Lesson 3b – Migration and Immigation – Irish Immigration
1. Speaking Task – Observe these two pictures and comment on them. What differences are there? What message does each convey? What are the effects on the viewer?
This is an illustration by B. Craven. It represents a couple on board of a boat. The man holds the lady around his arm. They are looking at the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island. There is a caption which cites the poem by Emma Lazarus: "Give me your tired, your poor, etc.." This sentence is known all over the world and is an excerpt from a sonnet written in 1871 by the poetess. It is scripted on a bronze plaque at the bottom of the statue to invite and welcome immigrants.
Here, it clearly says not to enter the US anymore, that there are already too many people. It was issued in the midst of anti-immigration reform, after 9/11, the US was more and more regarding entrants and demanding even towards tourists.
2. Listening Task – Watch the video. Note down as many words as you can and report what you understood.
3. Reading Task –
1. Read the excerpt from the back cover of the book and recap all you learn from the main character, the plot and the author of the book?
Back cover excerpt“It is Enniscorthy in the south-east of Ireland in the early 1950s. Eilis Lacey is one among many of her generation who cannot find work at home. Thus when a job is offered in America, it is clear to everyone that she must go. Leaving her family and country, Eilis heads for unfamiliar Brooklyn. The following excerpt from Irish writer Colm Toibin's novel Brooklyn finds her on the night before her arrival in America”
2. Then, read the excerpt from Brooklyn and answer the questions.
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, Penguin-Viking, 2009 pp. 48-50
1. Who else is on board with Eilis?
Georgina
2. What is the main topic of this excerpt?
How to look at one's best to enter the USA
3. What is her part (role) in this evening before they arrive in the USA? Justify.
Georgina is Eilis's "beauty coach"
4. Why is Eilis's friend advice so important? Make a list of them.
They are important because Eilis lacks self-confidence and does not know how to dress herself and make herself look attractive without looking too eccentric. "We don't want you looking like a tart"; "Don't look too innocent"; "Try not to look so frightened"...
5. What makes Eilis think she won't have any problem with entering the USA? Who is father Flood?
She has a full work permit. father Flood is a Catholic priest who helped Eilis get the right papers.
6. What do you know about Ellis Island? What can you say about the heroine's name and this particular place? What was Toibin's intention?
Ellis Island is the place where the Statue of Liberty stands and where immigrants from Europe arrived and where checked up. Of course, the heroine's name and the name of this island are close and Toibin wanted to tell us she already bore a part of the US within her and would succeed in making her life in this country.
7. Does Eilis feel comfortable? Justify. How does she explain this? What is her friend's answer. Explain what idea does that convey.
No she doesn't. She is scared to death and pretends she is just hungry.
8. Explain what Eilis's friend says to her on line 44.
"You're about to enter the land of the free and the brave": the US is the land of the free compared to the Soviet Union (as the action takes place around the 1950s, it is at the heart of the cold war and the US promote their democracy) for instance or other countries. The brave: the US has always been seen as a place where hard-working people succeeded (as compared to people waiting for their government to help them living) It is a land built by strength, courage, hard-work, etc.
Notions:
Myths & Heroes: Eilis is an heroine. She is courageous as she leaves her home land. Myth lingers in the idea that the US is the country of the free and the brave, the land of milk and honey, the place where everything is possible...
The Notion of Progress: social progress
Space & Exchange: travel, work immigration, New York communities
Locations & Forms of Power: Ellis island was dreaded by new comers as it was a yes or no and people could be sent back as quickly and easily as they had left Europe. Customs agents had power over all these people and the government took actions to limit the entry of immigrants to the US.
4. Writing Task – Work on one subject
1. Imagine Eilis's arrival on Ellis island and in her boarding house in Brooklyn. 100 words
OR
2. Eilis spent her first week in Brooklyn and started work. She writes a letter to her family. Write it for her. 100 words
5. Speaking Task – You are a representative of the Irish-American Museum in Albany, NY. You must present one of the faces of Irish-American culture. Here is a list of some of these aspects, choose one and develop your presentation as to share it with your class.
1. One of the immigration waves and its causes.
2. A personality from politics, sports, show business, etc. of Irish descent.
3. An Irish cultural aspect that has also spread in the USA.
On line ressources:
http://www.irishamericanheritagemuseum.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_American
http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Ha-La/Irish-Americans.html#b
http://www.irishamericanheritage.com/
http://www.aihs.org/American_Irish_Historical_Society/Welcome.html
http://irish-american.org/