[Throughout my career as a college professor, I have collected numerous firsthand accounts from immigrants about their journeys and first impressions and/or experiences in America. This is the first of dozens immigrant oral histories i will post. I’ll begin with my favorite story, without any embellishment, about that wonderful symbol of who and what we … More True Immigrant Stories_1: The Statue of Liberty
In an interview last week, the reporter asked me if the events of the 1890s described in my novel, Guardians of the Gate, can in any way relate to current issues on immigration. The simple answer was “yes,” and some of the details are the topic of this week’s blog. Americans in the 1890s saw … More The Relevance of 1890s Immigration to Today
Our lives involve a series of choices: to go to college or not, where to go to college or work, where to live, with whom to live, and later to make changes or not, and so on. Yet, even as we make these choices along life’s path, we do so … More Life’s Unplanned Journey
I was asked an interesting question about how the characters in Guardians of the Gate convey the message of the American Dream and the strength of the human spirit. The easy answer lies in the immigrants going through Ellis Island, leaving behind poverty, repression, and limited life choices to pursue freedom and a better life … More Personifying the American Dream and the American Spirit
Vince Parrillo 