“LAND WHERE MY FATHERS DIED!”: AMERICANIZATION AND JEWISHNESS IN MARY ANTIN’S “THE LIE” AND HENRY ROTH’S “THE CELLER”
“LAND WHERE MY FATHERS DIED!”: AMERICANIZATION AND JEWISHNESS IN MARY ANTIN’S “THE LIE” AND HENRY ROTH’S “THE CELLER”

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process of Americanization and its transition from assimilation to acculturation, starting with an in-depth examination of the concept of culture. Furthermore, this paper proposes a study case that involves Jewish immigrants to the United States and their fluctuating ability to become both good Americans and keep their Jewish identity. The child protagonists in Mary Antin’s short story “The Lie” (1913) and Henry Roth’s “The Cellar,” a chapter selected from his novel “Call It Sleep” (1934), are used to exemplify this tormenting situation. Starting with the patriotic song “My Country, 'Tis of Thee”, also known as “America”, David Rudinsky and David Schearl prove that Jewish immigrants evolved from the desire of being totally assimilated to that of rememorizing their own past and ethnic values. This paper demonstrates that Antin’s and Roth’s texts are not only works of fiction, but also important repositories of biographical elements which provide a direct look into the identity struggles of immigrants and their descendants.

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