The Immigrants (59 page)

Authors: Howard. Fast

BOOK: The Immigrants

4.39Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

2. Dan’s decision to hire Feng Wo is very controversial for the San Francisco fishing industry in the early twentieth century.

Why do you think Dan is less hesitant than other white employers to hire a Chinese worker?

3. Both of Jean’s parents are members of the wealthy elite, but they differ in their attitudes toward Dan. Jean’s mother despises Dan and cannot overlook his origins as a poor fisherman, while Jean’s father is fond of Dan and admires his ambition and determination. Why do you think the Seldons each view Dan in such different ways?

t H e I m m I g r a n t s

4 7 3

4. Jean says that Dan has no lust for money, but is obsessed with power. What do you think she means by this? Do you think there is a difference between money and power? How do you distinguish between the two?

5. Dan asks Jean, “Young? What is young? When you were never a kid, how old are you?” (p. 91). In what ways does Dan act mature and experienced for his age? How does he act younger and less mature?

6. Dan is very impulsive and aggressive when pursuing business opportunities and relies on other people to worry about the logistics of his decisions. Similarly, Dan seems to rush into his marriage with Jean, but quickly finds it a loveless burden that only he can resolve. How does Dan’s rash decision-making help him and hurt him? Do business and romance require completely different approaches, or are some personality traits beneficial in both enterprises?

7. Like Dan, Stephan Cassala finds himself married but in love with another woman. How does the way Stephan deals with this problem compare to Dan’s actions? How much sympathy or criticism do you have for either character?

8. Do you agree with Jake Levy that Mark and Dan were wrong to deliberately use the war for financial gain? Is profiting off of war immoral? Can it be prevented, or do you think it is an inevitable part of a warring society?

9. When Jean discovers that Dan is having an affair, she keeps the discovery secret and plots to use it to her advantage. Given the circumstances, do you condone Jean’s reaction and decision,

4 7 4

H o w a r d F a s t

or does she only make things worse? Is either individual more at fault for their disastrous marriage?

10. After his family leaves San Francisco, Feng Wo pursues a dishwashing job, believing that any honest work is good work.

May Ling, however, insists that dishwashing is beneath him and unacceptable. Who do you agree with? How do Feng Wo’s and May Ling’s beliefs about work reveal their different perspectives regarding living in America?

11. Dan’s children with Jean have very different attitudes toward their father. Their son Tom considers Dan a lousy parent and doesn’t care what happens to him, but their daughter Barbara breaks down when she learns of her parents’ divorce and later visits Dan to apologize and offer forgiveness. Meanwhile, Dan’s son with May Ling, Joe, is confused and doesn’t know how to react when Dan returns. What factors do you think affect the way each child views Dan? Whose attitude or reaction do you understand best? Do any of the children surprise you?

The first book in bestselling

author Howard Fast s

beloved family saga

“A most wonderful book…there hasn’t been a novel in years that can do a job on readers’ emotions that the last fifty pages of
The Immigrants
does.”

—Los Angeles Times

In this sweeping journey of love and fortune, master storyteller Howard Fast recounts the rise and fall of a family of roughneck immigrants determined to make their way in America at the turn of the century. Quick to ascend from the tragic depths of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Dan Lavette becomes the head of a powerful shipping empire and establishes himself among the city’s cultural elite. But when he finds himself caught in a loveless marriage to the daughter of San Francisco’s richest family, a scandalous love affair threatens to destroy the empire Dan has built for himself.

The first of a compel ing family saga,
The Immigrants
is a fast-paced, emotional novel that captures the wide range of relationships among immigrant families during the tumultuous events that defined the early twentieth century in America.

“A nonstop page-turner…moving, vivid…a splendid achievement!”

—
Erica Jong

“Howard Fast is fiercely American. He is one of ours, one of our very best!”

—Los Angeles Times

“Warmth…Power…Tenderness…Excitement…Readers will find themselves anxiously awaiting the sequel.”

—Columbus Dispatch

FICTION

$13.99 U.S.

Includes bonus reading group guide.

ISBN 13: 978-1-4022-3796-6

www.sourcebooks.com

Document Outline