to embark on a journey to the United States of America, in hopes of beginning a new life for himself and his family. Even though her father is captured at the border of Russia and returned home, he managed to get to America. Once in America, he began work as a tailor, striving to earn enough money to bring his entire family to America. In the next year and a half, Rose’s father is finally able to get Rose and her aunt Masha to America. During the early years of Rose’s life in America, she experiences many obstacles and conditions that were faced by Jews throughout the United States during the late 19th century and early 20th century.…

    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ellis Island

    • 1982 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Between 1892 and 1924, over 12 million immigrants arrived in America filled with hopeful anticipation of a new life (National Park Service para 1). Following their long journey by ship across the Atlantic Ocean, the first stop for many immigrants was Ellis Island. First- and second- class cabin passengers, who were immediately cleared for entry into America without being inspected or questioned, referred to Ellis Island as the “Isle of Hope.” For passengers who traveled in the steerage compartment, however, the experience was very different. These immigrants were subjected to medical examinations and interrogations to determine if they were fit for citizenship. For those immigrants who were detained or deported, Ellis Island was known as the “Isle of Tears.” Despite being promoted as a land of equal opportunity, this was not the case for many of the steerage class immigrants when they landed on Ellis Island.…

    • 1982 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Literacy Memoir My mom told me that when I was a kid, I was very interested in learning different kinds of language. When I was living in China, I loved to learn English. Whenever I watch foreign TV shows, I imitate the way how they talk. English used to be my favorite subject in school, until I immigrated to America.…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    My heart beats like a drum as I board the plane to Kansas City. The airport intercom comes on, and I hear, “Attention all passengers, the flight to Kansas City is now boarding.” I give my mom and dad one last hug and walk slowly to the door. I find my seat and sit down.…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Immigration 1800

    • 1053 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Thousands of immigrants were forced to leave their countries of origin in the mid-1800s for different reasons: political, war, religious persecution, unemployment, and food shortages. When they learn that in America exists the hope of a new beginning they did not hesitate to take this opportunity. In an unprecedented wave, immigrants left their countries and embarked with a suitcase full of dreams without having the slightest suspicion of the battles that were to bear them because of discrimination. Moreover, the journey to America was very risky in which many of them died during the trip (North Site, 2015).…

    • 1053 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    My life changed in a blink of an eye, the moment I turned sixteen years old. My parents decided, that it was better for my future that I finish high school in America. I was thrilled, but at the same time I knew coming to America meant starting over. Leaving my country, my family, my friends, and my culture was the hardest thing I had to do in my life. After living two years away from parents, now I can say that the sacrifice was worth it.…

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays