Before I read the later chapters of the readings, I thought that la Madonna was the main thing that united the Italian immigrants in East Harlem. However, I agree with Silky that the domus was the most critical aspect of Italian immigrant life in East Harlem because it influenced the people in the domus to make certain decisions. These readings struck me because it made me realize just how important family is to the Italian community in East Harlem and how this molded the future generations of East Harlem.
One fact that surprised me was how Italian families in East Harlem considered people in their families true Christians only when he or she abided by the domus. If rispetto was not upheld or if a family member did something that did not show any concern to the domus, then they were not considered a Christian but what was referred to as “Turk” behavior. That is how close knit families in Italian East Harlem were because any decision such as moving away from the domus center could result in the breaking of a family bond. It was interesting to read about how close each person was with even distant relatives and how the family worked together to try and avoid complete Americanization of their children. That is why I believe the domus was so strict on its younger generation because if the children married someone who was not Italian, families thought this would result in a change of Italian customs. In addition, if someone moved to a different neighborhood, families believed that this would lead to abandonment of the domus for good and an embrace to more American customs.
To me , that is why the domus society strove to have such a strong grip on its family members. The primary goal was to avoid Americanization and assimilation at all cost and to uphold family values. Some children did make decisions and sacrifice their wants in order to keep their family together. I thought that that was so selfless of them as some even rejected the husband or wife right for them in order to maintain the domus society. This was rispetto, to do anything that was respectful to the home according to the Italian East Harlem community.
I think that having a close knit family as the Italians did in East Harlem explains why immigrants have such good memories of their ethnic neighborhood. During these times, everyone was close with more family members. Families lived in the same apartment buildings and people trusted one another to the point where close friends left their doors open. Although times were hard for Italians and other immigrants, they still were able to make the most of what they had in their festes and the bonding they had with their family. That is why, in my opinion, the domus was so strict and why people had good memories in East Harlem. They did not want this close knit family structure to leave or diminish; they wanted this to be preserved and be a long lasting memory in Italian immigrant history.
