Immigrant: A Journey to the American Dream

Immigrant: A Journey to the American Dream is the story of all immigrants who left poverty and hopelessness behind and come to America, dreaming of a better life. It is the life story of little Totò, a poor Sicilian immigrant, who comes to America in his late teens and, through hard work and determination, goes on to live the American dream.

The book proceeds from his childhood to his first experiences in American factories, time in the US Army, and his successful academic career. On the whole, Totò’s boyhood is not a happy one after having lost his mother at the tender age of three. Virtually left to fend for himself, he turns into a delinquent little boy — skipping school; stealing from his family and neighbors; and going around the countryside, looking for and exploding live ordnance left behind during World War II.

To get him off the streets, his parents send him to a boarding school run by the charitable Dominican monks. When the family immigrates to the States, he finds work at a hosiery mill and then at a steel plant while learning English at the local evening school. He is later drafted in the US Army where fellow recruits make fun of his foreign accent. What riles him the most is when they call him Shorty. But soon, he accepts the fact that he is indeed short. The acceptance of himself for what and who he is literally changes his life. It turns him into a self-confident young man ready to face whatever challenge comes his way. With this can-do attitude, he goes on to college and becomes a successful university professor.