The Americanization of Mary Antin

The thread running through Mary Antin's initiation into American language, schooling, and civic identity.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

First Day at Public School

First Day at Public School The Calico Dress Frieda stitched Mary's first-school dress while Mary dreamed of the classroom. The gray pattern of the calico became a consecration robe. Meeting Miss Nixon The teacher placed the green pupils in a special class and taught them to see a cat and hear a dog bark in English. Mary Antin advanced from the baby class within a week. A Family Consecration Pinchus handed his children over to Miss Nixon like a man taking possession of America. His impossible English could not hide his hopes.

Learning the English Language

Learning the English Language Word by Word Mary Antin gathered English words like blossoms, each associated with a moment of triumph. The definite article stuck in her throat until Miss Nixon's patience conquered it. The History of a Vocabulary Each word recalled a gesture, a smile, or a struggle. "Water" and "village" became victories over her stubborn lips. A Love for English She came to believe that happiness was sweeter in English and logic clearer. The adopted language became the medium of a new self.

Snow Printed in a Journal

Snow Printed in a Journal The Composition Miss Dillingham sent Mary's uncorrected composition about snow to an educational journal. The child wrote of snow-crystals and the sleeping world in newly learned English. The Printed Name Seeing her name in print transformed Mary Antin's consciousness. She stared at "Mary Antin" and realized she could become a writer. Birth of a Vocation The idea of writing a book dawned on her, huge and bewildering. A teacher's simple act had turned a greenhorn into an author.

Washington and the Peom of Patriotism

Washington and the Poem of Patriotism The Hero Enters Studying George Washington gave Mary Antin a new sense of humility and kinship. She was a Fellow Citizen of the Father of his Country. Writing in Fire She composed a Washington's Birthday poem with painful effort, digging rhymes out of the dictionary. Her father trembled as he read it. Reciting to the Class She stood before forty Fellow Citizens and proclaimed the glory of Washington. The poem made her a local celebrity and an American voice.

Graduation from Grammar School

Graduation from Grammar School The Dress and the Sash Frieda spent her savings on Mary's graduation dress and the sash with silk fringes. The poor family's extravagance was an act of faith. The Stage and the Speech Mary read a composition about her little cousin who died in Russia and moved the audience to stillness. Then a school-board speaker told her story and she blundered in public. The Meaning of the Day The triumph was real though wounded by vanity. Mary left grammar school ready for higher things.

Entering the Latin School

Entering the Latin School Asking Mr. Tetlow Mary sought out Mr. Tetlow at his home and asked whether to attend the High or Latin School. Her shabby dress did not dim her assurance. Among Aristocrats The Latin School girls rated her by scholarship, not by her father's occupation. She walked daily from Dover Street to recitations in Latin and mathematics. Hunger and Discipline She sometimes went to school without breakfast, but self-control carried her. The path to college was opening.

September 1894 in Chelsea

during the first months in Chelsea school

after four months of English study in Chelsea

Washington's Birthday season in the sixth grade

four years after landing in Boston

September after graduation from grammar school