Lycée de la Côtière

AMERICA – West Side Story

Before the song: Bernardo has ordered his sister Maria back home because she was dancing with an American (Tony- they fell in love with each other at first sight). He tells his sister she has to obey him, but his girlfriend Anita disagrees: "we are in America now. The gang meets on the roof of the tenement block and the girls and boys start arguing in what looks like a dialogue. 1. Introduce the document. This document is a song entitled « America ». It was taken from the famous musical “West Side Story” composed by Leonard Bernstain and written by Stephen Sondheim. 2. Where and when does the scene take place ? The scene takes place in the 1960’s in Manhattan, more precisely in Spanish Harlem (El Barrio), the neighbourhood where many Puerto Rican immigrants settled at the time. 3. Two groups are opposed. Which ones? On the one side we have the girls with Anita and on the other side, Bernardo and the boys. 4. What are they arguing about? What is the main subject tackled in the song? They are arguing about the advantages and disadvantages of being in America. The song deals with the pros and cons of emigrating to the US for Puerto Ricans. 5. Fill in the grid (to be reproduced in your exercise-book) about the two groups’ contradictory views. The boys dampen the girls’enthusiasm and object to the girls’ arguments. Bernardo reproaches Anita with forgetting her native country / betraying her origins … He accuses her of being naïve / of idealizing life in America.

Topics -Their country of origin: Puerto-Rico

-“America”

Group 1: Anita and the girls -Anita didn’t like living in Puerto Rico and she says it might as well disappear in the ocean  The climate conditions are too hard ( hurricanes which wreak havoc regularly + extreme hot weather)  The country is overpopulated ( unwanted pregnancies / high birth rate)  The women’s condition is harsh (condemned to be housewives and bring up children/ unwanted pregnancies / no freedom/ exploited by and submitted to men)  A poverty-stricken country: destitution/ live a precarious existence / moneyless -Aland of plenty/ of opportunity / A dreamland  America = a free country where

Group 2: Bernardo and the boys -

They wish they had not left their country. They hope to go back to Puerto Rico as soon as / when they can afford it. They are nostalgic for their homecountry/ A welcoming country where they have friends and family waiting for them.

-America fell short of their expectations/ didn’t meet their expectations. They are faced /confronted with difficulties 

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women are free from the household chores and men’s control. They can enjoy the advantages of a “consumer society”: Buy on credit /take advantage of modern conveniences and household appliances They enjoy economic prosperity, expansion, boom: skyscrapers / big luxury cars/ better housing conditions with larger new flats / Job opportunities

disappointment / disillusion -The equality of opportunity is a lie: prosperity is for whites only/ a social and racial barrier difficult to cross / a gap between the Haves and the Have-nots. (they are under-privileged/ live-a hand to mouth existence / can’t make ends meet / because of starvation wages/ low-paid menial jobs/ dirty works …) - suffer racial prejudice and discrimination / are discriminated against (menial jobs in sweatshops/ poor housing conditions and overcrowding / racist remarks or taunts / difficult to integrate the American melting pot!) -suffer urban violence as they live in grime districts / organized crime …

6. Sum up: Which examples of the American dream/ disillusion and disappointment are given in the song. Organize your findings expressing contrast and opposition.