Call It Sleep

What is the theme in Call It Sleep by Henry Roth?

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Loss of innocence is a theme.America in the early twentieth century was a study of socioeconomic contrasts. Those of Western European heritage had been here for generations already and were well settled in their White Anglo-Saxon neighborhoods. The influx of "new" immigrants, that is, those from Ireland, Italy, and Eastern and Southern Europe, including a large number of Jews, brought a cultural shock to America's system. Languages, cultures, and religions were strange; acceptance of these newcomers was not forthcoming. These "new" immigrants settled into urban slums, living in tenements, finding work which was usually beneath their skills, and raising families in a wholly foreign environment.