Nostalgia In Short Story

Nostalgia is the feeling of missing the past. In “Grape Sherbet” by Rita Dove, the speaker develops this feeling by using past-tense verbs. The speaker also uses family to show that she misses the past. Furthermore, the speaker indicates the fleeting nature of time by using themes of death. The speaker in “Grape Sherbet” by Rita Dove has an attitude of nostalgia.

When placing the novel in the context of our course numerous topics are illuminated, such as, how these immigrants attempted to hold onto the values and traditions of their ancestors, how the immigrants faced discrimination and what certain immigrants had to do in order to make a living. The Italian Immigrants migrated to the United States eventually making their way to New York City and in particular the upper east side of Manhattan. This migration to a certain location demonstrates how the Italians felt more comfortable living with one another rather than assimilating into the American culture and living with other ethnic groups. Throughout the novel Orsi provides

As an Italian-American, I was and am still told by my mother, grandparents, and great-grandparents how proud I should be of my heritage. I was taught to respect my great-grandmother who, after arriving in America along side her husband, fully committed herself to raising her four sons and eight nieces and nephews in a two-bedroom house in Pennsylvania. She was motivated by the drive of a better life in a new, strong country for the young-ones she loved. I was taught to treasure both food and family, praying each night through the Blessed Mother. I was handed Pizzelles and Almond cookies as snacks throughout the day, and listened to Dean Martin through the stereo almost every night. My grandmother’s family came from Mezzogiorno, while my grandfather’s family hailed from the North Country. Though I had never been to Italy, as a child, I still knew the significance of being Italian and was thankful. It was not until I entered public school that I began to understand the teasing that my own ethnic group was subject to on a near daily basis.

In her essay “On Going Home,” author Joan Didion speaks to new parents about how the experience of “going home” after starting a new family can trigger feelings of disconnection between families, old and new. Written from Didion’s own experience returning to her childhood home for her daughter’s first birthday, the essay describes her nostalgia for her previous home and how she regrets being unable to, as a mother, provide the same familial experiences she had as a child. Using relatable invention, imagery-inducing arrangement, and syntax that inspires more deliberate reading by the audience, Didion effectively convinces her readers of the familial fragmentation that occurs with the creation of a nuclear family.

Even though it hasn’t been a long time since our family has moved to America, it feels like a lifetime ago. I can barely remember the days of walking around barefoot and only having a small piece of bread to eat, while here everyone has shoes to wear and eats pasta multiple times a week. How my life has changed in such a short time. Everyone and everything moves at such fast pace here, if one blinks they can miss a lifetime. Back in Sicily, the days drug on while everyone went through the motions of their days on the farm. There are many differences between Sicily and here in America, but the first time I laid my eyes on the Statue of Liberty, I knew I was meant to be an American.

Peter Marin’s article “Toward Something American: The Immigrant Soul” explains his views on American life versus American culture and how they differ. He explains that in the average American life it is simply the task of finding and calling the place they now reside in home. “Home is for us, as it is for all immigrants, something to be regained, created, discovered, or mourned-not where we are in time or space, but where we dream of being”. (84) In other words, a new immigrant coming to America and a descendent to new world immigrant still experience the same conflict of American life. In the

Commentary: In order to develop ideas for this paper, I first analyzed the time of the Depression and what Italian Immigrants lives were like typically living in America. Using this background knowledge, I was able to analyze the lifestyles of the working class in each of the stories. Even though the background story of each of the family’s lives differed, they all had a common basis in that they were Italian Immigrant families working a hard lifestyle in order to support the family during economic hardship. I revised this paper by looking to see if my ideas were clearly expressed. I ran into an obstacle of trying to figure out which ideas to express, since the novels

While reading Joan Didion’s essay “On Going Home” one may be reminded of a sense of home and family. In this essay Didion recreates the feeling one gets when one visits a place from the past or while reminiscing about fond memories. This memory is marked by the reflective thought about the ability to be able to pass this same sense on to another. Didion’s “On Going Home” is like a flood of warm memories leaving you with a single reflective thought.

The Italians’ holiday culture helped to make America a more diverse nation. Their family-centered culture and regional affiliations resulted in highly concentrated settlements called, Little Italies. Entire villages in Italy would travel over to America to form these settlements. Many were heavily clustered in cities in the mid-atlantic and midwest states. The immigrants typically viewed themselves as residents of a particular region or village, not as “Italians.” Their daily habits and life reflected this, as they usually only associated with fellow kin or villagers called paesani. The Italians were working on becoming a member of American society while still trying to maintain their old customs. During holidays, Italian immigrants still utilized traditional customs such as folk songs, folklore, and dances for special events. However, like so many of the Italian aspects of life, they were so regionally specific that they defied easy characterization.

Is it better to settle with what you already have and know or branch out and strive for comfort elsewhere? This is the ongoing debate between sisters, Dee (Wangero) and Maggie in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” and sisters Bharati and Mira in Bharati Mukherjee’s “Two Ways to Belong in America”. In “Everyday Use” Maggie is a soft spoken homebody who has never found interest in straying from her mother while Dee on the other hand has moved on in life and uses her past as an image to prove how far she has made it in life, she even changed her birth name to cut all ties with her past. In “Two Ways to Belong in America” Bharati and Mira are Indian immigrants who both came to America with intentions of keeping their Indian heritage, but over time Bharati faded from her culture while Mira kept true. Although Maggie and Mira decided to stick to their roots, Dee and Bharati chose to immerse themselves in a new culture.

The story “A Bag of Oranges” by Spiro Athanas tells about a poor family lived in the rotting slum and the boy in this family became a mature person from a childish kid. Because the boy’s father needs to pay his responsibility to his family and the people who he loved, so his rude behavior and act makes his son hate him for a short time. After the boy notice his family’s financial situation, then he realize it’s not easy be an adult to making life run in the society, and you would lose some important things while you are paying responsibility to your family, so he begin understand his father. When the boy know his father hit by a car, all his emotion spew out and make his act like an adult in the end of the

To relate the topic of nostalgia with food to my life, I recall a cherished memory I have about making enchiladas with my grandma when I was nine. My mom’s father is hispanic, but her mother is not, so she learned how to make hispanic food just for him. I have always admired this, because she learned how to do this just to make my grandpa happy. She made us many hispanic dishes, but my favorite is still her enchiladas. I still remember the smell of the chicken and beef that my grandma had prepared

There have been very few events throughout my lifetime that I feel have impacted or inspired me with such noteworthiness and that I know will change my outlook on the world and affect me forever. One of those events occurred when I traveled to Portugal, my parent’s homeland. From this excursion in 2007, I learned the importance of family, most importantly the distant kind. It provided me with a totally different perspective on the world and how large and extended one’s family can really be; even across cultures and continents. I felt so fortunate learning this lesson at a young age and growing to appreciate the ideals I was brought up with as a child. The family I have in Portugal has always been there; however, their faces have aged and

i Suoi Fratelli, the journey of one Southern Italian family as they migrate to the North

There are certain memories that we have that we can remember like they happened yesterday. Many of those memories that have special meaning to me were of family vacations when I was young growing up with my brothers and sisters. Family memories are important to many of us because they take us back to a time or place that was special. One particular family vacation I remember vividly, and it’s a story I have shared with my kids on many occasions. Over the 40 or more years since that memorable vacation, I still smile and think how lucky I was growing up with a mother and father that did everything to give their kids an unforgettable memory.