Kasinitz, Philip, John H. Mollenkopf, and Mary C. Waters. "Worlds of the Second Generation." Becoming New Yorkers : ethnographies of the new second generation. Ed. Philip Kasinitz, John H. Mollenkopf, and Mary C. Waters. New York: Russell Sage, 2004. 1-19.

Call#: Van Pelt Library F128.9.A1 B33 2004

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Becoming New Yorkers examines the lives of a number of groups of second-generation immigrants, who were born (or have lived most of their lives) in the United States but whose parents emigrated to the U.S. a generation before. First-generation immigrants and their second-generation children make up nearly one-fifth of the U.S. population, and in New York City, this proportion rises to nearly one-halfth. Despite these astounding numbers, second-generation immigrants face unique challenges when it comes to identifying with the American population as a whole as well as their parents nationalities. The book also discusses the concept of "downward mobility." There are high risks associated with moving one's family to the U.S., but most people emigrating from other countries accept this risks in the hopes of providing the future generations of their families with new and more prosperous opportunities. However, these children will, for the most part, be the products of their parents places in society, and are at risk of poor education, low-paying jobs, and the dangers of immigrant-heavy low-income housing areas. As Riff and other Jets explain in the song "Gee, Officer Krupke," their poor upbringing and dysfunctional home lives are the real explanation for their errant behavior.

 

This chapter brings the reader to the question: to what extent does "becoming American" mean abandoning links to one's cultural and ethnic heritage? While New York has the great reputation as the world's melting pot, the leader in cultural and physical diversity, some believe that this particular level of diversity is only contributing to the pressure immigrants feel to assimilate and therefore pushing the city towards hegemony. In far too many cases, this assimilation can mean finding acceptance wherever it is available, including the multitude of street gangs that vie for power and territory in the urban ghetto. Such is the case with the Jets of West Side Story, who are all the offspring of white, European immigrants to New York. They recognize that being in a gang is not the ideal life their parents dreamed of when they moved to this country, but Riff and the rest of the Jets find a sense of belonging and community in an otherwise unstable and often hostile environment.