Author: lucialopezfdc

Lucia Lopez

Moving from the twentieth to the twenty-first century, New York changed in many ways. Development, population growth, and financial crisis altered the description of the city of Gotham greatly. For one, immigration from other parts of the world rose greatly, making New York even more diverse than it already was. The two-term mayoralty of Rudolph Giuliani drastically changed what seemed to be permanent stances and policies on policing, civil liberties, and education. Events such as 9/11 and the financial crisis of 2008 tested the city’s character once again.

One of the largest groups to immigrate to the United States in the 21st century was Asians. They had long been isolated fro society due to the Chinese Exclusion Act that lasted from 1882 to 1943. Once policy shifted, the prior quota of 105 people annually rose to 20,000, revitalizing neighborhoods such as Chinatown, Sunset Park, and Flushing. The Chinese arrived at a time when cheap labor was needed which mean they would have jobs, unlike before. However, due to their limited English and skills, they were often exploited in sweatshops. By contrast, many urban, educated and wealthy people arrived from Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taiwan, positively impacting the economy and helping the development of restaurants, stores, and sweatshops.

Class was a large reason as to why the “model minority” myth was placed on Asian immigrants. They were stereotyped as ambitious, hard working and smart, and although many Asians embraced this positive stereotype, they often transferred their ambitions to their children, holding them to very high standards. This pressure not only came from their families but from society’s view of Asian immigrants, which often put immense pressure on children to succeed and live up to the stereotype. American society also tended to lump all Asians together, but Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Japanese immigrants recognized their differences in culture.

Another major group to move in to Gotham in the 21st century was Latinos. For a long time, Puerto Ricans made up the largest group of Latin American immigrants. Identifying themselves as Nuyorican, they balanced between their identities as both New Yorkers and Puerto Ricans, often not being able to settle on one side. They transformed the urban environment, bringing their own customs, music and language to the city. By 2000, however, Dominicans outnumbered Puerto Ricans, making up about 70 percent of the Washington Heights/Inwood area. Similar to Puerto Ricans, Dominicans are transnational and identify strongly with both their residency and nationality.

Like Asians, Dominicans were often exploited in factories due to their lack of English skills. However, by earning wages, Dominican women enhanced their household role, causing them to want to stay in New York as most Dominican men wanted to return to the island. In communities such as Corona, Queens, Dominicans coexist with other Latinos from countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, and Cuba. The women from these communities often built communities in churches, block associations, and apartment buildings, maintaining leadership in their communities.

The social contract of the city was altered when Giuliani served his two terms as mayor. One of his biggest policy changes had to do with social programs, which he called the “compassion industry.” He claimed that these programs enabled the lazy and undermined the hard-working, and many New Yorkers agreed and felt that change was needed. Giuliani requested that New York State reduce funding fro the city’s welfare and Medicaid programs and created new standards for those who wanted to receive welfare benefits. He successfully eliminated over 600,000 people from the welfare rolls, but the rising numbers of homeless people and people going to food kitchens suggested that eliminated social programs would not get rid of poverty. He then decided to alter the school system in New York City, implementing city-wide testing and advocating fro merit pay and uniforms for students to create standards in the system. He ended up making the most cuts to the education system than any other mayor and became the first mayor to support reduced school aid.

First-Amendment rights were also a focal point of Giuliani’s mayoralty. He often abused his power in order to allow what he felt appropriate and suppress the rights of those whose opinions he did not favor. One of the most famous cases was with a controversial art show in the Brooklyn Museum, which was the catalyst for his plan to stop funding the museum if its art would be as obscene as he believed it to be. In the case the Brooklyn Museum placed against the city, the institution won, reaffirming the First Amendment rights of the city’s people.

Lucia Lopez

Is the protagonist, Emma Lou- like Irene- unreliable? (Choose 1 or 2 passages as evidence, if so)

In, “The Blacker the Berry,” Emma Lou describes her struggle as a very dark skinned African American woman living in a society where the lighter one’s skin is, the more value they have. However, as the novel progresses, one might begin to wonder whether Emma Lou is a reliable narrator, similar to Irene in the novel “Passing”. Her vision of what it means to have worth and her view of who the “right kind of people” are warped and cause her to have many moments in which she has hypocritical thoughts. In the beginning of the novel, Thurman describes the sorrow that came with being very dark at the time and the multitude of “solutions” Emma and her family would try.

“She wasn’t the only person who regretted her darkness either. It was an acquired family characteristic, this moaning and grieving over the color of her skin. Everything possible had been done to alleviate the unhappy condition, every suggested agent had been employed, but her skin, despite bleachings, scourg-ings, and powderings, had remained black—fast black—as nature had planned and effected.”

From this quote we can see that Emma Lou goes through a lot of  misery due to the color of her skin and it is implied that she wishes it wasn’t that way. However, as the novel progresses, we see another more critical side of Emma Lou. When she starts college at the University of South Carolina, she meets another very dark girl named Hazel. Although they go through similar struggles, Hazel is a much more jovial character, causing Emma Lou to reject her. Upon meeting her, Emma Lou reacted as such: “She resented being approached by any one so flagrantly inferior, any one so noticeably a typical southern darky, who had no business obtruding into the more refined scheme of things.”

Emma Lou, despite knowing the grievances that came with having very dark skin in a world where whiteness was worth, rejected Hazel because of her stereotypical behavior as a “southern darky.” Emma Lou had always purposely tried to prove that despite her skin color, she wasn’t really black in the sense that she was uneducated, jovial, etc. This is precisely what makes Emma Lou unreliable- she tries too much to prove herself to be different rather than criticize the stereotypes themselves.

Lucia Lopez

Explore the literal and figurative meaning of “passing.”

The word “passing” has a deeper meaning in the context of the novel of the same name by Nella Larson than it does superficially. Literally, passing means to go by. The term can be used in a variety of ways but implies mobility and transition, which relates to its figurative meaning.

In the novel, passing means for a person of color to be able to be mistaken for being white. Both Claire and Irene are African-American women, but their skin is light enough for them to be mistaken as European. There are societal consequences of being able to “pass” as well. Privilege is closely associated with passing because it allows people of color to live their lives with the advantages of being white. For example, Irene was able to have a cup of tea at the Drayton because she looked white, therefore she would not get kicked out. Claire takes advantage of her passing even more, not telling her own husband that she is really African-American. Although segregation is not a legal issue in the US anymore, passing is still existent and still provides certain benefits to those who can pass. I myself experience this because although I am Latina, my skin is very light and I am usually mistaken for European. That means that I do not endure the racism and stereotypes that my darker-skinned Latina friends and family members go through because no one ever assumes I am Latina.

In this age of society, people have mixed so much that race is not an obvious indicator of ethnicity anymore. We should not assume someone’s ethnicity based on something so superficial. The fact that people can pass and live life with less obstacles also reveals that our society is in fact prejudice and we should work to change that in order to better the lives of those who have to endure oppression due to racism.

So far I’ve really enjoyed the topics of our journals. They really help me understand and think more deeply about the material we cover in the class. Usually when I write journals I just sit and write them at once, not really taking  breaks. My ideas sort of flow from the prompt and I write down the thoughts that come to mind. The summary journals are an exception; I usually read the piece a few paragraphs at a time and pause to summarize each section I read. One thing I like about my journals is that they flow pretty well. They are also fairly easy to follow despite not having an outline or anything done beforehand. One thing I dislike is that sometimes I feel that I don’t take my time to really separate my thoughts so some ideas get mixed together. Note taking is very different than journaling because when I take notes, I’m mostly trying to take down as much important information as fast as possible, while journaling doesn’t have a time constraint. Journaling also involves coming up with your own ideas, which note taking does not. Overall I like writing journals because even though they could be hard to get through sometimes, in the end they really do help me understand the material in new ways and are thought-provoking.

Lucia Lopez

Shaun Tan’s The Arrival tells the story of a man immigrating to a new, foreign country for the first time. Wordless, the book shows the reader the struggles of those who travelled to other countries in search of socioeconomic freedom for themselves and their families. Although the illustrations tell a captivating story, Tan’s artistry is shown right in the beginning, before the book even starts- on the title and publication pages.

There are two title pages; the first one the reader sees is written in an illegible language, alluding to the language barrier most immigrants face when they travel to a foreign country. The second title page is written in English as well as in a different font. The two title pages have similarities in that they are both look like official documents and are yellowed to appear old, as if they were handed down. They also have marks on them from tape and dirtiness.

The first title page and the publication page both have smaller documents printed on them along with stamps. These are reminiscent of the kinds of documents immigrants such as those who came through Ellis Island had filled out for them on their journeys. The first title page seems to be meant to confuse the reader a little bit and take them out of the world they know where they understand everything and their surroundings are familiar. Tan tries to make the reader have the mindset of someone who can’t understand what they’re seeing or reading. The only word in English is “inspection,” not making the first page very welcoming to the reader.

The second title page is in English and although it is all illustrated, the center looks like a photograph was taped to the page. In the “photograph,” there is a man looking behind him. It reinforced the theme of his leaving his home country, and he might be looking back at his family and everything else he left. There is a border around the “photo” that looks very detailed and delicate, and reminiscent of old European photos. These first few pages evoke a strangeness and unfamiliarity that is present through the protagonist’s story.

Lucia Lopez

Before the 19 century, most Americans considered the path to success to be simple, consisting of hard work and integrity. These are the values that the novel Ragged Dick, written by Horatio Alger, is based on. This became one of the most influential books of the 19^th-century despite the fact that modernization and industrialization changed American society’s view on the formula for success .

Ragged Dick was actually the first book to depict New York City in a positive light, claiming that one could reach success through hard work and honesty. However, people living in the city knew the reality; unsafe working conditions, abusive bosses, and the increasing gap between the rich and the poor made New York City a symbol of exploitation and gloom. This darker version of New York was portrayed in the book Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane, where a young girl gets trapped in the city of despair because of her lack of wealth or support.  This negative view stemmed from the fact that although New York City became the center of finance and industry, immigrants in the city and those living in poverty did not see as much economic and social growth as the rich. This time would become known as the Gilded Age.

The late 19^th century saw the end of mastery and apprenticeship and welcomed the beginning of urban bossism. These men that followed the path to become archetypal robber barons, using their frugality and hard work to climb the economic ladder and create businesses, became “New York’s heroes.” Significantly wealthy businessmen such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie went on to form monopolies on businesses including petroleum, steel, and more. This caused two main outcomes: the first being that the role of government in the economy was being looked over, and the second being that due to initially weak regulations, trusts increased and became central to New York’s corporate-based economy.

Along with conceptual changes, the city saw physical symbols of what New York became. The Statue of Liberty replaced the Liberty Bell as the symbol of freedom, granting those who met it as they passed through Ellis Island a breath of fresh air away from poverty and sadness. The Brooklyn Bridge, opened in 1883, represented the connection between capital and labor in their pursuit of progress and success. When the 5 boroughs combined, New York became the second largest city in the world. Suddenly, the optimistic view that Alger held in the beginning seemed more true to life. However, now that New York City had accomplished so much, what would it do with its wealth and power?

The emergence of a new capitalistic economy came with the emergence of a new political system as well. This was best exemplified by Tammany Hall, where William M. Tweed connected the city’s conflicting interests from 1865 to 1871, albeit with a corrupt system. Although he was never mayor, he held just about every other position he could, ranging from school commissioner to congressman. His followers would also serve in government, forming what would be known as the Tweed Ring. Under him, schools were built, the Brooklyn Bridge and Central Park were constructed, and bills were passed to help the city’s disadvantaged. This did not all come out of good will, however; many new immigrants voted for him in exchange for naturalization and people who worked for him were rewarded with more governmental power. The only groups that did not like Tweed were blacks and advantaged Protestant reformers, the former because he used race to appeal to white people and the latter because he centralized power with his corrupt ways.

Tweed’s reign obviously did not last, and he was put in jail until his death at 55. His legacy, however, did, and corruption did not escape New York City’s government so quickly. This pushed peopled to fight against the “poison” affecting the city and made good government a national priority.

Still, there remained the issue of poverty and suffering of the lower class. Some believed the poor to be inferior, unable to get themselves out of their class, while others believed that they could be helped. Despite what sides they were on, people were concerned with the effects that the extreme levels of poverty could cause such as violence and social instability. Journalists played their part by exposing urban poverty, a significant piece being Jacob Riis’ “How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York.” In this book, Riis used photography and social science to expose the horrible conditions of tenements and the experiences of those living in them. Journalists like Riis inspired a movement of social reform, causing businesses to revisit their standards and working conditions. As society’s standard of living rose, the perceptions of those living in poverty changed.

This was also a part of the economic reform that took place during the Gilded Age. Because low wages and poor labor conditions meant unemployment and instability, reformers fought for change so that the progress and success of the economy would be reflected in the people who made it possible.  People would riot and mob the streets, demanding that employers change the way they treat their employees. Labor unions were created, and the American Federation of Labor came to fruition in 1886. The people’s fight against these problems changed the dynamic between bosses and employees as companies began to change policies and labor laws were created.

Although New York is not very old of a city, it remains one of the most important both economically and culturally. Its ways of addressing issues as the city grows is interesting and unique, proving that Horatio Alger’s positive view of the city may not be so unrealistic.

Lucia Lopez

The final scenes of The Godfather Part II are quite interesting, especially in the camera techniques used. In a flashback, the Corleone family is seated at the dinner table ready to celebrate Vito’s birthday. This is also the day that Michael Corleone’s family discovers that he left college and enlisted in the Marines. Sonny, his brother who held onto the value of loyalty to family over loyalty to country very strongly, is angry and disappointed to hear about his enlisting. Hagen, the family’s consigliere, can’t believe the news and wonders why Michael would choose this path despite his father’s plans. Fredo, ironically, is the only one to support his decision to enlist as a Marine. Vito comes home soon after, and while the family goes to greet him Michael remains seated at the table alone. The film cuts to an earlier scene, where Vito and Michael are on the train waving goodbye. Finally, we see Michael sitting alone by the lake and the film ends.

In the beginning of the flashback scene, the camera is far back from the characters, showing the family as a whole as they prepare the table and talk. When the topic of dialogue turns towards the war and the military, the camera angle changes and the viewer finds themselves in the middle of their conversation. The camera flips back and forth from Sonny to Michael, which makes the viewer feel the intensity of their speech. When Michael reveals he enlisted in the Marines, the camera pans out to a view of the whole family again, showing their immediate disbelief. It goes back to the back-and-forth angle when Hagen tells Michael that his father had a lot of plans for him. When he claims he didn’t ask for any of his father’s plans, Sonny gets up to fight Michael. The camera only gets in the middle of the characters when their discussions are heated; it makes the viewer feel more involved and gives the viewer a closer look at the reactions of Michael’s family. The camera goes back out when the Sonny’s daughters in the background yell, “Mommy, Daddy’s fighting again!” This outburst shows the impact of the ongoing violence and aggressiveness would have on the children of those involved in the family business. Soon after, most of the family leaves the dining room, leaving Michael, Sonny, Fredo and Hagen seated. Fredo takes this opportunity to congratulate Michael and shake his hand, but Sonny slaps his hand away. Ironically, Fredo would betray Michael later on, and the camera angle from a distance shows the breaking of their bond as Sonny stops them from shaking hands. The camera goes back in the middle of the conversation as Hagen and Michael discuss Vito’s plans versus Michael’s plans, and returns to a farther angle when Connie tells them that Vito has arrived. Sonny, Fredo and Hagen leave the dinner table, leaving Michael sitting alone.

This scene where Michael is seated by himself shows that even from a much younger age, he was always different than his family. He is much more American and doesn’t share the same values as his family does. The camera being so far gives the frame a lonely feeling, and the noise Michael’s family is making in the background makes Michael seem even more isolated from them. It makes it seem as if Michael was destined to be alone from the beginning. The scene fades into a quick transition where a young Michael is on the train with Vito. Vito is waving Michael’s hand, and in a way Michael is waving goodbye to his old self. This scene is also a reminder of the innocence Michael once possessed. It transitions into the present, where we see Michael sitting alone by the lake. The camera goes closer and closer to Michael’s face, putting the emphasis on his eyes. He has sort of a dead look on his face that makes the scene quite sad yet powerful. The juxtaposition of the scene with his family and the scene where he’s sitting alone show how much things have changed since that happier time for the Corleone family. Most of the people sitting at the table would be dead, and it seems to make Michael think how differently things could have gone if he had listened to his father or stayed in college. His desire to be successful is what ultimately made him less successful than his father; Vito remained in the business while caring for his family and keeping his relationships, while Michael’s sole desire for power leaves him completely alone in the end.

Lucia Lopez

Although Jews had made up the largest immigrant population of New York City, the late 19th century and the early 20th century saw the rise of the second largest immigrant group: Italians. Immigration rose immensely from 1900 to 1914; by 1920 there were as many Italians in New York City as German and Irish immigrants combined. Despite the shared goal of a better life and the leaving of a home country of poverty, Italians differed from other immigrant groups in many ways. While Jews usually came to America with skills, many Italians were peasants or laborers who lacked urban skills, known as contadino. Also, Jews usually came to America as families and Irish immigration saw many women travel to AMerica alone; Italian immigrants were often young men looking to make money for their families. They usually held the prospect of going back home to Italy when they’ve made enough money for their families, meanwhile Jewish and Irish immigrants had practically no intentions of going back to their home countries.

Settlement patterns of Italian immigrants usually followed work opportunities. The first Italians in what would be known as “Italian Harlem” were brought over by Irish-American contractors to build the First Avenue trolley tracks. By 1880, Italian Harlem had about 4,000 Italian residents, and rose to its peak in the 1920s. In the Bronx, Italians settled in areas in which they were helping to build streets and railways. In Brooklyn, they first settled at Hamilton Ferry. Italian workers found homes near the waterfront where they sought employment. Labor contractors known as padroni also determined where Italian laborers settled. THey would take a share of employees’ wages in exchange for finding them jobs and housing, but also did other favors such as write letters home for immigrants who were illiterate and helped them find their way around new areas. Native-born Americans did not like the padroni and believed their systems of contract labor to be similar to slavery. Despite being outlawed, they continued their work until around 1910, when they became less important in Italian migration.

Another factor determining residence was the regions from which the immigrants came. The Italians coming in did not simply identify as Italian; they identified with the specific region they came from and normally seeked housing in areas containing people of their same region or village. Many immigrants also had relatives or friends who already lived in America, so they would move to those areas, creating neighborhoods made up of specific groups such as Sicilians, Neapolitans, or Calabrians.

Housing in New York City for Italian immigrants was often unsanitary and overcrowded. Many Italians could not afford decent living space, meanwhile German and Irish immigrants were moving up economically. The unfit tenements were not just in this condition from years of rotting; even new housing was of very  poor quality due to the working class community that built it. In “How the Other Half Lives,” Jacob Riis exposed the grim conditions of housing that poorly affected Italian immigrants, causing even children to live on the streets. To gain more income, Italian families would take in lodgers and boarders. Although this somewhat helped, they also contributed to the overcrowdedness of Italian homes.

These neighborhoods were also the hosts of criminal activity. Sensational news reporting didn’t help the situation as they gave Italian immigrants the reputation of criminals. They were soon known for Mafia activity, even though large-scale Mafia migration did not exist in New York City. This caused the New York City police to create an Italian division which investigated possible Mafia activity in Italian neighborhoods. Images of Black Hand criminals also fed this stereotype of Italians being criminals and heightened the anti-immigrant sentiment that had already existed.

As years went on, Italian immigrants began to get involved in kinds of work other than labor-based jobs. Most of the well-off immigrants were those who found municipal work in the sanitation department or in the Italian division. Others found work as barbers, shoemakers waiters, and bartenders. Because of most Italians’ intentions of not remaining in America, they were less interested in unions and used as strikebreakers. Although Italian women were expected to get married and stay home to raise children, they began taking on jobs as well due to the instability most of their husbands’ jobs came with. They mainly worked in the garment industry, making clothes at sweatshops or factories. Children were also forced to find work to increase their family’s’ income, making the focus work rather than education. This differs from Jewish immigrants that had arrived prior, who made education a main priority.

Although Italian immigrants came from a largely Catholic country, they were distrustful of religious institutions in America. Men regarded church-going as women’s work and only attended mass on major holidays or traditional occasions, such as Christmas or weddings. Protestant groups saw this and sent missionaries to Italian communities, successfully converting a few. Despite their attempts, not many Italians converted to Protestantism. Eventually this became known as the “Italian Problem” which was solved when Irish priests expanded church activities to italian neighborhoods and encourage Italians to serve as priests and lead mass.Eventually, certain churches such as Our Lady of Pompei became very important to Italian immigrants. The Italian parishes that now existed began to host festas, or religious celebrations of saints. Thousands would gather to eat food, dance, and join the procession usually led by a statue of the saint being celebrated.

Despite their struggles, Italian immigrants remained a closely-knit group and soon became accustomed to life in America. This was just the beginning of Italian immigrants seeing themselves as not just from their specific region, but as Italians or even Italian-Americans. World War I and the decline of immigration sped up this process, but nevertheless Italians remained closely attached to their ethnic background for years.