39 pages • 1 hour read
The Orphan of Ellis Island
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Chapters 9-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 9 Summary
The boys tell Dominic that the year is 1908. They figure the recent earthquake must have shaken Dominic because they can’t comprehend why he doesn’t know where he is or what year it is.
Chapter 10 Summary
Dominic cries out about being caught in Francesco’s dream. The Candiano brothers worry that Dominic has been caught by the evil eye. When Dominic realizes his key is gone, he is upset that he’s lost the only connection to his family. The Candianos understand because they are orphans, too. Dominic has never met another orphan before. The Candianos’ goat, Violetta, tackles Dominic.
Chapter 11 Summary
Dominic has always wanted a pet, and the Candianos love Violetta. They show Dominic how to drink milk from Violetta’s teat.
The Candiano brothers live with constant poverty and hunger. They sleep in a landowner’s barn in exchange for helping him tend his fields. Their local priest, Father Tomaso, helps feed them when he can.
Dominic tries to explain to the Candianos that he is not only from America but also from 100 years in the future.
Chapter 12 Summary
A girl named Nina runs to the Candianos to tell them that Father Tomaso is looking for them. The Candianos take Dominic with them to meet Father Tomaso, who is beloved in their community. On their way to the priest, the Candianos and Dominic eat cherries from the trees even though they could get in trouble. They are so hungry they take the risk. Salvatore has hidden a piece of bread. When Francesco finds it, he lectures him about family and shares the bread evenly among his brothers and Dominic.
Chapter 13 Summary
The Candianos get frightened when they see four boys approaching them. One of them is the boss’s son, nicknamed Sausage for all the sausage he eats. Sausage and his cousin Tullio mock the Candianos and Dominic for smelling bad. They accuse them of stealing cherries and throw rocks and manure at them. Salvatore wants to fight back, but Francesco encourages him to take the high road. The Candianos and Dominic try to run from Sausage and his friends.
Chapter 14 Summary
Dominic and Antonio are caught by Tibero Randizzi, “a mountainous creature with a broad, hairy chest that burst the seams of his black leather vest” (63). Randizzi works for the boss and is known to whip thieves. When Randizzi reaches for Antonio to whip him, Dominic stands up for Antonio and takes his place. Randizzi whips Dominic, but Salvatore stops Randizzi and throws manure at his head. The boys escape Randizzi together. Antonio is grateful for Dominic, and Antonio’s brothers tell Dominic that he’s one of them now.
Chapter 15 Summary
The Candianos introduce Dominic to Father Tomaso. Father Tomaso has exciting news for the Candianos. He has arranged for them to be adopted by two families, one in New York and one in New Jersey. Their ship leaves in a couple of days. Yet the brothers refuse the offer, adamant that they must stay together, even if it means continuing to live in poverty. They are interrupted by the news that Tibero Randizzi is dead and that Salvatore has been identified as Randizzi’s murderer.
Chapter 16 Summary
With the accusation of murder, the Candianos have no choice but to take Father Tomaso’s offer to go to America. They must hurry and run away to Napoli, where their ship will set sail. Father Tomaso can’t arrange Dominic’s passage to America, but the Candianos convince Dominic to go to Napoli anyway. Dominic is sad at the prospect of losing the first family he’s ever known.
Chapters 9-16 Analysis
Chapters 9 through 16 of The Orphan of Ellis Island describe adventure, confusion, and camaraderie that all contribute to Dominic’s growing sense of identity.
When Dominic is transported back in time to Italy, he loses his family key. This key, the symbol of Dominic’s desire for family and connection, is switched out for a new symbol: a real family in the form of the orphaned Candiano brothers. He has always wanted brothers, so their acceptance is transformative. Dominic learns about the bonds and sacrifices of family.
Dominic also learns a valuable lesson about privilege from the Candiano brothers. In present-day New York, Dominic is poor and without a family, but he’s never without food. Since Italy in 1908 had no formal foster care system, members of the Catholic Church sometimes provided care for orphans. Father Tomaso feeds the boys when he can, but they’re still without a traditional home. Dominic learns that his situation back in New York, though difficult, is better than living alone in a barn and sneaking or stealing food to survive as the Candianos do. The journey to America to improve their circumstances is an essential motif of The Immigrant Experience.
Waking up in Avaletto is important to Dominic’s character development. He has had an unstable life and hasn’t traveled from New York City since infancy. As a result, “Dominic was used to city streets […] Here he found himself surrounded by the gentle curves of the green hills, the sound of birds overhead, and the earthy scents of lemons and herbs in the air” (53). Beautiful, rural Italy shows Dominic that there are other experiences and places to discover, and Avaletto offers challenges and companionship that allow Dominic to experience family for the first time. As a result, he learns resilience and begins to see himself as a part of a family.
The Candianos’ sense of family is important to Dominic. Though they are young and alone, the brothers stick together. As Francesco says, “We are family. And as a family we share all we have. We may not have must, but if we forget each other, then we have nothing” (57). They share everything, live for one another, and stand up for each other. Dominic has been missing this family love in his life. From the Candianos, Dominic learns that loyalty and sacrifice are important elements of family. Dominic has always recognized The Importance of Family, but taking a whipping for Antonio is his first opportunity to demonstrate loyalty to or sacrifice for a family bond.
By experiencing the meaning of family, Dominic begins a journey of Identity and Self-Discovery to learn who he is apart from an orphan and a foster child. He realizes that the Candiano brothers “had opened his heart, had made him care. But to care about someone else, someone he could lose, was as terrifying to Dominic as it was exciting” (67). Love of family is essential and brings joy, but it requires responsibility for others. Now that Dominic has found a connection with a family, he doesn’t want to lose them. The risk of losing someone you love is a part of being in a family. By traveling back in time and meeting the Candianos, Dominic discovers selflessness, camaraderie, and unconditional allyship.
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