Tejaswani Kadavakollu

Worlds Attainable: Immigrant Experience in Betty Smith's Novels Tejaswani Kadavakollu

As a young girl, Betty Smith learned to tell stories to seek her mother's attention. Smith was the daughter of a janitress mother and an alcoholic father, who longed for attention from her mother who was continuously working and planning for the survival of the family. She picked up imagination from her father and resilience from her mother. This book tells us how Smith, with her efforts, became a writer, but as a writer, could not gain the acknowledgement of other mainstream writers and critics as she hoped for. This is the tale of a second generation immigrant woman writer's uphill struggle to be recognized as a mainstream American author and her contribution to American literature. This book is an attempt to conclude that Smith's writings are significant enough to earn her a place along with the mainstream writers. This book deals with Smith's life as an immigrant woman writer which was a challenge to America's claims as a land of opportunity, and American dream itself.