Is it well to leave the gates unguarded?
Is it well to leave the gates unguarded?
“O Liberty, white Goddess! is it well/To leave the gates unguarded?” asks Aldrich, worrying that the “wild motley throng” of immigrants pressing through the New York Harbor will desecrate and “trample” upon the land he considers pure (ll. 31).
When was unguarded gates written?
1892
He published his poem, The Unguarded Gates in 1892, ten years after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, the year after Congress passed a law creating a federal department coordinating immigration enforcement, and the year that the Ellis Island Immigration Station opened in New York Harbor.
What is the message of unguarded gates?
Thomas Bailey Aldrich was a well-known and regarded American poet of the late nineteenth century. In “Unguarded Gates,” he expresses the anti-immigrant xenophobia and notions of Anglo-American superiority shared by many native-born Americans of the time.
What is Ellis Island by Joseph Bruchac about?
The poem “Ellis Island” by Joseph Bruchac is about the American dream. All of the immigrants had a dream–the dream of what their life would be once they stepped foot in America. The speaker of the poem is a man who going to tour Ellis Island, and he is thinking about his grandparents.
What is the central theme of Ellis Island?
What is the main theme of Ellis Island?
Major Themes in “Ellis Island”: Journey to another place, problems of the immigrants, and hope are the major themes of the poem.
How does the speaker describe America Ellis Island?
How does the speaker describe America? It is a land that was taken from other people. It is where anyone can find freedom. It is not where the speaker considers home.
What is the main theme of the poem process?
Theme is the lesson about life or statement about human nature that the poem expresses. To determine theme, start by figuring out the main idea. Then keep looking around the poem for details such as the structure, sounds, word choice, and any poetic devices.
What is the main theme of the poem Ellis Island?
What does yet only part of my blood loves that memory mean?
The speaker says, “Yet only part of my blood loves that memory” (Line 18). The speaker doesn’t like the memory of their grandparents. The speaker feels as if they don’t belong in America. The speaker doesn’t consider America a land of opportunity.
