The most amount of information we have about the Garoghlanian tribe is that they come from Armenia and are poor. We know that they are a family which lacks basic amenities and is not overwhelmingly wealthy. This is not that different from many immigrant groups who found sanctuary in America at the start of the 20th century. We can see through the descriptions of their lifestyle in the story that they are of limited economic means, but possess a great deal of love and devotion within the home. They are trying to wrestle with both life in the United States while maintaining some semblance of connection to their homeland. We can presume they come from Armenia primarily because this is the focus of Saroyan, himself as the writer, and Northern California, specifically Fresno, was a major hub of Armenian settlement in the United States. Whether or not the Garoghlanian tribe actually existed is questionable. We do know that many tribes or sects of people were wiped out by the Turkish Army in the Armenian Massacre, one of the first genocides of the 20th century. Millions of Armenians were obliterated, and records were not kept of such atrocities. There could have been a Garoghlanian tribe amongst the victims. Rather than conclusively state that they didn't exist, the Turkish Army's actions serve as way to question if this group was murdered. Such an event could have served as a significant push factor for emigration to the United States.
No comments:
Post a Comment