Jigsaw: Document Analysis – Italophobia
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Date:
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Expert Group 1: Closely read, annotate, and understand the section below. Then, answer questions 1-6.
The mass of our people is eternally infantile and thoughtless. The majority come from the small
towns of Italy, where life is confined to the customs and habits within the shadow of the "Campanile"
and to the veneration of the patron saint, a veneration that is carried over to this country and is
pictured on the standards of the mutual benefit societies organized for that purpose. Thus one can
observe, at a glance, in the outstanding foreign sections of the city, the various groups, compact and
typical of their small town or district. In this way we have made the distinction, even though from these
groups there is a continuous falling away of those, who have allowed themselves to be assimilated into
the American melting pot.
1. What is the root of “infantile”? Explain what the editor means by “The mass of our people is
eternally infantile and thoughtless.” What do you think is the author’s attitude toward Italians?
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2.
“Campanile” is a church bell tower, often in a small town. Explain what the editor is saying
about most Italians who now live in the US. Where are they from, and what was life like there?
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3. Look up “veneration.” Explain what the author means by “the majority come from the small
towns of Italy, where life is confined […] to the veneration of the patron saint.” What
connections can you draw to this “veneration of the patron saint”?
Jigsaw: Document Analysis – Italophobia
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4. Is the “veneration of the patron saint” a form of assimilation or resistance to it? Explain.
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5. According to the editorial, some Italians have “allowed themselves to be assimilated into the
American melting pot.” What do you think the editor means by that? What is this “melting pot”?
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6. Write the central idea of this section. Then, write a quote that could best be used as evidence of
whether Italians in the 1920s had assimilated into American culture.
Central Idea: ___________________________________________________________________
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Quote: ________________________________________________________________________
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Jigsaw: Document Analysis – Italophobia
Name:
Date:
Class:
Expert Group 2: Closely read, annotate, and understand the section below. Then, answer questions 7-13.
We say, "American." The distinction is made by our own people to whom anyone, who does not
speak Italian, is an American. He might be Jewish, Croatian, Polish, Irish, and so forth, but, to us, he is an
"American." And this ingenuous distinction which we owe to the dull observation of the newly arrived,
finds an echo in the Italophobic press, which reports with accentuated emphasis the deeds of Italian
character and those which it refers to as typically Sicilian.
7. Who do Italians count as “American,” according to the editor? Do you think immigrant groups
think the same way today, or has the view of who is “American” changed?
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8. Define “ingenuous” by either identifying its root or looking it up. Define “distinction.” What is
the “distinction” the editorial mentions, and how is it ingenuous? Do you think it is ingenuous?
Why or why not?
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9. The editor refers to the “dull (dumb) observation of the newly arrived.” Assuming the editor has
lived in America for a few years, what does this mean about how established immigrants may
view new immigrants? Do you think this distinction still exists between established and new
immigrants? Explain.
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Jigsaw: Document Analysis – Italophobia
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Date:
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10. What makes the press (newspapers) “Italophobic”? Define “accentuated” and explain what the
press reports with “accentuated emphasis.”
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11. What kinds of “deeds of Italian character” do you think the press is reporting (hint: they’re bad)?
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12. Sicilians come from an island off the coast of Italy, but the newspapers are labeling Italians who
commit these deeds as “Sicilian.” How do you think a Sicilian would feel about this? How do you
think someone from another part of Italy would feel about this? How do you think an American
whose family has lived in the US for one hundred years feel about this?
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13. Write the central idea of this section. Then, write a quote that could best be used as evidence of
whether Italians in the 1920s had assimilated into American culture.
Central Idea: ___________________________________________________________________
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Quote: ________________________________________________________________________
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Jigsaw: Document Analysis – Italophobia
Name:
Date:
Class:
Expert Group 3: Closely read, annotate, and understand the section below. Then, answer questions 14 20.
The fault lies in our excessive Italianism. We wave the Italian flag at a reckless height over a land
which we do not dominate, be it by numbers, by inheritance, or for any other reason. That flag we must
keep in our hearts. It is unwise to wave it in the face of a native element that, though having reverence
for our ancestors, is intolerant of a people that is competing with it in the economic field. The local
Italian press can teach the newcomers as well as those who have had a longer period of residence, one
very important point, that in America one must do as the "Americans," just as our ancestors said, "When
in Rome do like the Romans." The Italian quarters should disappear, as they are disappearing, though
very slowly. With the Italian quarters dismembered it will be easy to eliminate that odious classification,
which is applied to our people.
14. In the previous section, the editor blames the “Italophobic press” for reporting the bad deeds of
Italians. Here, he says, “The fault lies in our excessive Italianism.” What does that mean? Use
evidence from this paragraph to explain.
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15. Define “inheritance.” The editor uses the Italian flag as a metaphor, saying, “we wave [it] at a
reckless height over a land we do not dominate, be it by numbers, by inheritance, or for any
other reason.” Does he mean that Italians should not be proud of their heritage? Draw a
connection to a modern-day immigrant group and its ethnic pride.
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16. Who do you think the editor means by the “native element”? Why is it unwise to “wave [the
Italian flag] in the face of the native element? Do you think it is unwise for modern-day
immigrants to “wave their flags” in the face of today’s “native element”? Why or why not?
Jigsaw: Document Analysis – Italophobia
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17. Define “reverence.” How do you think the editor wants Italians to have “reverence for [their]
ancestors” while keeping the flag “in [their] hearts”?
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18. The editor says that Italian newspapers “can teach the newcomers” and other Italians that “in
America one must do as the ‘Americans,’ just as our ancestors said, ‘When in Rome do like the
Romans.’” Using the word “assimilation,” explain what this means. Do you agree that immigrant
groups should “do as the ‘Americans’”? Why or why not?
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19. By “Italian quarters,” the editor means Italian neighborhoods. What is the purpose of
“dismembering” (define) these neighborhoods? How will that help Italians eliminate that
“odious classification” (define and explain)?
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20. Write the central idea of this section. Then, write a quote that could best be used as evidence of
whether Italians in the 1920s had assimilated into American culture.
Central Idea: ___________________________________________________________________
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Quote: ________________________________________________________________________
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Jigsaw: Document Analysis – Italophobia
Name:
Date:
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Expert Group 4: Closely read, annotate, and understand the section below. Then, answer questions 2125.
Discard your old country loyalties and your enemy will be left without a target. In fact, I am sure that
only in this manner can we obtain the dissolution of all animosities. Because your foe is not that which
you have imagined him to be, the antithesis of all things Italian. On the contrary he, whom you call an
enemy, is the true friend to the Italian. The "American" desires the Americanization of the Italian,
developed and interested in the community, as an integral part and not like a worm that slowly gnaws
into its peace and future. The Italian who knows how to act will never find any animosity directed
against him. On the contrary, he will be respected. America, in the main, has learned to appreciate the
Italian, to understand and to hold him in high esteem when he merits it. But it aims to rid itself of all
those Italians who know not how, nor want to respect, the laws and customs of this country which has
been so hospitable and generous.
21. Explain who “the enemy” is. Why do you think “discard[ing] old country loyalties” will leave the
enemy “without a target”? Think about how this might have applied to Italians in 1925 and how
it may apply to immigrants, particularly from Latin America, today.
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22. Define “dissolution” and “animosities.” Explain what it would mean for Italians to “obtain the
dissolution of all animosities.”
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Jigsaw: Document Analysis – Italophobia
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Date:
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23. Define “antithesis.” How is the perceived enemy of Italians not the “antithesis of all things
Italian” but actually the “true friend”? Use the word “assimilation” in your response.
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24. The section ends with two key points: “America, in the main, has learned to appreciate the
Italian, to understand and to hold him in high esteem when he merits it. But it aims to rid itself
of all those Italians who know not how, nor want to respect, the laws and customs of this
country which has been so hospitable and generous.” Define “hospitable” and explain what this
quote means. Do you agree with it? How does it apply today? Should Mexicans, for example,
disown other Mexicans who break laws? Why or why not?
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25. Write the central idea of this section. Then, write a quote that could best be used as evidence of
whether Italians in the 1920s had assimilated into American culture.
Central Idea: ___________________________________________________________________
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Quote: ________________________________________________________________________
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