All-American Adventure

Previously when learning about Coney Island, many of the sources we read described Coney Island as a place where people felt free to relax their morals. It reflected changing relations between genders and people of different social classes. The primary source document, “All-American Adventure” was interesting because it was a real example of what we have been learning about Coney Island. The narrator, Lily Daché, was an innocent girl from Paris who entered and embraced the Coney Island culture. At Coney Island, she talked to a male stranger, and spent the day with him. This is something that would have been considered inappropriate in Paris and something she felt she should not be doing, but was swept up in the excitement and atmosphere of Coney Island.

This primary source also reflects the status of immigrants at Coney Island. Lily Daché was an immigrant, and up until the end of the document, she continuously refers to herself as an immigrant. After her adventure at Coney Island, though, Lily no longer feels like she is an immigrant. For her, going to Coney Island is an important part of being an American. She says, “when he left me at my door that night I knew I was a real American from now on. I had “picked up” a date at Coney Island, I had eaten hot dogs and peanuts and had ridden the chute-the chutes. It had been a holiday to match my mood, and now I was ready for the next step on my road to success For I never doubted for a moment that success was my destination.” Her experience at Coney island made Lily feel like an American.