Dialogue as Italian American
Speech in Christ in Concrete
One of the early, and most beautiful, sequences in the movie Godfather II shows the young Vito
Corleone arriving at Ellis Island at the turn of the 20th
century. Corleone looks up at the
Statue of Liberty in awe and is later taken inside where he is subject to
several tests in order to be allowed into the country. This scene depicts a familiar occurrence. When Ellis Island opened on January 1, 1892,
Italian immigrant levels were rising at an amazing rate and were beginning to
surpass those of other foreign nations.
At the turn of the century, the immigration of Italian Americans was an
important part of American culture.
Early on, many Italian Americans took residence in urban areas and found
labor jobs. These low-paid urbanites
often became construction workers and skilled trades people. Geremio, Paul’s father in Christ in
Concrete, is one such example. As
decades passed, these Italian Americans became a crucial element in America’s
ever-growing melting pot.
Enter Pietro di Donato, the son of an Italian immigrant who in 1939
publishes Christ in Concrete and
takes the country by storm. The novel
generated favorable reviews across the nation in popular newspapers such as The
New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, and Time, among others. It tells the story of Paul di Alba, a
twelve-year-old Italian American who becomes a bricklayer in New York City when
his father dies in an accident on the job.
Paul’s search through the novel is for the American Dream, his wish to
do better than his father. This story
paralleled John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of
Wrath, which told the story of Okies traveling to California, in that both
novels concerned characters in search of a better life. Both stories, in a historical sense, are
crucial for a better understanding of the country at that time. In order for a book such as Christ in Concrete to become an
important piece of literature, it must accurately depict the Italian American
experience during the early 20th century. To encompass American literature is to include all cultural
experiences, including that of the Italian American. One way di Donato succeeded in doing this was through his writing
style.
Di Donato’s dialogue is one of the main reasons why Christ in Concrete is considered by many critics to be the model on
which other “ethnic” novels are based. Christ in Concrete displays a form of
language which expresses the strong sentiment of italianita within the
Italian American community. Italianita is Italianness. It is
“currently used in Italian American studies as a terminological instrument with
which to define and to locate—to recover—Italian American identity” (D’Acierno
6A). Fred Gardaphe, a prominent di
Donato and Italian American literary scholar, describes in his introduction to Christ in Concrete how di Donato uses dialogue to represent the
Italian American identity of the early 20th century:
Di
Donato’s italianita becomes most obvious through the novel’s
diction. As mediator between the
Italian culture of his parents and the American culture he was born into, di
Donato masterfully effects our understanding of both through his unique
linguistic representations of both.
(xii).
When the Italian American characters in Christ
in Concrete speak, the dialogue appears in many forms, all serving to
represent the Italian American experience with realism and clarity. However, these different dialogue techniques
also display much of the emotion of the Italian American experience, something
which many historians have found difficulty conveying. As Michael Esposito said in an evaluation of
di Donato and his work, “there remains a certain kind of intimate human
experience that the historian simply cannot record, and this is certainly di
Donato’s area of expertise” (179). Christ
in Concrete is better at conveying the emotions of characters placed
in historical context than the historian can, and that is why literature such
as Christ in Concrete is important.
It remains true to the reality of facts, but also intensifies the power
of emotion. One of the ways in which
di Donato is successful in portraying an accurate depiction of Italian American
life at the beginning of the 20th century is through his use of
dialogue in Christ in Concrete.
Throughout Christ in Concrete, he uses six distinct forms of
dialogue.
The first two forms of dialogue di Donato uses are both English in
print. In the first of these dialogues,
the characters in Christ in Concrete are actually speaking standard
English, as the main character Paul and his friend Louis speak when they are
having a conversation about Louis’ brother:
Louis began the story in the darkening room…
“And he was the most brilliant
student in Minsk Gubernia. He was a
poet. He wore his hair long, and he
sang and danced like the Russian winds.
He loved everyone and was loved.
He was quick and sympathetic…He was a genius.”
“Why did they kill him?”
“During the World War he tried to
organize the peasants against war. I
can still see him. I was very
small. Thousands and thousands of
people from all over Minsk came to hear him in the city square” (Christ 124).
Although this form of dialogue may seem unimportant at first glance, it was
important for di Donato to distinguish between the way that Paul speaks in the
novel, as compared to his Italian immigrant relatives, which include his father
Geremio, his mother Annunziata, and his Uncle Luigi, among others.
The standard English that both he and Louis use accomplishes two things. One, it draws a comparison and suggests a
common ground between Louis and Paul, in that they both speak proper
English. However, this comparison is
nothing more than a trick by di Donato, as the reader later realizes Louis’s
academic aspirations to be quite different from Paul’s responsibility to
support his family. Paul is an Italian
American searching for the American Dream, which includes formal
schooling. When Louis says to Paul,
“‘the job is not freedom. Your
wonderful brain is freedom’” (Christ 141), the reader understands Paul’s
plight as an Italian American who must take care of his family.
Second, di Donato’s use of standard English draws a distinction between
Paul and his Italian immigrant relatives.
By speaking English, Paul’s difficulties as a first-generation Italian
American deepen. His search for the
American Dream is hindered by his Italian blood relations. By having these language distinctions, di
Donato shows the reader that, although Paul and Louis may speak the same
language and are similar in many ways, Paul has no choice but to abandon the
American Dream – or at least delay it for a length of time – in favor of the
standard Italian immigrant labor job, so that he can support his family.
There is a second form of dialogue which appears as English in print, yet
which is different from the one we have just discussed. This form occurs when the characters speak
Italian, as the Italian immigrant workers do on their bricklaying jobs. This type of dialogue opens the novel. Geremio, Paul’s father, is on the job with
many of his co-workers. They are
talking to one another and singing, and on the printed page their dialogue is
in proper English. It seems as though
these workers are actually speaking grammatically correct English. Yet, ten paragraphs into the story, the
reader finds out otherwise when Mike the “Barrel-mouth” decides to speak: “Mike the ‘Barrel-mouth’ pretended he was
talking to himself and yelled out in his best English . . . he was always
speaking English while the rest carried on in their native Italian” (Christ
4). Di Donato flags the reader on the
properties of the earlier dialogue by mentioning that “the rest carried on in
their native Italian.” Right here the
reader is shown that when the workers were conversing with each other and
singing songs to themselves, they were actually speaking in their native
Italian language, even though it appears as English in print. Di Donato did this for practical reasons. If he wanted Christ in Concrete to be widely read, he would not write extensive
passages of dialogue in Italian. Most
American readers did not know the Italian language. Therefore, they would not understand what the characters were
saying and would become frustrated with this type of dialogue. Di Donato writes the dialogue in English,
but then reminds the reader that the characters are actually speaking in
Italian.
When di Donato uses this form of dialogue, where the laborers are speaking
Italian but it appears as English in print, he sets a precedent for the rest of
the novel. If one of the immigrant
workers is speaking, and the dialogue is written as grammatically correct
English, the reader can assume that Italian is being spoken. In addition, di Donato subtly reminds us
throughout the novel that the bricklaying workers are speaking Italian, as when
Geremio is addressing his workers about “padrone,” their boss: “The padrone is
not coming up. He was drinking from a
large bottle of whiskey and cursed in American words that if you did not carry
out his orders—” (Christ 11).
When Geremio says that the padrone is speaking in “American words,” or
English, it is clear that di Donato is contrasting the laborers’ Italian with
the boss’s English; otherwise, there would be no need for Geremio to mention
that the padrone is speaking in English.
Di Donato reminds the reader that these bricklayers are speaking
Italian, just as he did when Mike the “Barrel-Mouth” spoke broken English. The author was very astute in this regard,
repeatedly but unobtrusively reminding the reader how exactly the characters
are speaking.
Thematically, this type of dialogue, where the laborers are speaking
Italian but it appears as English in print, is significant. In print, the Italian immigrants seem to be
speaking English, even though they are speaking Italian. Paul’s dialogue also appears in print as
English, but for him it is because he is actually speaking English. So, although Paul and the Italian immigrants
are speaking a different language, it appears the same in print. This connects Paul to his Italian immigrant
relatives, because it seems in print as though they are speaking the same
language. In addition, Paul works the
labor job as his father Geremio and Uncle Luigi did, and also as his godfather
Nazone does. This facet of Christ in
Concrete’s dialogue is an important point.
By seeming to speak the same language, similarities can more easily
emerge between Paul and his Italian immigrant relatives. This seeming equality of the language of
Paul and his relatives, combined with Paul’s actual familial connections to
them, provides an even stronger comparison between Paul and his Italian
relatives.
These similarities continue when Paul takes over for his father as a
bricklayer. Paul can understand the
language that the rest of the laborers speak, including his godfather
Nazone. So, although Paul can speak
proper English, he can clearly communicate with the Italian immigrant laborers,
who generally are speaking Italian.
This occurs in an instance where the Lucy, a fellow worker, condemns
Paul for dropping a brick on his forehead:
Paul looked at him with open-mouthed fright.
The Lucy vowed murder, and then summoned Paul down in quiet
voice, “Bricklayer in diapers, if you are to become a builder of walls, lay the
brick where they belong or I’ll lay your hands across the wall and chop them
off with my trowel.”
“Yes yes—” said Paul, “yes I’m sorry yes—” (Christ 80).
Paul could understand the laborers for two possible reasons. One, the laborers may be able to speak
English. This however, is untrue,
because their dialogue appears as proper English in print and, as discussed
earlier, when this occurred the Italian laborers are speaking Italian. Second, Paul may be able to speak and
understand the Italian language. This
seems most certain, as Paul has grown up with two Italian immigrant parents who
undoubtedly spoke Italian most of the time.
Jerre Mangione, whose memoir Mount Allegro accurately illustrates
the experience of growing up as an Italian American, discusses the use of
language within the family:
My mother’s insistence that we
speak only Italian at home drew a sharp line between our existence there and
our life in the world outside. We
gradually acquired the notion that we were Italian at home and American
(whatever that was) elsewhere.
Instinctively, we all sensed the necessity of adapting ourselves to two
different worlds. We began to notice
that there were several marked differences between those worlds, differences
that made Americans and my relatives each think of the other as
foreigners. (50).
Surely Annunziata and Geremio spoke Italian in the home, and it is likely
that Paul picked up much of the language.
So when Paul speaks to the Italian immigrant laborers, he is speaking
Italian, rather than the laborers speaking English. Because the reader realizes that Paul is speaking Italian, the
comparison between Paul and his Italian roots is again, strengthened. Not only does Paul work with the Italian immigrant
laborers, but he can speak their language as well. As the novel progresses, the reader realizes more and more that
Paul has much in common with these Italian immigrant laborers. Paul’s search for the American Dream becomes
more and more of a dream to the reader, rather than a reality. Paul may not lose his hope of the American
Dream until the death of his godfather Nazone and the revealing dream he has of
his father saying “not even the Death can free us, for we are . . . Christ in
concrete . . .” (di Donato, Christ 226). Yet the course of the novel allows us to realize that Paul is
distancing himself from the American Dream before even he makes that
realization. When Mangione says that
Americans and Italian immigrants tended to think of the other as foreigners, we
can see the dilemma that Paul has, for he is a part of both cultures. Yet, as the novel continues, one can see
Paul’s Italian connections growing stronger, while his search for the American
Dream grows weaker and weaker. Because
Paul and the Italian immigrant laborers are able to speak and understand one
another, di Donato has reinforced the connection of Paul to his Italian roots,
and further separated him from his search for the American Dream.
The third form of dialogue which di Donato uses intermingles Italian words
with proper English, and is spoken by the Italian immigrants. This is mostly used between Italian laborers
at the beginning of the novel, leading up to Geremio’s death, and then later it
is used widely by Annunziata near the end of the novel. Di Donato employs this dialogue when he
personally feels an Italian word is untranslatable; that is, he feels that much
of the italianita and significance would be lost in the translation.
At the beginning of the novel, di Donato writes in this dialogue
frequently. While speaking to one
another, Geremio’s fellow worker Tomas uses it when speaking about pregnant
Annunziata and the possible gender of their expected child:
Tomas nodded to the rest. “Sure, Master Geremio had a telephone call
from the next bambino. Yes, it
told him it had a little bell between instead of a rose bush…It even told him
its name!”
“Laugh, laugh all of you,”
returned Geremio, “but I tell you that all my kids must be boys so that they
someday will be big American builders” (Christ 4).
Another example of this is when Geremio is being buried alive by the
concrete in the accident eventually causing his death, he shouts out a number
of Italian words:
“Mother mine—mother of Jesu—Annunziata—children
of mine—dear, dear, for mercy, Jesu-Giuseppe e’ Mari,” his blue foamed
tongue called. (Christ 17)
During the last section of the novel, Annunziata uses this form of dialogue
often, especially during the many religious fervors she has during this part of
the story. When Paul challenges her
mother about their religion, the both of them use it:
He pointed to the crucifix.
“That’s a lie.”
His words strangled her.
“—Our Dio?”
“What Dio and Dio!”
(Christ 229).
Annunziata later cries to Jesus to save her son, saying “Jesu Jesu Jesu
save my Paul save my Paul…” (Christ 231). When Annunziata begins to pray fervently, she uses this form of
dialogue extensively:
“—Jesu—remember—the cross
of my Paul—was too, too great…Christ my Lord—remember—that to me he came—and
prayed me live for the children—To me he said, ‘Mama—do not cry—mama—now I
shall be father—‘ O Jesu, recall?
—Think, my Lord—at tender twelve—upon Job’s scaffold he dared—and
yes-yes my Dio—always loving Thee—I pray Thee as never before—forgive
him—He knows not of what he says or does—for on the road—‘neath burden—and in
distort of pain—of Thee has he lost sight—Jesu Christ, Thou must hear
me—He loves Thee—and vastness of his love—has overhurt…Jesu, Jesu,
Jesu…Jesu Giuseppe e’ Mari…
“Jesu Jesu Jesu
“Jesu Jesu
“Jesu…” (Christ
232).
This form of dialogue seems contradictory.
As we have seen before, whenever the Italian immigrants speak Italian,
it appears in print as proper English.
Di Donato seemingly breaks that rule.
Why does he sometimes mix in an Italian word with an otherwise
grammatically correct sentence in the English language? Is di Donato now contradicting himself, and
revealing to the reader that the Italian immigrants can actually speak proper
English, but choose to speak certain Italian words whenever they feel the
desire? The answer is no. When the Italian immigrants are speaking
Italian, di Donato writes it as proper English. When we see an Italian word mixed in with the proper English, it
must mean one thing: di Donato, as an author, deems this particular Italian
word untranslatable. For example, when
Tomas says “bambino” instead of “child,” di Donato is trying to make a point
about the nature of the Italian word “bambino.” In di Donato’s opinion, the Italian word “bambino” loses much of
its figurative and connotative meaning when it is translated to simply mean
“son.” The figurative meaning is left
up to the reader, but is hinted at by di Donato. In this particular passage, Geremio is telling his fellow workers
that Annunziata is pregnant with a boy who will become a rich and successful
“American builder” (Christ 4).
When Tomas says “bambino,” the word means much more than just “son.” It symbolizes the importance of having a
son, and the ability of a son to work as the father has worked and to carry on
the family lineage.
Italian words such as “Dio,” “Jesu,” and “Giuseppe e’ Mari” are used to
strengthen the symbolism of those words.
These words are said in their native Italian, and demonstrate the
intense religiosity of the ones who use them – Geremio while being buried
alive, Paul and Annunziata in an argument over the goodness of God, and
Annunziata in a fervent prayer. When
these words are spoken in their native Italian, they strengthen the religious
implication of the passage.
Louise Napolitano, a noted di Donato scholar and the author of an in-depth
study on Christ in Concrete, asks “How does a writer relay that these
immigrants are speaking and thinking in Italian rather than English, of which
they only had rudimentary knowledge” (88).
When the Italian immigrants attempt to speak English, di Donato
translates their speech in two, very successful ways that Robert Viscusi, a
scholar who wrote about Christ in Concrete’s language, has termed
“Italian American English.”
The fourth dialogue di Donato employs often becomes a broken English –
English with an Italian accent. This
mannerism of speaking is at first difficult to read, but if it is written
correctly it becomes an audio language.
Di Donato succeeded in this task.
When reading Christ in Concrete,
one can almost hear each character speaking as if he were standing right
there. Di Donato displays this style
early in the novel, and uses it several more times. Geremio, while attempting to speak to the padrone, his boss,
about the safety of the job, speaks broken English: “Padrone—padrone, the
underpinning gotta be make safe . . .” (Christ 9). By using words such as “gotta” and “make,”
di Donato displays Geremio’s faulty English enunciation and grammar, which is a
unique, broken, English dialect.
Writing in an American vernacular was not entirely new to the American
audience. It was first introduced in
the form of Yankee humor at the dawning of the nation, when dialect was used to
authenticate the speech New Englanders were using at the time. Cameron Nickels writes in New England Humor that “[n]o trait was
so important to the tradition of New England humor [. . .] as vernacular
speech” (88). Vernacular speech for
humorous effect reached its pinnacle in the works of New Englanders and writers
of the Old Southwest. Christ in Concrete does have a laughable
quality to it when you listen to characters speak in vernacular. The reader laughs, however, because the
characters in Christ in Concrete have
an endearing quality to them when they speak broken English. It is quite similar to observing a child
learning how to speak, and stumbling on words along the way.
Yet, vernacular is not always used for reasons of humor. In Christ in Concrete, as in Mark
Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, vernacular is employed to
portray a character’s language with truth and authenticity. Di Donato’s use of the broken English
vernacular in Christ in Concrete was
unique because di Donato wanted to portray the Italian American’s language,
which was different from any previous American vernacular. As Gardaphe describes in his introduction to
Christ in Concrete, there was no author before di Donato who used
dialect quite like him (xi-xii).
When the majority of America’s immigrants were English speaking, they did
not have to adjust their language. Over
a generation or so they developed their own dialect, but it was of the English
language. Included in this was the
dialect of New York City, one which the Irish characters speak in Stephen
Crane’s Maggie: A Girl of the Streets.
The characters are constantly speaking in this dialect throughout
Crane’s novel. If di Donato wanted to
correctly portray the broken English vernacular that the Italian Americans
spoke, he needed to add another element, that of the Italian language. Di Donato’s broken English vernacular is
formed when his Italian American characters speak an English riddled with hints
of the Italian language. Italian
Americans were used to their native Italian language, which is rich with
vowel-ending words, as when Mike the “Barrel-mouth” tries to speak English:
“I don’t know myself, but somebodys whose gotta bigga buncha keeds and he
alla times talka from somebodys elsa!” (Christ 4).
Mike the “Barrel-mouth” unnecessarily adds vowels to the ends of many words
such as “got,” “big,” and “talk,” to create unique Italian American words such
as “gotta,” “bigga,” and “talka.” These
translations form a broken English vernacular which comes out as “somebodys
whose gotta bigga buncha keeds and he alla times talka from somebodys elsa!” The result can be difficult to read at
first, but rewarding for its authenticity in the end. The realism that di Donato conveys in these characters’ speech is
vital in understanding the Italian American experience, and its role within the
larger society. If the American
literary canon is meant to encompass the entire American experience, it must
include the life of Italian Americans, and di Donato’s precise rendering of the
Italian immigrants’ speech conveys that effectively.
This dialect was
important for di Donato because of its realism. Anyone who has heard Italians attempt to speak English knows that
di Donato’s depiction is accurate.
Thematically, broken English in Christ in Concrete has two main
purposes: to establish differences among Italian immigrants and to establish a
difference between Americans and the Italian immigrant. When Mike the “Barrel-mouth” tries to speak
English, it shows Mike’s desire to learn the English language and symbolically
assimilate more into the American mainstream.
Mike’s effort to learn the English language is contrasted with the rest
of the Italian immigrant laborers, who simply carry on in their native
Italian. However, when Geremio speaks
to his American boss, di Donato establishes a difference between the Italian
immigrants and the American mainstream through language. Geremio cannot speak proper English as his
boss can, and he is a laborer while the American is his boss.
The reader sees this class hierarchy throughout the novel. In employment, Geremio’s boss speaks proper
English, as shown earlier. In law
enforcement, when Paul goes to retrieve his dead father at the police station,
the officers speak proper English (Christ 26). Finally, in organized religion, when Paul goes to see Father John
and asks for food, Father John speaks proper English:
“Father…”
“Yes?”
“Could you please help us?”
“…How…?”
“We need—”
“I have nothing to do with the
Charities. There is a board of trustees
who confer and pass on every expenditure.
Do you understand?” (Christ 59).
These instances serve to show the cultural differences between the Italian
immigrants and the American people, as well as the existing social
hierarchy. We can also see the
confusion which Paul feels, caught between the familial life of the Italian
immigrants and the more affluent but exclusionary life of the Americans.
Di Donato could have also chosen to use the New York City dialect, as
Stephen Crane does with the Irish characters in Maggie: A Girl of the
Streets. Di Donato, however, wishes
to point out that the Irish had worked themselves into the American mainstream by
the time Paul was a young child, and therefore their language was not as much
of a distinct vernacular as the Italian American vernacular. The reader sees these Irish characters in
power positions in Christ in Concrete, such as Father John and the police
officers.
The fifth form of
dialogue which di Donato uses in Christ
in Concrete is the Italian translation vernacular. This vernacular appears when the Italian
American immigrants speak English by translating the Italian language
literally. Napolitano writes that
“[w]hen the immigrants speak or think, the rhythm, diction and syntax of the
sentences reveal that di Donato is not writing dialect but translating the
Italian into English, word-for-word […]” (88).
Napolitano’s assumptions, however, are incorrect. This particular vernacular comes about when
the Italians attempt to speak English, rather than di Donato translating the
immigrants’ Italian literally. This
method is a preferred one for di Donato as an Italian American vernacular, and
he uses it more frequently than the broken English vernacular throughout the
novel.
When her husband has just died, and Annunziata’s family is comforting her,
the reader hears “Sister mine” and then “Sister of ours” (Christ
23). This would be the literal translation
of the Italian “Sorella mia” or “Sorella nostra.” Later, at Geremio’s funeral, one mourner speaks to another,
calling Annunziata a “[p]oor Christian, it seems she will not know him” (Christ
28). “Christian,” as Napolitano points
out, is the literal translation of the Italian “cristiano,” but figuratively
means “human being” (89). When
Annunziata gives birth to a little boy, her brother-in-law Luigi is eager to
see the child, but is told to “occupy yourself away from here” (Christ
39). “Occupy yourself” comes from the
literal translation of the reflexive Italian verb “occuparsi,” which means “to
leave or go away.”
Luigi, Geremio’s brother, speaks in this Italian translation vernacular
quite often. One of the main reasons
for this is that Luigi, like Geremio, speaks Italian first and English
second. Luigi can speak English, but
when he does, it comes out as the Italian translation vernacular. At one point, Luigi says “Nurse-nurse, I
sense badly . . . nurse-doctors, I sense ill . . .” (Christ 87). As Fred Gardaphe points out in his
introduction to Christ in Concrete,
Luigi is actually speaking the English equivalent of the Italian sentirsi, which is a reflexive verb
meaning “to feel,” but which translates literally as “to sense oneself.”
(xii). When Luigi is being released
from the hospital, his attempted conversation in English is a perfect example
of Italian translation dialect. When
the nurse asks him how he is feeling, Luigi says, “I be much-a happy,” later
saying to the nurse, “You be too good-a by me” and “I like-a every peoples” (Christ
145). In each of these cases, Luigi
is trying his best to speak English.
His dialogue is understandable, but is clearly non-idiomatic English.
The Italian translation vernacular is the equivalent of Americans traveling
to a foreign nation and attempting to talk to the locals using only a
translation dictionary. The locals will
understand them, but they will laugh at their attempt at translation because
the syntax of the language is inaccurate.
This is how the Italian translation vernacular works in Christ in Concrete, only in
reverse. Luigi is a perfect example of
an Italian trying to speak English and translating the language
incorrectly. Luigi is thinking in
Italian and translates literally to English, missing the American idiom. The result is often endearing, and always
realistic.
Napolitano writes about the Italian translation dialogue, arguing that “the
majority of the immigrants in this novel speak Italian to each other rather
than an Italian-English dialect, so DiDonato translates the Italian they speak
into English (although he isn’t consistent in doing so)” (88). Napolitano is implying here that whenever
the Italian immigrants speak Italian it is translated as the Italian
translation vernacular; that is, English with faulty syntax. However, we have seen that di Donato is
actually much more versatile in his dialogue than Napolitano claims. If the immigrants are speaking Italian to
one another, di Donato translates the dialogue as grammatically correct
English, not the Italian translation dialect, as Napolitano argues. The Italian translation dialogue is only
used when the Italian immigrants are trying to speak English.
Napolitano’s claim that di Donato is not consistent with his dialogue rings
true in several instances. For example,
when the young Paul is working as a bricklayer, he is able to speak with the
other laborers. Is this meant to show
that Paul can speak perfect Italian, or that the laborers can speak perfect
English? With the Italian translation
dialect, and with the broken English dialect, we can see that the latter is not
true. The Italian laborers certainly
can not speak grammatically correct English.
Also, it is certain that Paul would be able to speak perfect Italian, as
argued before. Yet this inconsistency
by no means harms the integrity of Christ
in Concrete’s dialogue. The often
random combination of these several forms of dialogue only supports the
difficulties these immigrants experienced in trying to learn the English
language. These complexities work
against the immigrants’ efforts to assimilate into the mainstream American
culture.
In summation, the broken English vernacular and the Italian translation
vernacular are the two forms of Italian American English which Robert Viscusi
deems important to the experience of Italian immigrants trying to learn the
English language. Both involve applying
the Italian language idiom to the English language. Broken English vernacular is an unintentional attempt by the
Italian immigrants to change typical English words into Italian words. In Mount Allegro, Jerre Mangione
mentions this characteristic of the broken English spoken by Italians, making
reference to H.L. Mencken’s The American Language. Mangione cites some of Mencken’s terms, such
as “minuto for minute…storo for store…barra for bar,” also
adding one of his own, “baccauso” for backhouse (52). The second form of Viscusi’s Italian
American English is used when Italian immigrants apply Italian syntax and
diction to the English language, often by literally translating the Italian
words into English. The result here is
an English that can be understood, but is clearly missing the syntactical idiom
of the English language.
The sixth, and last, dialogue di Donato uses in Christ in Concrete is applied mostly by Annunziata, Paul’s mother
and Geremio’s wife, although the first two chapters of the novel introduce the
form in a powerful way. This
“desperation dialogue” is characterized as being separated frequently by one of
two separators, a dash (“—”) or an ellipsis (“. . .”). The dialogue usually has sentence fragments
which reflect the largely incoherent and “desperate” thoughts of the
speaker. It indicates an extreme
anxiety on the part of the speaker, usually in prayer. Accompanying the dialogue separators is the
frequent occurrence of Italian words included in the otherwise proper English
vernacular, which we have discussed as being consistent with di Donato’s third
dialogue. This desperation dialogue
could not be exemplified any better than when Geremio is being buried alive in
concrete, and begins to pray for his life:
“Mercy, blessed Father—salvation, most kind Father—Saviour—Saviour of His
children, help me—adored Saviour—I kiss your feet eternally—you are my
Lord—there is but one God—you are my God of infinite mercy—Hail Mary divine
Virgin—our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy—name—our Father—my Father .
. .” (Christ 17).
Annunziata, however, is the character in Christ in Concrete who uses desperation dialogue the most,
especially during the times following Geremio’s death, and also during the last
section of the novel, where she is fighting with both Paul and herself over the
integrity of her own religion. Christ in Concrete is separated into
five sections focusing on certain subjects: Geremio, Job, Tenement, Fiesta, and
Annunziata. The occurrence of dialogue
separators is proportionally highest in the “Annunziata” section. Near the end of the novel, the sick
Annunziata uses desperation dialogue exclusively. In fact, the book concludes with this form:
Annunziata faintly shook her head and murmured:
“. . . Thy hand . . . My Paul . . . . Paul . . . . .”
And as he cradled her closely close, she receded . . . and crooned:
“Ne’ . . . Ne’ . . . Ne’ . . .
How beautiful he
Little Paul my own
Whose Jesu self
Glorified our home . . .
Nadi . . . Nadi . . . Nadi . . .
Gifted to me
By the Madonna was he
And of this son
Shall rise
A topless lighted Column . . . !
. . . Ne’. . . . Ne’. . . . . Ne’. . .”
With numbing hand she beckoned.
“Children wonderful . . . love . . . love love . . . love ever our Paul . .
. . Follow him” (Christ 236).
As we can see, the desperation dialogue in Christ in Concrete is
often accompanied by a previously discussed form of dialogue, where di Donato
mixes Italian words into the otherwise grammatically correct English. In instances of religious fervor, the two
seemingly go hand in hand. When Geremio
is being buried alive, his religion intensifies. This results in two forms of dialogue, 1) where di Donato
intermingles native Italian words into the dialogue; and 2) desperation
dialogue. Similarly, when Annunziata
starts in on a fervent religious prayer, she begins to use desperation
dialogue, which intensifies her religiosity and causes di Donato to insert
Italian words into the dialogue.
Although desperation dialogue is laden with these separators, occurrences
of them do not necessarily mean that the characters are using this particular
kind of dialogue. Di Donato employs
these separators normally throughout the novel as well, as when Louis is
talking to Paul about his brother Leov and says, “He was quick and sympathetic
. . . He was a genius” (Christ 124).
Leov is simply pausing in his dialogue, and di Donato uses the ellipsis
to indicate this. So, although
desperation dialogue is distinguished by these dialogue separators, any
dialogue containing these separators is not necessarily desperation dialogue.
Likewise, when di Donato inserts native Italian words into the Italian
immigrants’ dialogue, desperation dialogue is not necessarily in effect. However, when desperation dialogue is being
written, di Donato will insert numerous Italian words into the dialogue,
because it intensifies the speaker’s religious experience.
In summary, what distinguishes desperation dialogue from normal dialogue is
1) how often dialogue separators are used; 2) how often di Donato inserts
Italian words into the otherwise proper English dialogue; and most importantly
3) whether or not the dialogue has heavy religious overtones or a sense of
desperation. This type of dialogue
reflects the speaker’s desperation on the printed page, the effect of which is
conveyed clearly to the reader.
Throughout Christ in Concrete, di Donato employs six distinct modes
of dialogue, which have all been described in full detail. They include: 1) the characters speak
English, and di Donato writes their dialogue in English; 2) the characters
speak Italian, but di Donato writes their dialogue in English; 3) the
characters speak Italian, and di Donato writes their dialogue in English, with
the exception of certain Italian words, which di Donato leaves in Italian
because he deems them figuratively untranslatable; 4) the Italian immigrant
laborers speak broken English; 5) the Italian immigrant laborers speak English
which is literally translated from their native Italian; and 6) desperation
dialogue, indicated by the speaking character’s intense religiosity, the
frequent occurrence of dialogue separators, and di Donato’s third dialogue. All of these dialogues show the broad and
complicated lingual experience of the Italian American at the beginning of the
20th century, thus demonstrating the authentic and creative language
of Pietro di Donato’s Christ in Concrete.