Summary the Orphan of Ellis Island

Dominic has always lived with different families. He has never known his parents because they died when he was a baby. Dominic had no sisters and brothers so he has always been lonely. He has got one big secret and he does not want anyone to know it. He is an orphan. For the third time, he has to move in with a different foster family. This time it was a family in Brooklyn, New York. He had only been three days at his new school in Brooklyn when his teacher told him they were going on a class-trip to Ellis Island. Dominic always loves class trips so he hopes this class trip is going to be amazing. He always hopes that he would make new friends because he does not have a lot of friends. When they arrived at Ellis Island, the tour guide asked the students to tell about their families. Dominic does not want to tell anything of course, because he does not know anything about his family. He gets scared so he runs away and hides in a closet in the museum and turns off the flashlight. He falls asleep and when he wakes up, the museum is lonely and deserted. There is no one left anymore. He picks up the display telephones after each other. He talks and listens to the recorded voices of immigrants. They tell about their lives in places faraway. The last immigrant where he is talking to, answers him. He tells about his life in Italy and suddenly he immigrated to America. Dominic is exhausted and falls asleep. When he wakes up, he is in Italy. He is taken back in time to Italy in 1908. First he does not know where he is, but after a lot of asking, he finds out. He is in a small village in Italy, called Avaletto. He meets three orphan brothers and they become friends. They are called Francesco, Salvatore and Antonio. The three orphan brothers are waiting until they are sponsored to go to America. Dominic is accepted as part of their little family and he is involved in all their adventures and meets their foster father, called father Tomaso. He also meets their lovely goat called Violetta. They become good friends. The three brothers teach Dominic how it is to be poor and hungry. Dominic is really shocked of this. One day, father Tomaso tells the three brothers that he received a letter, which says that they have found two families for the three brothers. First they are very excited and relieved that they can finally leave this village and have enough food. But when they hear they have found two families, so they have actually to be separated, they did not want to go anymore. This would mean that they would be separated and that they would not see each other that often anymore. After a lot of discussing and talking, they decided to leave and go to America. Everything better than where they are living right now without food and in poverty. They would leave the next day to the ship, which would take them to America. Dominic is quite shocked and he actually does not know what do to without this family. How does he have to survive and where does he have to go? He was questioning himself the whole time. Their way to the ship lasts a couple of days because they had to walk of course. On their way, one of the brothers becomes terribly ill. Some very kind adults are taking care of him, but he cannot survive his illness. He dies on their way to the ship. This means that one ticket to go to America is left. Dominic could go to America with the two brothers. Just before they go onto the ship, he discovers that he is not wearing his key around his neck anymore, but Salvatore is wearing it. He discovers that the brothers are actually related to him in more than just spirit. On the boat to America, they get another surname, Cantori. Dominic finds out that Salvatore may actually be his grand grandfather. The letters on the key say, S.C. Salvatore Cantori. When Dominic hears someone in the museum calling Dominic, he wakes up and it was all a dream. He is taken back in time to 1908 in Avaletto in Italy. He is wearing the key again, and it still says S.C. Salvatore Cantori is his grand grandfather and Dominic has seen his grand grandfather immigrating to America. So the man talking to him on the phone was his grand grandfather, Salvatore Cantori.

(775 words)