Ellis Island

Thematically, “Ellis Island” opens conversations about journeying to another place, the problems immigrants face upon their arrival in a new country, and the hope and opportunities life in a new country offers to immigrants. At first, the speaker expresses a type of awe at Ellis Island’s symbolism and structure. The speaker subtly acknowledges that one must look “Beyond the red brick” (Line 1). The speaker does this, and as they do, they see “the two Slovak children / who became my grandparents” (Lines 2-3). The speaker imagines the challenges these children faced as foreigners arriving in America, including “the long days of quarantine” (Line 4). This imagining is a subtle commentary on the procedures, including quarantine, immigrants had to follow when they entered Ellis Island. The speaker’s tone is one of gratitude. They reflect on how America offered their grandparents an escape from an unidentified “sickness” (Line 5) and “the Empires of old Europe” (Line 6). The word “Empires” (Line 6) implies imperialism and oppression, giving the sense that the “Slovak children” (Line 2) escaped a country whose government threatened their freedom and lives. Likewise, “sickness” (Line 5) and “quarantine” (Line 4) refer to the literal plagues and epidemics immigrants sought to escape but could also refer to a more figurative sickness at the core of European culture.