From Plotzk To Boston

The theme of assimilation has long been frequently discussed in the works ofAmerican Jewish writers，who have always been concerning about the problem ofcultural shock and other difficulties in the process of assimilation. Since the end of the19thcentury, millions of Jewish people have come to America from every corner ofthe world. While at the same time, their joy and sorrow, weal and woe have impressedcountless Jewish people, among whom are the American Jewish writers.Mary Antin, as one of the first generation of Jewish immigrants to America, hasexperienced great changes in her life, from her childhood to her adulthood. Shemoved to America with her family when she was a little girl and had undergone upsand downs on her road to assimilation. She writes down what she sees and hears, aswell as what she thinks and wonders in The Promised Land, making this book a greatwork talking about a tale of two countries.The Promised Land tells the story about Antin’s personal experiences from herhometown Plotzk to her guest country America. This is a story about how she excelsfrom the other local students, how she tries to achieve assimilation and how she dealswith the difficulties in trying to get involved into American culture.The author of this thesis uses the approach of textual analysis from theperspective of cultural studies, aiming to search for the inner reasons and significanceof assimilation. The main body of this thesis is divided into three parts. The first partwrites about the historical environment that induces assimilation, the pushing powerfrom Russia and the attracting power from America. The second part illustrates thesocial and cultural conditions that promotes assimilation, with focuses on thepatriarchal power, social pressure and religious influence. The third part mainlydiscusses the reasons and results of assimilation, as well as the choice andchoicelessness in the whole process, so as to dig deep into the theme of assimilationand unveil the predicament of American Jewish immigrants.By combining theliterary and cultural studies, this thesis presents a creative perspective on the assimilation process of American Jewish immigrants.