DS ANGLAIS 3ème 6, groupe de Mme Antoniutti

REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST

1)Read the text and explain the title: (1.5 pt)

Sophie Wolf is now very old,/ she is an elderly woman, But she remembers landing/arriving in Ellis Island as an immigrant from Germany when she was 23. Visiting Ellis Island reminded her of that day when she arrived there. It triggered her memories.

2)The text was divided into 7 parts. Give each a title.(3.5 pts)

a) §1. / a)an old woman remembers/introduction
b)Life in Germany.
c)The departure and arrival./ on the ship
d)arriving in Ellis Island./impersonal examination
e)Medical examination.
f)Discovering America./marital status
g)Worrying about immigration/Sophie’s feeling as an American citizen.
b) §2.
c) §3.
d) §4-5.
e) § 6.
f) §7.
g) §8-9.

3)What social status did Sophie have in Germany(1pt) (rich? Poor?) Justify your answer with elements from the text.

She was upper-middle class. Her father was a hatter and it is mentioned in the text that she had lived comfortably but now she is poor.

4)Find at least 3 reasons she had for emigrating.(1.5 pt) (justify with elements from the text.)

  1. inflation ( a loaf of bread cost 3 million marks)
  2. unemployment (Sophie only had a part-time job, half a day a week, and her friends sought for jobs in the Netherlands and Spain)
  3. Poverty, lack of money
  4. She dreamt of America (America was THE thing)
  5. She had family in the US ( an uncle who ran a bakery in Madison)

5)What was the financial condition on which you could emigrate?(1.5 pt)Did Sophie fulfil this condition? Why?

You had to prove you wouldn’t become a public charge, thus you have to owe 25$ (fam : bucks). She did because her uncle paid for her. You could enter the territory provided/providing/on condition that you had the money.

6)Describe and analyse Sophie’s feelings and justify with elements from the text :

  1. before reaching America :( 2 pts)

She was quite enthusiastic/She couldn’t wait to start a new life (elle mourrait d’impatience de…)/She was dying to/ she was looking forward to… “America was THE thing)/ She was eager to arrive in the USA (elle désirait vivement…)

  1. On Entering NY harbour : ( 2 pts)

She is impressed/amazed/dazzled (éblouie) by the lights and the wealth they represent. (In Germany there was a curfew)/ . She is also afraid. (l23 “ her overwhelming sensation was fear”(irresistible, accablant, débordant, dominant) She is both amazed and frightened.

  1. During the inspection :( 2 pts)

She felt humiliated : “ bring the cattle and ship them out.” She also felt threatened : “fired 29 questions” “the trick question”, and embarrassed/ill at ease : a nurse put her hand under her skirt. She was also anguished at the thought of answering something wrong.

  1. After the inspection :( 2 pts)

She is first relieved, then amazed, impressed, like a child. She thought everybody was nice, happy and comprehensive. Line 56-60. She thought the USA were some kind of heaven on earth.

7)What was the officials’ attitude towards the immigrants?( 1pt) What can account for (=explain)it?

Their attitude was quite impersonal because they didn’t have time to reassure them (500 immigrants a day). Moreover, most of them didn’t speak English. The officials might have been prejudiced against them.

8) Show she perfectly adapted in the USA with elements from the text. (1.5 pt)

Her English is almost perfect. She became a US citizen in 1937. She has since voted in every election.

9)Describe and analyse Sophie’s reaction towards the new immigrants. (1pt) Why is it paradoxical (= contradictory, surprising)?

On the one hand she thinks they are too many, on the other hand she remembers she was once one of them. She belongs to the WASP community so she is prejudiced against them.

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