Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl By Kathryn Lasky Study Guide I. INTRODUCTION QUESTIONS 1. How did learning about Jewish immigrant life through a fictional diary help you understand and identify with the Jewish immigrant experience? What advantages and limitations does the diary format present? 2. Why did Zippy and her family – and approximately two million Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia – immigrate to America? 3. Consider Zippy’s relationships with each member of her family. How do they influence each other? What conflicts do they have? Think about your own families. How do you help shape each other’s lives? 4. On pages 31-32, Zippy describes some of the tensions that existed between German Jews and the Eastern European and Russian Jews in America. Why did this conflict exist? 5. What are some of Zippy’s middot that shine through her interactions with her family and friends? Some examples: She exemplifies the middah of kol Yisrael arevim zeh l’zeh (all Jews are responsible for one another) when she works to help her friend Blu Wolf improve her English and when she volunteers at the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society to make bundles of clothes to give to new immigrants. She exemplifies the middah of kibbud av v’aim (honoring your parents) when she seeks ways to help her parents improve their lives in America. 6. Zippy’s sister Tovah becomes a leader in the labor movement and is vocal about women’s political rights. (See pages 81 and 136.) Tovah’s activism worries her mother. Why? Why do you think Tovah (and other Jewish women) got involved in the labor and suffrage movement, when they never would have contemplated such activities when they lived in Russia? 7. Zippy’s mother, Yitzy Silver, Uncle Moishe, and even Zippy’s father become involved in the garment trade. Why do you think so many Jews entered this industry? 8. Zippy’s friend Mamie dies in a fire at the Diamond Shirtwaist factory. This fictional tragedy is based on the actual fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in 1911 that killed 146 people, mostly women and girls. How does the Diamond Shirtwaist factory fire affect Zippy? How did the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire impact the labor movement? (See pages 139-142 and 163.) 9. How did the immigrants of the Lower East Side create a subculture of their own, including their own social and political organizations, as well as their own newspapers and forms of entertainment? III. PASSAGES FOR CLOSE ANALYSIS 1. On page 9, Zippy writes “It is awful, this tenement apartment. I cannot believe that back in Russia everyone called America the Goldeneh Medina- the Golden Country. There is nothing golden. It is only darkness.” The Feldmans, like many immigrants, come to America with an “American dream,” a glorified vision of America. Some thought that America was a land of endless possibility where they could easily become wealthy, live in great comfort, and enjoy complete freedom. Discuss the idea of the “American Dream”. What do you think it meant to Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century? Look at the quote above. How do you think Zippy’s feelings about America change over the course of her life? (The epilogue describes how she becomes a famous and wealthy actress.) What about you today? What are your dreams for your future in America? Do you think you and your family are living the “American Dream”? * Teachers might want to reference Rael Meyerowitz’s Transferring to America: Jewish Interpretations of American Dreams for further discussion of the idea of the “American Dream” as it related to Jewish immigrants. 2. After discussing the story of Hanukkah (page 61) Zippy writes, “I think maybe I understand better why Mama does not want to give up her wig. In a way the Americans are like the Greeks. Oh, they do not force pigs on our altars, of course, but it was very easy for those Jews of ancient times to take up Greek styles in small ways. It is so easy to become like all the others. So hard to stand apart and feel free, feel chosen as Mama says but not superior.” In what ways do the Jewish immigrants find it difficult to maintain their Jewish values? What parts of Jewish practice do Zippy’s father and uncles begin to abandon? How does her mother try to preserve their religious observance? What aspects of American culture does Mama begin to value as the diary progresses? Do you think this quote could apply to Jews today? In what ways? 3. On page 79, Zippy writes, “Now, I tell you what Tovah has to go and do: Organize a union!!! She is going to be in big trouble....THIS IS BIG TROUBLE!” Why is Zippy so worried about Tovah starting a union? 4. Zippy’s sister, Miriam, says, “What is it about this country that makes one dream such big dreams?” (page 88) What are the different dreams that the members of the Feldman family have? Why do they feel that they can pursue these dreams in America when they might never have entertained these thoughts in Russia? 5. On page 94, Zippy quotes her father as he refuses to take a job as a boss of a shop for Yitzy’s father: “‘You don’t learn anything in a sweatshop except being a sweater. You think I came here to learn how to exploit, to be a boss? That is vile. Never! Never!’” Why is Zippy’s father so against taking this job? Why does his position make Zippy wonder, “that maybe Papa is the old-fashioned one and Mama the real Yankee”? How does Papa later reconcile his own and his wife’s desires? 6. Zippy discusses the upcoming election (page 137): “I would definitely vote for Teddy Roosevelt if I could. But we will all go tomorrow with Uncle Moishe when he votes (Uncle Moishe is a citizen) and I don’t care if it is boiling hot, I am going to wear the new winter coat that Mama fitted for me from one of the samples for Yitzy’s father. It has velvet piping around the collar and both pockets. We Feldmans shall all walk proudly down Orchard Street to the polls, even though only Uncle Moishe can vote. Oh, how I wish the Tsar could see us now.” Why is the election so important to Zippy and her family? What are her sister Tovah’s political views? How did the students in your school get involved in the presidential election we just had? 7. On pages 151-152, Zippy writes, “I look back in this diary I have kept now for over a year – eighteen months to be exact, and I think this is a very strange sort of story. It begins with an ending, the ending of our life in Russia, and it ends with a beginning. And throughout the entire diary, there are beginnings and endings that seem to braid together like a plait of very long hair. Sometimes one cannot tell the beginning from the ending and this is not necessarily bad for if one really knew one might not have the courage to go on. I want to go on. I think I shall buy a new diary tomorrow and begin to fill it up with my story. I am sure there will be many more beginnings and endings and I hope that I shall never be quite sure which is which.” What are some of the beginnings and endings that she experiences throughout the diary? What does she mean when she writes that she doesn’t want to be sure what is a “beginning” and what is an “ending”? IV. LESSON IDEAS 1. Jewish immigrants significantly shaped the political, economic and social landscape of America. How did the Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe and Russia affect the land they settled in at the beginning of the twentieth century? Divide the class into groups. Each group will research an area of influence Jewish immigrants had on American life. Some possibilities: 1. Unionism. This group can study Jews’ role in the labor movement. They can feature some of the important leaders- both male and female. They can discuss the use of strikes as a strategy and contemplate the ways that the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire impacted the labor movement. 2. Development of Social Service Organizations: This group can study the role of synagogues in helping Jewish immigrants and can explore the development of social service agencies such as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress, the Jewish Federation and the United Jewish Appeal. They can trace the development of these organizations and assess the differences in origin and focus of these groups. 3. Development of the Fashion Industry and the Garment Trade: Students can explore why so many Jews became involved in this industry. They can examine how the Jews’ skills and exclusion from other fields might have encouraged their involvement in the garment trade. They can also focus on the relationship between Jews of German ancestry and Jews who came from Eastern Europe and Russia as they both played a role in the garment industry. 4. The Arts: Students can study the Yiddish Theater- its role in the community, its stars, the subjects of the plays (many were based on Shakespeare), and its influence on other forms. of entertainment. They can also examine the influence of Jews on music, literature, and the visual arts. 2. Zippy Feldman learns English by going to a New York City public school where only English is spoken. She refers to learning English by reading and memorizing Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poems. Incorporate a literature lesson by reading some of the poems she mentions and imagining how Zippy might have interpreted these poems. The poems include: “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls”, “Midnight Ride of Paul Revere”, and “The Song of Hiawatha”.