The King of Mulberry Street

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes a discussion of religious discrimination, child abuse, and child death.

Beniamino, the nine-year old protagonist who changes his name to Dom, innocently believes in the goodness of people despite his hard life in Napoli. This innocence makes him oblivious at times. For example, when his mother begs to get him on the ship, he is unaware that she offers sex in exchange for his passage. Then, once at sea, he thinks, “As soon as these men went about their business again, I’d find Mamma. On my own. And I’d bring her food” (35). The boy believes his mother is present when all signs indicate otherwise. His quest to bring her food emphasizes his naïveté. 

Dom also believes that people are good. When the sick stowaway suggests that the crew will throw him out to sea, the boy thinks, “People couldn’t just throw other people overboard. Weren’t there laws against things like that?” (28). Dom assumes that laws and good nature prevent terrible occurrences; later, he learns that laws do not stop everything, for the padrones who exploit children are illegal, but many still operate. Once in America, Dom sees nurses handing out food and a fishmonger offering free leftovers and thinks, “Maybe everyone in America took care of the poor” (81).