chapters 1-5 Summary

Chapter 1 begins with a family crossing over the Atlantic from Ireland to America. The main character is Margaret Rose who is traveling from Cork, Ireland to New York. The story is shared from Margaret's perspective: "There was no use tryin' to sleep. This was the last night we'd be tossed by the waves in our narrow bunks. We were due to pull into New York Harbor at dawn, puttin' an end to the most unbearable two weeks of my life" (p. 3).

Margaret Rose's mother, younger sisters Maureen and Bridget, and baby brother, Joseph also are traveling. The voyage had taken two weeks and Margaret Rose declared that those two weeks had been unbearable, particularly because the family was staying in steerage with many other people and their families, headed to New York in search of a better life.

The quarters in...