Hope and Tears: Ellis Island Voices

Which of the following describes the journey into America?

• time consuming and trying

• quick and comfortable

• fast, but dangerous

• long, but restful

The speaker of the poem is . . .

• passing through Ellis Island to gain entrance to America.

• entering a new country as an immigrant.

• visiting the statue of liberty as the descendant of immigrants.

• dreaming about traveling to America like their grandparents.

How does the speaker describe America?

• It is a land that was taken from other people.

• It is where anyone can find freedom.

• It is not where the speaker considers home.

• It is a land that doesn’t live up to expectations.

PART A: Which statement identifies the main theme of the poem?

• The descendants of the immigrants who came to America often don't understand the sacrifices their ancestors made.

• America no longer offers immigrants the freedom that it once promised people long ago.

• America has a complicated history of offering a new way of life to some while taking it away from others.

• Immigrants did not find the success they expected in America when they passed through Ellis Island.

PART B: Which detail from the text best support the answer to Part A?

• “waited the long days of quarantine, / after leaving the sickness” (Lines 4-5)

• “on its way to the island / of the tall woman” (Lines 8-9)

• “waiting for those who’d worked / a thousand years / yet never owned their own. (Lines 11-13)

• “Like millions of others, / I too come to this island” (Lines 14-15)

The speaker says, “Yet only part of my blood loves that memory” (Line 18). What does that quotation reveal about the speaker’s attitude towards America?

• The speaker feels conflicted about America’s history.

• The speaker doesn’t like the memory of their grandparents.

• The speaker feels as if they don’t belong in America.

• The speaker doesn’t consider America a land of opportunity.