As a dynamic protagonist, Rose develops from a determined yet fearful newcomer to a confident and courageous young woman who embraces her new life in the United States despite the hardships she finds there. When she first arrives in New York, Rose is largely optimistic about her future, though she knows it will not be without challenges. Seeing the Statue of Liberty, her “heart swelled with hope and fear at the same time” and she believes that she has been “brought to America for a purpose” (9). However, this hopeful sentiment partially stems from her knowledge that any future in Ireland would offer few opportunities, while the United States offers her a chance at the unknown. This dynamic is evident when she states, “A whole new world was stretchin’ out before me, and I wanted a chance to savor it before I was weighed down with babies like Ma” (15).

Rose starts exhibiting her new freedom by dropping the “Margaret” as her first name, since it is a common appellation. Although she does not yet have the marketable skills that her mother does, she has the determination to stay and become an “American workin’ girl” (172).