Mio Nonno Totore and the American Dream

As the author states in her Foreword: "My Nonno's story may seem like it is from Horatio Alger's late nineteenth-century collection of stories of respectful, honest, industrious adolescent boys who through hard work and perseverance rise from rags to riches, as they look at life optimistically. My Nonno epitomized the characteristics of many Italian immigrants. As a young and impressionable adolescent, he exemplified "courage, perseverance, and exploration". Through my recollection of living with my Nonno for twenty-two years, until his death in 1974, his story reflects his considerate, kind, and astute character. He provided an exemplary role model for his children and grandchildren. I hope to reveal why I believe that he was an extraordinary embodiment of the American Dream. Being a humble and modest man, what follows may not be the story that my Nonno would have wanted me to tell, but it is my best attempt at telling his story as authentically as possible. His story starts with what is most familiar and memorable to me in the section "Life with Nonno." After an extensive amount of research and reading, I conjectured about what his life must have been like in Contursi-Terme, and what he probably endured in steerage on his way to America. "Approaching the Statue of Liberty," "Arriving at Ellis Island," and tenement living are all preludes to "Making a Living, Composing a Life," and my interpretation of Nonno's "Realization of the American Dream." The "Afterword: Questa ? la Fine," is really not an ending, but rather, a continuation of Nonno's influence in the lives of his progeny.