Discussion 18: The Godfather (July 11)

We saw in L'emigrante that the most promising path to success for an Italian was to work for Mafia.

The other Italian immigrants of that period, Pascal, Beppo, Geremio and Paul, can be hardly call successful the way Peppino was.

 

Now, with Don Vito and Michael, we see people who have really achieved "American" success.

 

Don Vito explains it clearly and explicitly: society didn't let people like us become powerful and respectable. They kept us at the margin. And we became powerful the only way we could, and we enjoy respectability among people like us.

 

What is wrong with this "philosophy?"

 

Or, maybe there is nothing wrong.

 

COMMENT and REPLY

 

Discussion 17: The Godfather (July 11)

Is Don Corleone your new hero?

Despite the fact that he is a murderer who will not stop at anything to get what he wants, namely power and more power?

Despite the fact that he lies and cheats (he cheats even Johnny Fontaine) and is OK with his daughter getting beat up by her husband?

 

COMMENT and REPLY

Discussion 16: about discussion 13 (re: 4th of July).

I noticed that most of you responded to the notion of the secret of PERSONAL SUCCESS in America.

Maybe I should have been more explicit:
I meant to question whether AMERICA'S SUCCESS is the result of the transformation that Pascal experienced, the transformation that led him ("taught him?") to have faith in himself, and the dominant attitude of all immigrants who make it.

Is this the secret of America's success?
Will it still be the case for the foreseeable future?

Discussion 15: "Christ in Concrete" July 6

Direct quotations from the first chapter:

 

1) “Pushing the job is all right (when has it been otherwise in my life?), but this job frightens me. I feel the building wants to tell me something just as one Christian to another.  Or perhaps the Easter week is making of me a spirit-seeing pregnant woman. I don’t like this.” 

 

2) “The language of worn oppression and the despair of realizing that his life had been left on brick piles. And always, there had been hunger and her bastard, the fear of hunger.” 

3) “To rebel is to lose all of very little. To be obedient is to choke” (13)

 

COMMENT:  Geremio's drama is his awareness of his condition as a prisoner of work and life obligations.

Which one of the quotations above best mirrors your own conclusions about the deeper message of this chapter?

Discussion 14: "Christ in Concrete" due July 5

Watch the video lecture and start reading the first chapter.

COMMENT: How hard is the book? Did the suggestions in the video help at all? What else should be mentioned to help readers approaching this text?

REPLY: what suggestion in the comments do you agree or disagree with?

Discussion 13: Perfect for the 4th of July

A comment from your classmate Chelsea Ramos about SON:
 

Just a side note: I wanted to say thank you for such a great novel selection with Son of Italy. I enjoyed reading about Pascal's experience and how closely I can relate to trying to remain optimistic when all seems to be going wrong.  One quote that resonated with me the most was:

"I had faith in myself. Without realizing it, I had learned the greatest lesson of America: I had learned to have faith in the future. No matter how bad things were, a turn would inevitably come- as long as I did not give up. I was sure of it. But how much I had to suffer until change came! What a thorny heartbreaking road it was!"

 

COMMENT and REPLY to a comment:

 

This is what America does to immigrants: it leads people to learn to have faith in themselves. I wouldn't say "it teaches."

Is this the 'secret' of America's success?
Will it still be the case for the foreseeable future?

 

 

Discussion 12: WHAT CAN YOU LEARN FROM THIS? Due July 2

From the work of one of your classmates:

 

1) Choose a couple of episodes that took place before and after the break-up of Pascal's gang. Most likely you chose them because they affected you deeply. What was the nature of your reaction? (Ex: sad, angry, stunned, sympathetic, cynic.). Separate paragraph: what does it say about you? Did you find out something new about yourself in your reactions?

 

I liked the book a lot. I have experienced a roller coaster of emotions while reading it. I feel like I relived the life of the main character, Pascal, while reading it as well as getting to know him better after each chapter.

At such a young age, Pascal made a decision to leave his mother and homeland to go to a foreign country. It doesn’t matter if he left to escape the poverty or to find a bright future, he made a serious decision by himself.

I can relate to him because I also moved away from my mother at age of 15 for a better life full of opportunities.

Pascal wasn’t afraid of any hard work which proves that most of the immigrants are much tolerant than native citizens. I felt proud of Pascal not giving up and moving forward no matter what. Being new in the country and not knowing the language could be very difficult. However, there are advantages of it such as working much harder towards the dreams and learning new language.

 

  The other part in the book I found fascinating was when Matteo welcomed a stranger to stay with the gang as long as he needed. Even during tough times, having no job, no food, no suitable place to live, people managed to stay sympathetic to others. Although I was confused why Matteo made such a generous act, I find it hard to believe people would actually do such an act toward a stranger.

I personally wouldn't be able to do so. And it is simply because I wouldn’t feel safe inviting a stranger to my home. For me trust takes years to build. But I also understand that everyone is different and have their own views and choices to make.

However, I wasn't surprised that the stranger robbed Matteo. I was actually waiting for something like that to happen. I unfortunately have no trust in people and for worse or for better I prefer living that way.

 

I felt amazed, proud and pleasantly shocked by Pascal’s determination of not giving up his dream. He wanted to achieve success in a foreign country. He tried to learn to play mandolin and taught himself to write poetry. He was high motivated no matter how bad everything was around him. He took risk by quitting a job which fed him and started to write poems and sending it to various magazines and newspapers.

Even though Pascal didn't have any luck, he didn't give up but tried to encourage himself every day. I could be wrong but I don't think any person would be able to do what Pascal did. It takes a lot of effort, patience, inner strength and will power to fight for what you believe until the end. Bravo! I cannot express how happy I was to find out that from a young fellow who was afraid to be punished for something he didn't do, Pascal grew into becoming a strong hearted man.

 

COMMENT: compare this to your work. Does your work measure up?

What can you learn from this example? This is very, very simple (but not simplistic, indeed), very linear, smooth and sensible. It mixes DATA (examples) and relates them IMMEDIATELY to the emotional reactions of the writer.

These are normal, every-day emotional responses. One can sense the maturity and solid judgment of this person, and the candid ability to look at him/herself.

Discussion 11: -- SON OF ITALY -- due June 28

OK, Pascal made the right call when he decided to immigrate and then to stay in America when the others returned home. But, was it all worth it? In INDIVIDUAL TERMS, probably Pascal concludes that it was. But in COLLECTIVE terms, in terms of the history of humanity (think big, don't be shy), was the mass migration of large populations to this continent worth it? What about the pain, the suffering, the slavery, the tragedies that befell the other ones, those who didn't make it? All of that resulted in the colonization of the continent. Progress exacts a price to be paid in innocent victims. What if you were one of the victims? COMMENT AND REPLY

Discussion 10: SON OF ITALY due JUNE 27

Before you start writing, READ the comments posted before yours. Do not repeat the same argument. Find something new to talk about. COMMENT Pascal describes a childhood in conditions of wretched poverty and exploitation, of deprivation and suffering. And yet, at a certain point, he says that "they were happy." Is that "happiness" a result of total lack of self-awareness at that time; or is it the product of the passing of time, of looking back and re-inventing the past? (And, don't be so sure your answer is the correct one.) REPLY to a perspective you had not considered.

Discussion 9: improve the quality of your blog comments

Collectively (plural YOU), I find you a little bit too stiff when you write your comments. There is a sense of officiality, with a rigid code or writing. I would like you to get looser and express opinions freely. Imagine you are arguing among friends, not giving a speech from a podium. Of course you want to be articulate and well spoken, but keep in mind that you are engaging in a debate. Keep your comments short, lively and to the point. COMMENT: self analysis: does this recommendation apply to you? Do you recognize yourself in the description of the rigid writer? REPLY with a suggestion on how to loosen up on the blog.

Discussion 8: THE ITALIAN and early 20th century film --

The main issue about the film's message (The Italian) to that audience, is that Beppo's madness was a warning signal that if you scratch an Italian you will find a brute (like the Lombroso ape-like shoeshine of the cartoon.) This is clearly my interpretation and I think I can legitimately support my thesis based on the text. All the signs and messages repeat and reinforce stereotypes (or archetypes)about Italians. As we know, the stereotype of the violent, out-of-control, dangerous Italian was probably the most popular and well known. Therefore, Beppo's madness has to be understood as the ultimate, most extreme and strongest stereotypes, coherent with the rest of the story. This coherence, in critical studies parlance, is called "discourse" or "textuality." For today's audience it would be easy to justify Beppo's intentions as simply "temporary madness." If this is your thesis, can you point to any element in the text that lead you to that conclusion? COMMENT: feel free (I mean it) to argue your point keeping in mind you are not the intended audience of the film. REPLY to a good comment.

Discussion 7: Stereotypes (June 20)

Discussion n. 6 What are your sources of information? Due June 18

I give a lot of weight to this topic. Take is seriously.


This is a self-reflection exercise. It asks that you focus on your own reactions and investigate what shapes them.


COMMENT in two separate paragraphs:


1) CLEARLY STATED: Whatever information you have about Italian Americans, what are the sources?

No messy jumbles of everything and nothing. A clear, organized answer that shows what your PRIMARY sources are.

Media? What kind of media? 
Direct knowledge? Friends, neighbors, neighborhood, family, yourself?

2) How does THE SOURCE of that information make a difference in shaping your perception of ITAMs?

Think hypothetically (but don't write about it): if you had information from a different source, what would be your opinion.

NOW, after thinking comparatively, WRITE  how and why the source of your info makes a difference.


REPLY: pick someone whose sources are different from yours and respond to their self-reflection.

DISCUSSION n. 5: WRITING AND EDITING recommendations (June 18)

1) Write your comments in paragraphs, particularly if your comments are longer than 3-4 lines. You want people to read your ideas. With the kind of screens your classmates (and you) most likely use, reading is much easier if copy is broken down into chunks.

2) For the same reason:  don't ramble on. Focus on one idea BEFORE you start writing. This is not the place for stream of consciousness. To the contrary.
You want your messages to be clear and crisp. Short sentences (+ paragraph organization) help.

3) In your COMMENTS, do not address me (your prof.) directly. More brutally, don't talk to me. Talk to your classmates.

4) When you explain something AVOID at all cost using the impersonal YOU. (You don't know what "impersonal you" means? Hmmm, where could you find the answer?)

[Here is a REAL example:
"When you read this book and you compare your life to his, you realize
how fortunate you are to live in these times."]

4) When you write, start always from inside yourself. How did you react? What aspect of the text did you notice the most? Talk about yourself and what the text did to you, even if it bored you to death.

COMMENT
Which of the suggestions above hit the spot with you? How are you going to change your approach to writing?

REPLY to a comment that can help you improve your clarity.

Discussion 4: Cartoons and 2 silent shorts - due June 18

COMMENT, two separate paragraphs.

 

FIRST, read your classmates comments and choose a different DETAIL to discuss.

 

1) Pick a SMALL DETAIL from either the cartoons or the shorts that amplifies and clarifies the underlying anti-Italian message.

Why did you choose it? Why this one and not another? What's in that DETAIL that grabbed your attention?

 

2)  Put yourself in the perspective of the original NON ITALIAN audience that saw those texts, cartoons and shorts.
Which ones do you think was most effective in communicating its anti-Italian message?

3) REPLY: choose a comment that made an impression for the QUALITY OF WRITING and explain what you could learn from it.

Discussion n. 3: Father Guido Sarducci (due June 8)

The comedy video about the 5-minute university presents a point of view we are very familiar with because we all thought that way at some point.

Without going into jeremiads about the stuff you must study that you will never use in life, think deeply about what is missing in today's standard college curriculum. What do you want more of?
Please, don't focus only on your major (more chemistry labs, more management courses) but rather on the kind of tools that a college should help you acquire.

And, by the way, did you like the video?

COMMENT and REPLY to at least one comment that impressed you for originality.

Discussion n. 2: TRIBES (due June 8)

 

COMMENT:

Are you comfortable with the notion of "tribe?"
Do you feel you belong to a tribe?

Even if you are disconnected emotionally and culturally from your roots, DO OTHER PEOPLE automatically place you with a tribe by your looks, your accent or where you live.

Are you aware of it? Do you fight it? Do you like it?


REPLY to a comment that describes an inner experience different from your own.

Discussion 1: Stereotypes (due June 8)

BEFORE COMMENTING, you MUST cover all the material in LECTURE 1.

Identify a group (ethnic, national, geographical etc.) that you belong to or you descend from.

Ex: Italian, Caribbean, African American, Vietnamese, German, Brazilian, Native American etc.

Even if the roots are far far in the past (English, Scottish, Swiss), even if you do not identify with those roots, list the stereotypes about that group. This is a serious exercise. Think in these terms:

"What do people in general think, what kind of automatic association do they make in their minds when they hear that you are -- for instance -- Asian Indian? Or Russian."

Click COMMENT below:

Write a bullet-type list; each item one, max two words. Keep it telegraphic.

REPLY: choose a list from a classmate that introduces a stereotype you didn't know existed, and write a comment about it.

 

 

EXTRA CREDIT TO THE FIRST 3 person who will post a comment (remind me in when you send the next assignment.)