How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Jimmy Zizmo (shortened from Zisimopoulos) had come to America in 1907 at the age of thirty. (2.1.61)
Immigrants were whitewashed beyond all recognition in the early 1900s, forced to shorten and change their names in an effort to appear more... what? American? Boring? We're not sure. Do you think this type of thing still happens today?
Quote #2
Every evening at quitting time my exhausted grandfather would come out of the factory and tramp across to an adjacent building housing the Ford English School. (2.1.160)
The Ford English school is another way to whitewash immigrants. Do you think other countries require immigrants to go to a school to learn their language? We can't imagine going to Holland and having to enroll in the Windmill Hollish School. They do speak Hollish there, right?
Quote #3
The Zebra Room was a neighborhood place with irregular hours. (2.3.39)
The Zebra Room is a big ol' symbol of race relations in Detroit. Or maybe it's just a nice bar to get some bootleg booze. But think about a zebra: The stripes are next to each other, but they don't blend. If they blended, there would be shades of gray. But zebras remain steadfastly black and white. Divided. Prison stripes. Hey, at least it makes a good print for handbags and shoes, right?