The Soul Of An Immigrant Analysis
Unlike natural born citizens, immigrants practice two forms of citizenship: ascriptive and consensual. As defined by Rogers Smith, ascriptive citizenship is inherited at birth while consensual citizenship is a choice (Smith 20). One interpretation of Smith’s definitions of citizenship is that a person can only be defined as one type of citizen. This is a very realistic interpretation, as many who immigrate to America continue to practice traditions of their culture. However, that is not always the case. In "The Soul of an Immigrant" by Constantine Panunzio and The Melting Pot by Israel Zangwill, the main characters express deep emotions about their consensual American citizenship, not found in those who are born as Americans, which overcomes
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In his book Civic Ideals, Rogers Smith describes the process that immigrants go through in order to prove themselves. In addition to being eligible for citizenship in accordance with the law, Smith states that immigrants had to go through a second initiation process in order to fundamentally prove themselves: “the requirements that liberal and republican ideologies set to gain a secure sense of personal worth are dauntingly high. Liberal morals demand that individuals show themselves to be industrious, rational, and self-reliant usually via economic productivity” (Smith 37). Panunzio experiences this when he first immigrated to America without knowing English and “looked for manual labor among recent Italian immigrants in Boston. [He] found it difficult, however, to make a livable income under the padrone system enforced by dominant figures in the Italian-American community” (Panunzio 279). Because of his lack of English and useful labor skills, Panunzio had to work harder than the average American-born citizen in order to be accepted by the community. That said, Panunzio finds his niche when he joins the YMCA (Panunzio 283). He is then able to spread “the message of hope and encouragement from far-off America” to soldiers from his native country of Italy during World War I (291). After finding his place and purpose in America, he is able to identify primarily as an American and let go of his Italian
In his book Civic Ideals, Rogers Smith describes the process that immigrants go through in order to prove themselves. In addition to being eligible for citizenship in accordance with the law, Smith states that immigrants had to go through a second initiation process in order to fundamentally prove themselves: “the requirements that liberal and republican ideologies set to gain a secure sense of personal worth are dauntingly high. Liberal morals demand that individuals show themselves to be industrious, rational, and self-reliant usually via economic productivity” (Smith 37). Panunzio experiences this when he first immigrated to America without knowing English and “looked for manual labor among recent Italian immigrants in Boston. [He] found it difficult, however, to make a livable income under the padrone system enforced by dominant figures in the Italian-American community” (Panunzio 279). Because of his lack of English and useful labor skills, Panunzio had to work harder than the average American-born citizen in order to be accepted by the community. That said, Panunzio finds his niche when he joins the YMCA (Panunzio 283). He is then able to spread “the message of hope and encouragement from far-off America” to soldiers from his native country of Italy during World War I (291). After finding his place and purpose in America, he is able to identify primarily as an American and let go of his Italian