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Immigrant women from a European shelter, from Ireland, from India, and from the Dominican Republic journey to the United States with fantasies of security, wealth, freedom, equality, and love. Some attain assimilation but face poverty, discrimination, racism, and violence. They blend their ties to their birth countries with their new lives as they try to fulfill their goals with courage, strength, wit, and humor. We read four books and discuss themes, styles, tone, and other techniques of fiction combined with the insights of group members about the roles of women and men in search of the American Dream.
GROUP LEADER: Jane Gilligan is a retired adjunct English professor and an active member of WISE. She taught for many years in the Center for Continuing and Career Education at Assumption College.
REQUIRED BOOKS (4):
1. Yezierska, Anzia. Bread Givers. 1925. New York: Persea, 1999. 0-89255-014-7
2. Toibin, Colm. Brooklyn. New York: Scribner, 2009. 978-1-4391-3831-1
3. Mukherjee, Bharati. Jasmine. New York: Grove, 1989. 0-8021-3630-3
4. Alvarez, Julia. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. New York: Plume, 1992. 0-452-26806-0
Read Bread Givers for the first class meeting.
Worcester Institute for Senior Education (WISE)Assumption University, 500 Salisbury Street, Worcester MA 01609 wise@assumption.edu 508-767-7513
