America! America! (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Delmore Schwartz
- First Published: 1940
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: 1934
- Setting: Brooklyn
- Principal Characters: Belmont Weiss, Mrs. Weiss, Mr. Baumann, Mrs. Baumann, Dick Baumann, Sidney Baumann, Martha Baumann
- Genres: Short fiction, Family literature
- Subjects: Self-discovery, Depression, economic, Immigration or emigration, Jews or Jewish life, Ambition
- Locales: Brooklyn, NY
The Story
Belmont Weiss returns from Paris to a world changed by the effects of the Depression. Unable to fit into the changed situation among friends whose hopes have been “wholly modified,” he takes it easy by enjoying long breakfasts, during which he listens to his mother's stories. The story of the Baumann family is told to him one morning as his mother irons.
Mr. Baumann, a cultivated immigrant, was known for his sociability, his appearance, and his ease of living. With little effort, he sold insurance policies, consoled the grieving at funerals, and accumulated...
[The entire page is 1365 words long]
