This selection gives the experience of a Jewish girl who came from
Polotzk, Russia, to Boston. Read rather slowly, with the help of these
questions: What is meant by "centuries of repression"? Is there no such
repression in America? How is it true that the Jew peddler "was born
thousands of years before the oldest native American"? What are the
educational advantages of a thickly populated neighborhood? What is your
idea of the slums? Why did the children expect every comfort to be
supplied? How much is really free in America? Is education free? How
does one secure an education in Russia? How are American machine-made
garments superior to those made by hand in Russia? Was it a good thing
to change the children's names? What effect does the sea have upon those
who live near it? What effect has a great change of environment on a
growing young person? What kind of person was Mrs. Wilner? What does Mr.
Antin mean when he says, "America is not Polotzk"? Are all men equal in
America? Read carefully the description of Mr. Wilner: How does the
author make it vivid and lively? Why was Mary Antin's first day in
school so important to her? Was it fair that Frieda should not go to
school? Should an older child be sacrificed for a younger? Should a slow
child always give way to a bright one? What do you think of the way in
which Mary accepted the situation when Frieda had to go to work? Read
carefully what Mary says about it. Is it easy to make a living in
America? Why did Mr. Antin not succeed in business? What is meant by
"the compensation of intellectual freedom"? What did Mr. Antin gain from
his life in America? What sort of man was he? In reading the selection,
what idea do you get of the Russian immigrant? Of what America means to
the poor foreigner?


THEME SUBJECTS