Women and Education: Only in America

Coming to America offered many immigrants new opportunities and new experiences. Children were given the chance to gain an education. Many of these students, for example the character of David Rudinsky in Mary Antin’s short story The Lie, absorbed the knowledge they received in school like a sponge.

They realized that it was a privilege and an honor to be given the opportunity. David understood the advantage he was given. He knew the struggles his family went through in order to make their way to America, the “Land of Opportunities.”

One of the many changes most immigrants faced in the “Land of Opportunities” was the differing role of women in the States. Women were given more opportunities in America than most of the countries the immigrants were coming from. This is also represented in Antin’s story through the relationship between David and his female teacher.

To most of these immigrant children, usually boys because girls rarely attended school, it would be unheard of to have a woman teacher back in their homeland. Women’s lives were no longer limited to getting married and raising a family. They were now capable of going out and making a life of their own, independent from family or a husband.