In  Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement, the most interesting fact I’ve learned was how immigrant families actually really enjoyed their visit on Ellis Island. I’ve been preached about the corruption of the United States, since I hit middle school. I never knew about the abundance of food on the islands so much so, that the immigrants actually wept at the thought of returning back home and leaving Ellis Island. Why is it that in history books this issue isn’t covered? I’ve heard many things ranging from how immigrants didn’t find the city of gold that they were dreaming of to how they were maliciously sent back to their home land, but never something as positive as this.

Another thing, that caught my attention was how neighbors in tenements were so friendly with each other. They looked after each other and in the words of the author, “people around you grasped your situation with perfect clarity and gave what they could.” What happened to this attitude? How did the New York “rough” attitude come about from something as close as this? I guess, perhaps the switch to more private forms of living could be an answer. But was the change that dramatic? Could urban settlement serve up to mean people? Why New York? Many other nations and states went through urbanization, but they didn’t go through such a change.