51 pages • 1-hour read
The King of Mulberry Street
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Themes
Survival and Resilience in an Unfamiliar Place
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes a discussion of religious discrimination, child abuse, and child death.
For human beings in a new, hostile environment, survival requires more than physical ability, but also heightened mental awareness. For Dom, alone as a nine-year old on a ship and in America, he utilizes a mixture of daring and caution in his observations and actions. His quick thinking and perseverance ensure that he not only survives but thrives in the unknown world of New York City.
Always observing his surroundings, Dom exhibits cleverness and quick thinking. Alone on the ship, instead of panicking, he formulates an idea: “The crew came to count on me. It was part of my plan. If they needed me, they’d take me back with them gladly” (40). Understanding the perils of his situation, Dom recognizes the value of hard work and identifies it as a ticket home. Although this plan is unsuccessful, Dom’s intelligence helps him in New York City too, for he immediately finds work and earns food. When he establishes a sandwich business with Gaetano and Tin Pan Alley, he is mugged and loses his money. Instead of giving up, he forges ahead, earning a penny at Grandinetti’s and storing his shoes at Grand Central Station to keep them safe.
Dom also demonstrates an entrepreneurial spirit in setting up his own sandwich business. Eventually, his business thrives despite various obstacles, and Dom reflects, “We learned, sometimes the hard way” (201). Through difficult experiences the boys learn to monitor the weather and take care of their equipment. Since he adapts after setbacks, Dom demonstrates the intelligence required to survive and thrive in New York.
His resilience is also apparent when he draws on lessons from family to navigate this new country. Consistently, he thinks of Uncle Aurelio’s emphasis on hard work and optimism, as well as his Nonna’s proverbs about giving to others and being loyal. In fact, when Pietro goes missing, Dom worries, “All I could see was Pietro, hanging in the wind. Abandoned. Nonna would have been so ashamed of me. Loyalty was everything” (222). His devotion drives Dom’s attempt to save his friend. Although he is unsuccessful, Dom learns more about the brutality of the world, which helps him learn more about the dangers he needs to evade. He sees firsthand the abuse and exploitation that children face in America and vows to fight against it.
The links between past lessons and Dom’s survival are evident in his reflections after his friend’s death. He thinks, “I had to use that head like Mamma said, to find my own way to be loyal to everything that mattered to me. That was the only way to survive, and Survive was her first rule” (234). Affixing his Nonna’s value of loyalty to his mother’s priority of survival, Dom realizes that he needs to be true not only to others, but to himself. By prioritizing his values, he survives the adversity he faces.
The Impact of Immigration on Identity
Relocating to a new country requires attention to logistics, like securing housing and work. Immigration also poses unique challenges to one’s sense of identity, forcing immigrants to grapple with how they are perceived and how they conceive of themselves. Dom is no exception, as he must grapple with the impact of immigration on his own sense of identity.
Early on, Dom learns about the pre-conceived notions others have about his Jewish identity, as well as his Italian heritage. On Ellis Island, a translator declares, “‘You don’t want to be taken for a Jew, trust me’” (70). Although he does not say why, the man implies that life will be harder if people think that Dom is Jewish, revealing the rampant religious discrimination in America, just like the kind Dom experienced in Napoli. He is considered inferior because he is Jewish, a widespread bias that he cannot control. Furthermore, he learns from Gaetano that being Italian will create limitations as well: “Italians are strong and still they get paid bad. And if there’s any difference in the types of jobs, Italians are allowed only at the worst ones” (138). Being an immigrant from Italy, who speaks little English, limits a person’s economic opportunities for work and pay. In this way, identity is restricted by society’s perceptions, for judgment of his Italian and Jewish backgrounds creates bias and limits what Dom can and cannot do.
These societal limitations coerce Dom into jeopardizing or hiding important aspects of who he is. For example, when he explores Central Park, a woman kindly leaves food for him, but he worries about whether the food is kosher. Dom recalls his Nonna’s proverb and reflects, “He who doesn’t risk, doesn’t gain […] But I’d never heard her say it about risking breaking kosher laws” (123). New to America with no home or supply of food, Dom never knows where his next meal will come from. Consequently, he is torn between survival and kosher law. Driven by hunger, he decides to jeopardize an important aspect of his identity.
Dom also hides his Jewish heritage from others while still trying to uphold it. First, he takes the name Dom to mask his Jewish roots, but refuses to bend on his last name, staying loyal to his family. Then, he goes to church with Gaetano, but later, he refuses to eat ham or salami, allowing his friends to believe he does not like the meat. He chooses not to wear his yarmulke until he goes to synagogue with Witold. When he tells Witold that he must be loyal to his values, the man responds with “shalom,” the word for peace. This triggers a realization with Dom: “I hadn’t thought of myself as being in a battle. But Witold was right—war raged inside me” (234).
The internal war Dom grapples with is the conflict between who he is and who he shows to the world. By acknowledging this struggle, Dom reconsiders his identity from a new perspective. Not only does he understand that being Jewish is a part of him and not tied to an object or a physical sign, but he also understands that he belongs in his new home, America.
Community Rooted in Shared Hardship
Dom learns from his grandmother the value of giving, for her mantra is, “if you received unexpectedly, you had to give unexpectedly” (19). Her generosity sets the foundation for Dom’s core values and his compassion towards others. Whether in Napoli or in America, Dom experiences adverse circumstances, but in both places, he benefits from, and contributes to, a network of support rooted in a common experience of hardship.
Dom’s interactions with Gaetano and Tin Pan Alley teach him that those who struggle look out for each other. Immediately upon arrival in America, Dom embraces his Nonna’s mindset. The first time he works for Grandinetti and earns fruit, he shares it with Gaetano and Tin Pan Alley, both of whom he barely knows. His generosity establishes a connection between the boys, for Tin Pan Alley returns the favor, later sharing candy. After Tin Pan Alley donates food to boys enslaved by a padrone, Dom follows his lead and “walk[s] around putting sandwiches in the cups of beggar boys” (181). Dom, who has an abundance of food and money at this point, pays it forward, for he was once struggling too. In this way, the boys build a network of support among those who have a hard life. Instead of the “don’t ask,” self-serving mentality that Gaetano once possessed, the boys look out for each other.
Adults like Grandinetti and Signora Esposito also strengthen a community grappling with hardship, creating a network that feels like family to Dom. Even though he helps the boys repeatedly, Grandinetti softens further when he learns that Dom and Gaetano have no family and sleep alone on the streets. He sends them to Signora Esposito, who, in turn, takes the boys in. The state of her apartment and her meager dinner both indicate that she, too, is financially strapped. Nevertheless, she takes the boys in before even negotiating rent. Furthermore, she defends Dom against her violent neighbor and later cooks the food he requests with no questions asked. They are connected in their shared hardship, and when the boys can give her more—leftover food and small gifts—she gives back to them, fully manifesting Nonna’s sage advice to give when you get.
Ultimately, Dom recognizes their tightknit community when he thinks,
I had a life here, and a family of sorts. It wasn’t the family I was born into. But I loved them. No one in this new family had betrayed me. I belonged with them—that was what going to Witold’s synagogue had taught me. My family was that comfort I needed. (235)
By calling his friends in New York “family,” Dom acknowledges the strong bond built between them, one that means that they do not betray each other, but rather, hold each other up through hard times.
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