Madeleine Johnson
English 1
13 December 2012

“Who can depict the feeling of desolation, homesickness, uncertainty and anxiety with which an emigrant makes his first voyage across the ocean?” In the excerpt from “Moving Away from Home” by Abraham Cahan, the character’s tone varies from indecisive and irresolute to disquiet then to feeling exuberant about having moved to America. The character’s tone is especially indecisive and irresolute about moving to America. For example, in the quote, “I proved to be a good sailor, but the sea frightened me,” his tone about being on a ship during his voyage is very indecisive because he was on a ship which he had not once in his life been on before, and for an emigrant only seeing the tranquility of the blue deep waters day after day for an especially long time that felt everlasting. Not only was he indecisive, but he was irresolute about the trip because he was moving far away from his home, and it was a new place he had never been to before. As a result of being on the ship so long and have had been only seeing the bluest blue waters for quite some time he was disquiet. To finally be getting off the ship that carried him far across the ocean on his move to America, and to see the land of his new home to which he were to live with hope to start new life. Also, he had no idea what his new home would be like. He didn’t know what he might find and he wanted to find out. At last he had arrived on the land of his new