María Eugenia Lin

Comparative Commentary - Ellis Island

Both "Revisiting Ellis Island" (2006) by Carol L. Clarke, Ph. D and the extract from Roddy
Doyle's novel Oh, Play That Thing (2004) explore immigration in the USA and are focused on Ellis
Island, the final bridge between the outside world and the American dream from 1892 to 1924, as
it was a decisive station where immigrants were observed and examined for any sign of illness or
unusual behavior before entering the States. Nonetheless, while the first text approaches the topic
from a persuasive and advertisement-type perspective in a webpage format, the latter takes into
account the pursuit of happiness of immigrants in the USA, emphasizing on the suffering and pain
experienced before achieving their dream, conveying the idea that there is a discouraging and
negative aspect to consider.

Firstly, the purpose of each text is in keeping with its corresponding type and genre.
According to the sources below, Text A was written by a Ph. D, an expert on the topic, and was
published by Ellis Island's museum webpage. Therefore, we can anticipate that the voice speaking
in the text defends the institution's interests and will sell the island as a historical facility worth
"revisiting," as the title suggests. Unlike text A, text B is a literary extract from Roddy Doyle's novel
called Oh, Play That Thing, a title that does not provide the reader with any information
beforehand, thus preventing the purpose to be revealed within the references. Only once the text
has been read, it can be delineated that its message is to create a sympathetic and emphatic bond
with immigrants' situation as the writer shares from a first-person narrator, the obstacles and
exhaustive examinations they went through during the transition on Ellis Island.
In this way, we can understand that text A distances itself from the reader, as it has been
written by a professional in the area who describes, in a third person narration, an informative
external opinion about Ellis Island, whereas text B succeeds in establishing a link with the reader,
as it is perceived as a real-life personal story (even though it is still fiction) that is set in the island's
context (from 1892 to 1924), where the writer narrates, in the first person, an expository text that
ends with a dialogue between the main character and an employee from Ellis Island , so as to
achieve the effect of vividness and closeness to the story the author is describing.

On the other hand, as stated in the introduction, both texts share a thematic connection
where they make reference to the USA as a land of opportunities. Text A addresses this idea by
stating that the country was "paved in the gold of opportunities," where dreams and hopes could
be accomplished if immigrants could build "a place for themselves in America" and reunite with
their families. Similarly, Text B refers to the positivity of the American dream with the quote
"bigger than the states, bigger than the world" and suggests being worthy of any pain through the
hyperbole "America was everything possible." Thus, both texts share with the reader positive
thoughts on living in the United States and achieving the American dream.
However, although thematically speaking they acknowledge the big opportunity that
America represents, their main difference lies in the way they deal with the examination facility on
Ellis Island, the last stage to the immigrants' goal. Text B describes the extensive inspection before
the entrance to the States as a cruel and unpleasant experience, revealing signs of a certain
degree of discrimination against immigrants, where they are divided into groups depending on
María Eugenia Lin

their medical condition as the following quote explains: "(…)drew a large L on my shoulder (…) L
was for lung (…). An E on the shoulder meant bad eyes, another L meant lameness. H was for
heart, SC was for scalp, X was for mental." Therefore, dehumanization is illustrated through the
use of enumeration as it conveys the idea that they are being carelessly marked with letters like
animals and transported around as flocks of sheep on the island.
On the other hand, text A enlightens these rough experiences and chooses to focus on the
positive outcomes of the island. The origin of the American Family Immigration History Center and
the Kissing Point are touched upon to emphasize the vast "100 million living U.S. descendants of
Ellis Island immigrants" whose ancestors went through the examination station and reunited with
their families and friends to finally establish in America. Furthermore, the writer associates Ellis
Island with freedom and states that the island "meld a society of nationalities, races and religions",
reinforcing an alluring sense of nationalism. Nevertheless, the writer does not completely ignore
the negative aspects of the facility as he expresses in one paragraph his knowledge about the "tags
with their manifest numbers", worn before climbing into the Registry Room and the catechism,
described in both text A and B.

As the treatment of the theme varies, so does the tone, though there is a resemblance
towards the end. Text A has a persuasive tone that celebrates the island's role and presents it as a
symbol of freedom when compared to the Statue of Liberty. In addition, through the lexical
choices of "joyful reunions", "emotional embraces" and "courageous individuals", the writer
manages to both inform and sell the museum with a convincing language that advertises the
island. On the contrary, text B has a discouraging point of view where a poignant tone is employed
with emotional lexical choices that build up an atmosphere of sadness and gloom such as "cruel
world", "collapsed and coughed" and "trapped under." Similarly, the writer utilizes other rhetorical
devices such as personification as seen in the quote "And the silence around me fell deeper as the
island crept up(…)," or pathetic fallacy when referring that the world was "old" and "cruel"; both
of them, in order to attribute human characteristics to different objects and contribute to the
painful tone he intends to build. Yet, despite contrasting in the beginning, both texts end on a
hopeful note, denoting that the entrance to the USA could modify the big picture, as the painful
story could be smoothened if the American dream were to be fulfilled.

To conclude, both texts deal with immigration in the USA in the 20th century, particularly
focusing on Ellis Island, and the pursuit of the American dream. Nonetheless, while text A intends
to advertise Ellis Island's museum, text B concentrates on the description of the discouraging
examination that immigrants experienced and these differences are clearly marked through the
use of rhetorical devices found in the treatment of their themes, purpose, and lexical choices.

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