51 pages • 1 hour read
Donna Jo NapoliThe King of Mulberry Street
Donna Jo NapoliFiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2005A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Shoes
Shoes represent prosperity and good fortune, forming a motif that reflects Survival and Resilience in an Unfamiliar Place. Excited by his new shoes, Dom repeatedly realizes that they save him from tough circumstances and make others believe he is wealthy. On Ellis Island, the translator “pointed at [Dom’s] shoes. ‘This is no urchin. The father will be grateful. Maybe I should keep him myself to get the reward’” (63). This assumption keeps Dom safe by the translator’s side and ultimately saves him when he is pulled away from a padrone.
Later, Dom recognizes his shoes’ role in not only his good fortune, but his survival. The first night renting a room from Signora Esposito, Dom thinks, “These shoes kept me from looking like I was dressed in rags. Signora Esposito had given us the room because of them. One more way these shoes had paved my path” (190). By acknowledging how important his shoes have been in his journey to Signora Esposito’s apartment, Dom highlights their role in his perseverance. When he buys new shoes for himself on his 10th birthday, he reflects, “The shoes Mamma gave me had saved me so many times” (241). In understanding the value of his footwear, Dom also recognizes the role his mother has played in achieving her first rule: survival.
Yarmulke
The yarmulke, a cloth cap, is not only a sign of Dom’s Jewish identity, but a symbol of safety and comfort. In Napoli, Dom visits his Uncle Aurelio at work and his uncle “put[s] his hand on [Dom’s] head, in the center of [his] yarmulke. The weight made [him] feel solid and safe” (9). The combination of Aurelio’s hand and the cap provides Dom with a sense of comfort, with Dom associating his yarmulke with family and security. In New York, Dom does not wear his yarmulke, primarily because he does not want to draw attention to his Jewish identity and because he no longer feels so secure.
However, after Pietro’s death, Dom goes to Witold’s house for dinner and Witold “put[s] a yarmulke on [his] head. And everything was right again. [Dom] felt small. Like before Mamma put [him] on that cargo ship. Safe” (232), insinuating a sense of security. He “feels small” and “safe,” with his smallness referring not to his stature or importance, but a feeling of being cared for, like when he had family to nurture him in Napoli. Dom’s resumption of wearing his yarmulke thus represents the newfound security he feels in America and the more open embrace of his Jewish identity.
Documents
Having documents in America is a symbol representing possibility, specifically the opportunity to move freely within society. When he first arrives on Ellis Island, two translators provide Dom with papers stating his new name and age. Later, when he finally looks at the documents, even though he cannot read them, he thinks, “Somehow they would help me” (77). Despite not understanding what they say, Dom recognizes the possibilities these documents provide.
His instinct is correct, for when he learns that Gaetano stole and sold them, he also discovers that these forms are required to gain passage on a ship. As a result, Dom reflects, “Here I’d been worried about guarding my shoes, when those papers were so much more important, and I hadn’t even checked on them since Friday night” (135). Only once Dom loses the documents does he realize the opportunities they represent, for with them, he may have been able to bribe his way onto a ship back to Napoli. Without the documents, he is stuck where he is, looking for alternative ways to escape this hard life.
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By Donna Jo Napoli
