Paradise Alley 06 October 2010

Figure 1: Paradise Alley Book Cover. Amazon. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.

Today I read Kevin Baker’s Paradise Alley because it also touches upon issues raised in Gangs of New York. In Gangs of New York, Scorsese focuses on the immigrant experience from a predominantly male centric perspective. While, on the other hand, Baker’s Paradise Alley portrays it from a female perspective with eyewitness immediacy. Baker’s female characters demonstrate moments of early feminism when they unite in a few scenes of terror. These acts of bravery imply that immigrant women require equal amounts of courage and endurance as the men.