Peter Quinn

Lucia Lopez

Quinn makes a comparison between the slave trade and the Holocaust and the famine emigration early in the essay only to reject it later. Why?

In “In Search of Banished Children,” Peter Quinn discusses the hardships of Irish immigrants during and after the Famine and the effects on the succeeding generations of Irish-Americans. When he describes the volume of migration of Irish people into the United States, he uses an quote by a historian named Robert James Scally, in which he says that the amount of Irish immigrants bared “more resemblance to the slave trade or the boxcars of the Holocaust than to the routine crossings of a later age.” Soon after, Quinn dispels the idea that the Famine can be compared to the Holocaust or the slave trade, saying that these events should not be “confused or equated”.

One may wonder why he chooses to include this comparison, only to reject it later. When he first mentions the Holocaust and the slave trade, it is merely to describe the immense migration that occurred after the Famine. This event pushed out so many people that could not live in Ireland anymore that the numbers seemed to match up with those of events in which people were forced to move. The comparison, in these terms, serves to show how intense the effects of the Famine were on the Irish people. When he says that the events themselves cannot be equated, he gives many reasons for why this is so. When discussing the Holocaust, he says, “The Holocaust was a death sentence leveled against every Jewish man, woman, and child under German rule. No exceptions.” He makes sure to point out that although the Famine had horrible consequences, it was not an organized institution whose purpose was to exterminate a people as the Holocaust was. When discussing the slave trade, he mentions that the experiences of Irish immigrants are similar in that they provided the labor that built America. However, the Irish maintained most of their civil rights, and they were not stripped of their identities as the slaves or the Holocaust victims were. An interesting point he speaks about as well is that as generations passed, the children and grandchildren of the Famine generation gradually had less memories and stories of the struggles of older generations. Because of the impact the slave trade had on the history of not only America but the world, it is much harder to forget the atrocities that slaves and their successors faced.

The Spirit of the New Yorker: Reitano Ch 4 Summary

During the mid 19th century, New York City went through formative changes in population demographics, economic turmoil, and struggles for power against the state. Rival parties formed on the basis of race, religion, class and allegiance challenged the systems in place and made progress as not only a city, but as a country.

A major factor that furthered the progress of New York City was the activist spirit that emerged as a result of the gap between the rich and the poor. Nearing the end of the industrial revolution, some New Yorkers were able to make a hefty living from rising industries. While the wealthy lived on Broadway and Fifth Avenue, the poor were displaced to the Five Points slum area and exposed to high rates on crime and gang violence. The tension between the two classes was demonstrated in the Astor Place Riots. Two rival actors, William Macready and Edwin Forrest, were both due to perform Hamlet one the same night as different venues. While Macready resonated with the upper class, Forest was the common man’s actor. On opening night, Forrest supporters came to Macready’s show to throw rotten eggs and potatoes at him. Fueled by their last riot, Forrest supporters bought tickets to crash Macready’s second performance, but state militia fired at the rabble rousers costing several American lives. In response to the militia shooting, Forrest supporters held a protest rally on May 11th at City Hall Park. The Astor Place Riots set the scene for future activists.

The draft riots of the Civil War were another chief example of the social pressures between the wealthy and the poor in New York. When the republican party called for a draft across the board, the lower class were enraged to find out that the wealthy were excused from the draft after paying a replacement fee. Mob riots ensued in republican areas; african americans were lynched; wealthy people were attacked on the streets; expensive stores were robbed. In response to the riots, President Lincoln ordered a draft quota for NYS. Some whites formed unions and organizations to support the republican party and abolitionists. Despite the initial responses to the national draft, the two parties did make amends and spurred an era of growth in New York City and the United States as a whole.

Another major factor that moved the progress of New York City was the cultural conflict that resulted from the immigration of 1.6 million Irish catholics to the United States during the Irish famine. Americans took on a strong sense of nativism and outcasted the immigrants. On 4th of July 1853, when a riot surfaced in the midst of two patriotic parades, one protestant and the other catholic, police only arrested catholics. Similarly, protestant mobs prevented catholic children from attended the mission school set up by Reverend Louis and protestant street preaching became frequent in catholics neighborhoods. Despite, nativist attitudes and persistent attempts at conversion, the Irish catholics did not assimilate; instead they redefined the culture of NYC and by extension, the United States.

Another large conflict in NYC was the power struggle between the city and New York State. Fernando Wood, Mayor of New York, was known for employing Irish workers and improving the education, sanitation, and transportation systems. Although his self satisfying motives made him out to be quite a controversial politician, Wood formed a resistance of Irish locals as the State began to take away municipal authorities. State-appointed commissioners were put in place to oversee the development of Central Park. The revision of the City Charter removed the mayor from the Board of Supervisors so Wood forcefully relinquished control over city finances. The state increased the liquor license fee, attacking the culture of the already impoverished Irish and German immigrants. Lastly, the state implemented the Metropolitan Police Act which disbanded the city militia, leaving New York City to be defended by the metropolitan police force. Wood gave his policemen the option to join the state force or stay on his municipal force in spite of the police act. While the Irish immigrants remained loyal to him, the native born Americans joined the state, creating major conflict between the two groups. In response, the Irish formed the Dead Rabbits and fought the state police and their gang, the Bowery Boys. In the end, only the Dead Rabbits were blamed for the riot. Social conflicts like these have been prominent in New York City’s history, and each time, New Yorkers rise to challenge norms and fight for what they believe in. Confronting conflict headfirst has become custom as well as responsibility in order to form a more perfect union.

Famine Irish in Comparison to Other Immigrants

Quinn makes a comparison between the slave trade and the Holocaust and the Famine emigration only to reject it later on, why?

Peter Quinn’s first reference to the slave trade and holocaust was to show the difference between the migration of the Irish Potato Famine immigrants as compared to the migration of immigrants to the United States in other situations. He compares the size and impact of the slave trade and Holocaust to that of the Irish Famine, rather than the reasons why the Famine Irish left to the reason why the slaves left Africa and the Jewish left Europe. Quinn tries to make a point that the Irish were involuntarily forced to leave their homelands just like the slaves and the Jews. That is the reason why the “sheer volume of passage” (p 46) of the Irish migration was unlike any America had seen before. Quinn is saying that the only thing similar to it in size was the migration of the slave trade and Holocaust Jews. In other periods of immigration, the migrants had more of a choice and therefore there were less quantities of them.

Later on, Quinn doesn’t necessarily reject his previous comparison between the Holocaust Jews and Famine Irish, instead he contrasts the two migrations. In a way he just seems to be covering himself so that his point isn’t taken in an incorrect nature. He acknowledges that the real reason the two groups left their homes are not on the same level. Overall Quinn just wants to let people know that the reason we don’t have so many first hand accounts from the Famine Irish is because just like the people of any group who has faced adversity to its worst degree (e.g. the Jews and African Americans), they would rather be silent and not relive those horrific moments. All we have is the facts and the history, Quinn wants to know the memories because it is from those that we can characterize history.

“Memory is unique to each of us,…”

Peter Quinn begins his essay “In Search of Banished Children” by describing how memories are one of a kind to every single person since they shape us differently. In the essay, Quinn mentions how “the event that first bought [his] family to America [was] the Great Famine of the 1840s” (43). Quinn is aware of how his family came to the United States since he knows the broad history and shares the same reasoning as many other Irish immigrants; however, he can not relate to the event based on memory because he has not experienced it himself, therefore it does not shape him emotionally. The memories of immigration to Quinn are “an intravenous inheritance” (42) rather than something he has actually experienced firsthand.

Quinn also mentions his father’s recounting of how Quinn’s great-grandfather and great-uncle almost reunited during the Civil War (45). However, upon hearing the story, Quinn realizes that though the story may be true, but he believes it as more of a “romantic embellishment” (45) in his relatives’ lives. Though besides some stories being more embellished than others, there are stories that have not been told because they do not want to be recalled. For example, Quinn notes how even if there was an opportunity for a survivor of the Irish Famine to tell his accounting, it is unsure where many would (47). To some, the Irish Famine does not need to be recalled because of how it forced people to emigrate to the United States because there was no food. To most of the Irish immigrants of the time, living through the Famine was communal –everyone experienced it. There was no need to recall it because the community suffered together. Unlike history, rather than symphatizing with each other, the people shared the fear and health conditions.

Memory unlike history recalls memories that are unique to each person which include all the five senses and emotions. History, on the other hand, is more like a line rather than a ring, meaning that history describes an event in the most straight, general way, whereas memories try to see and link everything about an event together. Quinn started the essay by talking about memories because he wanted to emphasize how difference between memory and history and how much stronger it is than history. Memories do not romanticize emotions, instead they are much more raw. Though, history allows you to be aware of the time period, it will not let you imagine life as a person in the time period, but rather as an onlooker.

Memory Versus History

Read the 1^st sentence carefully and analyze what bearing does it have on the essay.

Peter Quinn had very little recollection of his ancestors prior to penning this text. The first few words of this piece is, “memory is unique to each of us” which is accurate in many different contexts. What I have experienced in my life is much different than any one else. The story to follow had nothing to do with his firsthand remembrance of events, but rather the investigation into the lives of the people who preceded him. In the same sentence, he makes the argument that memory is inherit, in that it flows through us in our “bloodstream, elixir, narcotic, stimulant, poison, antidote.” This could be interpreted as an innate feeling formed within us before we even see the light of day. He finishes there and turned the text into a first person narrative of his discovery of his family rooting back to Ireland.

There are few sentences in this essay that resemble the poetic language used in the opening one. In fact, the only similar one discusses memory as well, where he states, “Memory is more than a recollection of discrete events … Memory is a reel of endless, haunted gossip, a montage of snippets, remnants, patches…” It captures the attention of his readers, but more importantly, leaves them questioning where he is going with calling memory “an intravenous inheritance.” Basically, he doesn’t see memory as strict as history, but rather the unnoticeable things that could be linked to a specific time. He mentioned when he did this research, he tried to let go of the history behind it. Instead, he wanted to encompass the ordinary of his ancestry. The opening sentence holds much of the story on its shoulders, because without it, it simply becomes another boring tale of how man took the time to learn about his ancestors and now wanted to share those tales with the world. And without it, we wouldn’t understand wholly what Quinn’s intentions were – they weren’t to simply learn about dates and facts, but rather the spirit of the people who down the line created him.

Sticks and Stones

Quinn makes a comparison between slave trade and the holocaust and famine emigration early in the essay on to reject it later. Why?

In his essay, “In Search of the Banished Children,” Peter Quinn explores his family’s history in hopes of recovering his the fine points of his lost Irish heritage. Early on, he notes historian James Scally’s comparison between the magnitude of the Irish immigration and “the slave trade or the boxcars of the Holocaust” (48). Here, he illustrates the widespread migration to America that occurred during all three events. In the remainder of his essay, he goes on to prove that, despite the extent of the calamity that the Irish had faced, with the passage of time, there are few traces of personal burden caused by the Irish famine today.

Quinn states that the Irish American struggle was muffled as slavery and the Holocaust eclipsed the anti-Irish movement (50). He writes, “[unlike] the turning of a natural catastrophe to the brutal purposes of social engineering, the Holocaust was a death sentence leveled against every Jewish man, woman, child under German rule” (53). Quinn does not aim to downplay the famine, but rather to demonstrate that although time may not heal, it does indeed mask. As other issues in America were brought to attention, the Irish slums and the were clouded. Today, we all openly recognize the tragedies that occurred during the slave trade and the Holocaust. They are a huge part of our nation’s history, while the famine is less emphasized in a general American history class. Perhaps this is because the Irish did not have a tattooed number on their bodies or a separate faith or darkly pigmented skin to be easily identified as a victim. Quinn recognizes that with the coming generations, the communal memories that he sought were blurred both intentionally and unintentionally. Intentionally, by the first immigrant groups in attempt to move on and create a better life for their families. Unintentionally by children who did not pass down the stories of their elders. By default, the hardships that Quinn’s Irish ancestors faced were no longer personally relevant to modern day Irish Americans. Now, “it is impossible to tell that [their] legs were ever broken at all (56).

Drawing Parallels and Borders in Atrocities

Quinn draws the comparison between the Holocaust and the famine emigration initially to highlight the impact of the Famine on the Irish population and the magnitude of its catastrophic effect on Irish culture and lifestyle. Quinn’s juxtaposition is based on the fact that both events affected an exorbitantly large amount of people over a prolonged period of time, in a way that completely altered the foundation of the targeted societies. The Famine forced the Irish poor to find assistance from another external source because of England’s lack of concern for a “source of national weakness” (Quinn, 53). The Holocaust both shattered the physical and cultural bases of Jewish life; shifting the focus from living in isolation to surviving from the ashes of near extinction.

However, Quinn later refutes this parallel to draw distinction between what the purpose behind each atrocity was. The Famine started as a natural disaster in Ireland’s main subsistent crop, only to then be used by English aristocracy as an opportunity to dictate Irish populations and policies by hindering them from receiving external assistance for their subsistence strategies. Essentially, the Famine served as a social control on the socio-economic status of the Irish people within the context of the English domain. Additionally, there was no debate as to the extent of damage the famine left the Irish community; a large portion of Irish were lost to the seven-year ordeal. On the other hand, the Holocaust was a premeditated attack on a specific group of people (Jews) in order to completely eliminate the chosen population, otherwise known as genocide. The level of impact here is more much substantial and the intentions of the oppressors are much more actively lethal. There was no question as to what was being done: systematic murder. Survivors and offspring from the event took years to piece together exactly how awful Hitler’s actions were and how exactly it impacted each individual’s life.

Memories Through Ancestry

In the first sentence of “In Search of the Banished Children,” Peter Quinn defines the word memory as “familial, tribal, communal, the seepage into our minds of other memories,” things from our past that are completely unique to each individual and stem from one’s surroundings, namely one’s family. Quinn goes on to describe his upbringing, and how his search for more information on his Irish ancestry began despite his growing up in a “family that asked few questions about the past” (43). Quinn’s roots go back to the Great Famine of the 1840s, but like many descendants of these Famine immigrants, Quinn has no artifacts or family memories from that time period save for certain details about his great-grandfather, Michael Manning, but he even doubts the credibility of those stories. Quinn resolves to find out more about his Irish ancestry despite the “silence” of memories from the time period of the Great Migration. He explores the factual and statistical side found in books and historians, and also goes directly to the source: Skibbereen, Ireland, where he hears a story about an old man that he imagines to be his great grandfather’s brother, Robert Manning.

Quinn is able to come to terms with not knowing the specifics about his ancestry. He may only have generic information about Irish presence in the 1840s, but he grew up surrounded by the influence of the Famine immigrants – the churches, schools, and other organizations founded during the time of the Great Migration. These institutions count as memories for Quinn, and support his definition of memories – entities that stem from one’s surroundings and familial bonds.

“In Search of the Banished Children” by Peter Quinn

Prompt: Read and carefully analyze the first sentence of “In Search of the Banished Children.” What bearing does it have on the essay?

“Memory is unique to each one of us, it is familial, tribal, communal, the seepage into our minds of other memories, an intravenous inheritance, the past in our bloodstream, elixir, narcotic, stimulant, poison, antidote” (Quinn, 43). This first sentence from “In Search of the Banished Children” from Peter Quinn’s Looking for Jimmy encompasses the idea that memory, while it is an integral part of who people truly are, can leave scars on the psyches of those who have struggled.

For the most part, Quinn seems to deem the Irish Americans as fairly ignorant of their past and heritage. For example, he states that “the poor have traditionally lacked not only the education and time to record their lives, but also lacked the interest” (Quinn, 47). The unfortunate fact is that those who had experienced the Famine and held the memory of the event wanted neither to remember their story nor to inform others of their struggle, probably due to feelings of shame or inferiority.

And who could blame them? The Irish were seen by their British neighbors as a “problem, scourge, infection, perpetual nuisance, and source of national weakness and unrest” (Quinn, 53). And even after leaving the UK, those who had experienced the traumatic Famine were left with “the effects of their own powerlessness, [and] of humiliating dependency on landlords and government officials” (Quinn, 49) in America. The Famine Irish were stuck in a perpetual state of abhorrence by others and poverty, which left scars on their memories of the Famine and all events preceding and following it.

Banished Children Journal

The first line of the essay says that memories come in various forms. They can be unique to a single person or shared with kin, a tribe, or a community. Memories are also like roads in some sort of way. One memory can lead to another one like a network of paths. Quinn suggests that memories are physical objects like genes passed down from a person’s parents. Each person’s memory bank is their own and unique to them because it is comprised of not only their own memories but the experiences of their ancestors. Quinn mentions that memories are either an “elixir, narcotic, stimulant, poison, [or] antidote.” This implies that a memory can affect the person in beneficial or harmful way. Memories of how a certain family or race was treated or what experiences it had in the past can either drive and motivate a person of that family or race or it can hinder and cripple them. Each person holds the victories and triumphs along with the pain and burdens of a family or race within themselves and must carry them each day.

This opening sentence informs the reader exactly how the various types of memories can affect a person and that it foreshadows what will be discussed throughout the piece. It shows that this essay will be about a person’s own story with influences of memories from their relatives, their friends, or other members of the same race or ethnic group.