I will be speaking more in depth about this reading tomorrow, but I want to mention a few points. What I found most interesting about the entire domus-centered society of Italian Harlem is the quiet struggle raging just beneath the surface. A cursory glance at the community may provide one with an impression of a closely knit society, with a heavy emphasis on family closeness, interdependence, and hierarchy. In truth, there is more depth to the picture than that. The domus is the true focal point in the lives of Italians and American-Italians, around which they base their standards of good behavior, moral perspectives, and goals in life.
Beneath the rosy exterior,however, conflict is brewing. The tensions stem from several sources, such as the alienation of the younger generation from their Italian-born parents, the struggle for authority between the father and the eldest son, and the overbearing attitude and behavior of the immigrant parents who seek to control most aspects of their childrens’ lives. Routes of escape for the youth do exist, yet they are not looked upon with a favorable eye.
Despite the resentment and subliminal fear of the domus system, there is no true escape for any Italian or American-Italian. Both generations have so absorbed the values and perspectives of the domus that those same values have become the basis of their identity, and to make any change to the system or leave the system is therefore unthinkable. So the discontent is left to stir within the hearts of Italians as they bear their duties towards the domus and their community, and they are left to find another outlet to vent their frustration.
Orsi observes that one such outlet are the street gangs. Those gangs provided an alluring picture to young men, who sought an escape from their oppressive homes, security, intimacy, and mutual support. I never thought about looking at gangs in this light, and when I read this part of the chapter, I was seeing street gangs from a whole new perspective that makes a lot of sense. There are many other interesting points which Orsi brought up, and I look forward to covering many of them in class tomorrow.
