This classic of the jewishamerican immigrant experience was an instant critical and. In 1899, antins first book, from plotzk sic to boston, was published. Mary antin 18811949 was born in polotsk, russia to a jewish family and emigrated to the united states settling in boston when she was only thirteen. Mary antins the promised land enjoyed extraordinary success when it was first. That is, antin also wrote this novel for the jewish reader as a means of critiquing the religious. Her book, the promised land, is still read today as an expression of the. The promised land is the autobiography of mary antin. Mary antin, american author remembered for her autobiographical work the promised land and other books on immigrant life in the united states. Self and other in mary antins the promised land mary antins autobiography, the promised land 1912, remains a peculiarly ambivalent work concerning the ambiguous ways in which the immigrant becomes americanized. Not since amos elons the israelis, amos ozs in the land of israel, and thomas friedmans from beirut to jerusalem has there been such a powerful and comprehensive book written about the jewish state and the israelipalestinian conflict. Mary antin was born on june, 1881, in polotzk, russia, the daughter of israel. Review of mary antins the promised land appears in the.
The promised and undivided land israel national news. Her first book, describing her voyage from russia to the united states, was published in 1899. The promised land by mary antin, 1912 online research library. The promised land is the 1912 autobiography of mary antin. Related to political movements or attitudes to achieve things. This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work. When i was a little girl, the world was divided into two parts. Mobi files can be read on kindles, epub files can be read on other e book readers, and zip files can be downloaded and read on your computer. You may copy it, give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or online at. June, 1881 may 15, 1949 was an american author and immigration rights activist. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages. She is best known for her 1912 autobiography the promised land, an account of her emigration and subsequent americanization. The promised land is mary antin s mature autobiography. She compares the life in the eastern europe to that in usa which she calls the new world and admires the new world for its vast opportunities, freedom and the. I thought it a miracle, exclaimed mary antin in her bestselling autobiography, the promised land, written when she was just thirty years old, that i, mashke, the granddaughter of raphael the russian, born to a humble destiny, should be at home in an american metropolis, be free to fashion my own life, and should dream my dreams in english phrases.
I n 1894 mary antin was a thirteenyearold jewish girl living with her family in the jewish pale of the russian empire. She is best known for her 1912 autobiography the promised land. All the little girls i knew lived in polotzk, with their fathers and mothers and friends. Russia was the place where ones father went on business. I will write a bold finis at the end, and shut the book with a bang.
Yet, according to the few critics who have written on jewish immigrant mary antins work, the meaning of her. Inthe promised land, mary antin tells of moving from polotzk, russia, to boston, massachusetts, when she was around thirteen years old. Questia read the fulltext online edition of the promised land 1912. Mary antin was the second of six children born to israel and esther weltman antin, a jewish family living in polotsk, in the vitebsk. She emigrated from polotzk to boston with her family in 1894, when she was thirteen. In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content michael p. Mary antin recounts the process of uprooting, transportation, replanting, acclimatization, and development that took place in her own soul and reveals the impact of a new. Mary antin recounts the process of uprooting, transportation. In 1911 the dillingham commission issued a report to congress that argued that immigrants entering the country from southern and eastern europe were not as racially or culturally desirable as.
The promised land was a bestseller when it was first published in 1912. The promised land by mary antin, 1912 online research. Index mary antin 18811949 mary antin 18811949 identity theories instrumentalist theory. Weaving introspection with political commentary, biography with history, the promised land, first published in 1912, brings to life the transformation of an eastern european jewish immigrant into an american citizen. Reviewed in the united states on september 25, 2016. The promised land by mary antin this free downloadable e book can be read on your computer or ereader. So the jews found comfort in their ancient traditions.
That i who was brought up to my teens almost without a book should be set down in the midst of all the books. As a child, she lived in the russian pale, the part of russia. Only 30 years old when she published her autobiography, the promised land, mary antin captured the dreams and experiences of turnofthecentury russian jewish immigrants. Having made such good time across the ocean, i ought to be able to proceed no less rapidly on terra firma, where, after all, i am more at home. The extract below is from her book the promised land. She was the second child born to israel and esther hannah hayye weltman antin. Students are often unfamiliar with the time period treated in the promised land, especially so with aspects of the great migration and of immigrant settlement in america in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This work was reproduced from the original artifact. Mary antin and the jewish origins of the american self many jews will never see the promised land. The book focuses on her attempts to assimilate into the culture of the united states.
The project gutenberg ebook of the promised land, by mary. It tells the story of her early life in what is now belarus and her immigration to the united states in 1894. Heath anthology of american literaturemary antin author page. In it, she tells the story of what she considers her escape from bondage in eastern europe and her finding of freedom in america. Mary antins ringing endorsement of americanizationof being made overwhich appeared in 1912 in her autobiography, the promised land, probably did. Published as a book in 1912, antins autobiography met a strong. Mary antin recounts the process of uprooting, transportation, replanting, acclimitization, and development that took place in my own soul, and reveals the impact of a new. When you listen to bridget reading this wonderful book, you can almost feel mary antins trials and joys. Antin immigrated to the united states with her mother, sisters, and brother in 1894, joining her father, who had preceded them in 1891, in massachusetts. Antin publshed short stories essays, and her books the promised land. Mary antin was the second of six children born to israel and esther weltman antin, a jewish family. Especially important is conveying to them the kinds of conditions the newly. The promised land by mary antin teaching resources. This book contains 15 or more unique illustrations relevant to its content this is an autobiography of mary antin who, as a girl, left eastern europe in the search of freedom and opportunities and went to the united states.
Life was not easy, though as a child, mary describes life in boston as almost perfect. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. Mary antin recounts the process of uprooting, transportation, replanting, acclimatization, and development that took place in her own soul and reveals the impact of a new culture and new standards of behavior on her family. Lindsay kleiman although mary antin wrote the promised land in 1912 with the ostensible intention of shedding light on the jewishamerican immigrant experience for a nonjewish audience, one can see through close readings that this autobiography was also written to serve a secondary purpose. The promised land is mary antins mature autobiography. The promised land by mary antin in chm, djvu, fb2 download e book. Interweaving introspection with political commentaries, biography with history, the promised land 1912 brings to life the transformation of an east european jewish immigrant into an american citizen. Let me recount what mary antin wrote in 1911 about the horrors inflicted upon the jews in russia as they celebrated the festival of liberty in the exodus story during the festive seder meal. Born to israel and esther weltman antin, a jewish family in polotsk, belarus, at that time. Librivox recording of the promised land by mary antin. Review of mary antins the promised land appears in the new. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Mary antin was born in june of 1881 in polotzk, white russia what is now belarus. May antin came to the united states from russia in the 1890s when she was a young girl.
I was born, i have lived, and i have been made over. With the appearance of this book, mary, eighteen at the time, was hailed as a child prodigy. Mary antin mashke and sister fetchke, as young children mary antin born maryashe antin. The project gutenberg ebook of the promised land, by mary antin this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. English was her second language, however, she mastered the language and used words i had not heard before.
Jews within the empire were required to live in this area that stretched from the baltic sea to the. Mary antins 18811949 autobiography, the promised land 1912, was published as american fears concerning masses of immigrants entering the country were reaching a climax. A smart and dignified girl, mary takes the good things in anything and writes her autobiography with a smile. Promised land by mary antin, free pdf, ebook global grey. Leaving home for the promised land, 1894 americas first auto race, 1895 1st to sail around the world alone, 1895. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. The promised land by mary antin was published 1912, and it narrates the story of a. Topics include antins attitude towards jewishness, the controversy associated with the description of jewish assimilation, as well. Being a jew in russia at the end of the 19th century was not easy at all. The promised land illustrated by mary antin nook book. The promised land mary antin audiobook and ebook all. This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. Mary antin was an american author and immigration rights activist.
The article presents a literary criticism of the autobiography the promised land, by mary antin, focusing on the jewish american reception of the book and its representation of the identity of jewish immigrants. The promised land by mary antin was published 1912, and it narrates the story of a jewish family immigrating from russia to the united states in fact it is the autobiography of antin, she put it in this way. The books popularity allowed antin to begin speaking publicly, a platform that she used to promote acceptance of immigration to the united states. Later, the philanthropist hattie hecht introduced antin to philip cowen and israel. Antins allegory, the promised land is not israel but america, and the land the.
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