Summary about Ellis Island
“Ellis Island” is an excerpt of Irving Howe’s book World of Our Fathers, which was
published in 1976. It is about the treatment of immigrants when they arrived in
America at Ellis Island. It was located in New York Harbor; it functioned as official
point of entry for European immigrants for 51 years (1892-1943). Sounding like magic
for those who immigrated, the island was compared with heaven and the final
judgment, where fate awaited the immigrants.
Before officially being a citizen of the United States of America, all immigrants had to
pass the test of Ellis Island, which caused anxiety among the people. Three doctors
had to be passed in order to enter heaven. The first doctor examined men and
women: those with heavy breathing or deformity were marked with a chalk for later
inspections. Children had to walk on their own; it turned out that not everyone was
able to do so. As a result of the first checkup, one out of five was in need of further
medical examination; therefore, immigrants were chalked with special signs: H stood
for heart, Sc for scalp, X for mental defects and K for hernia. After this procedure, an
interpreter asked questions to each immigrant; he wanted to find out, if they were
able to respond properly. The second doctor was an expert in contagious diseases
like leprosy or venereal diseases. Even though the whole medical procedure was
almost done, the last doctor, who was responsible for checking the eyes, was feared
most. The eye examination hurt a little; therefore, children were terrified. Nurses
watched for trachoma; it was the reason of more than half the medical detentions.
Passing the examination, immigrants had to stand in lines again, but this time
according to nationality. Interpreters asked for example about character, money,
relatives, work. These questions posed a dilemma for Jewish immigrants, for they
didn’t know if they should tell the truth or lie. Since a law prohibited the importation of
contract labour, immigrants were liable if they say a job is waiting for them in the
USA. Sometimes the staff was not able to deal with the huge amount of immigrants;
consequently, the average person passed through Ellis Island in a day.
During the year 1907 five thousand was fixed as a maximum number of immigrants
who could be examined in one day; in fact, fifteen thousand immigrants arrived at the
port of New York in a single day. Therefore, the staff was often overworked and
handled the immigrants rough; besides, corruption was also common. The people
3rd Homework
Cultural Studies USA
Andrea Aigner
who worked at Ellis Island were often overwhelmed by the magnitude of their task. It
is known from an interpreter who worked there that at best work was an agony.
Consequently, for those, who didn’t close their eyes and were able to feel, there
could not be another perception.
3rd Homework
Cultural Studies USA
Andrea Aigner