Class and ethnicity : deitalianization and the Italian immigrants' struggle between the old and the new

Abstract

My thesis deals with ethnic and class issues; more specifically, it is about Italian identity and culture, and how it is strictly related to the working class. My point is that ethnicity often hinders upper mobility, so that deculturalization seems to be a necessary step for those who desire to improve their social status. As a matter of fact, those Italian immigrants who wanted to move up had to forget about their origins, mother tongue and tradition. This means that many Italian immigrants had to become American (Americanize themselves, or de-italianize themselves) to become rich and to be part of the middle class. Many Italian-American writers make this point in their novels, underlining the identity struggle that Italian working-class immigrants undergo, when they try to learn the English language and to become part of the American culture/identity.

Guido D'Agostino points out the Italian immigrants' drama and the problem of split identities in his book entitled "Olives on the Apple Tree" (1940), where he tells us about an Italian family that moves from the ghetto in the vain hope of becoming Americans by abandoning their Italian culture. Also contemporary writer Fred Gardaphe addresses this and many other topics regarding Italianness, in "Mustache Pete is Dead," a collection of fictitious interviews to an Italian old-timer called Baffo Beppe. Both authors emphasize the need of appreciating out ethnic heritage and culture. We cannot forget where we come from, since it affects who we are today; however, it is impossible to keep living in the past, so we need to welcome the new and open our mind to what is different.