Knock on any door

Description:

Willard Motley’s 1947 masterpiece, *Knock on Any Door*, is **a gritty, naturalistic novel that traces the tragic downfall of Nick Romano**; a former Catholic altar boy who spirals into a life of crime and ultimately dies in the electric chair at age 21. **Plot Overview** The story follows Nick, a young immigrant whose life begins to unravel after his father’s business fails, forcing the family to relocate to a poverty-stricken neighborhood in Chicago. Caught up in petty crimes, he is sent to a brutal reform school that serves only to harden his resistance to authority. His life spirals through family conflicts, sordid sex, a tragic marriage, and ultimately culminates in his arrest for the murder of a police officer, setting the stage for a dramatic courtroom trial.

subjects: Italian Americans,  Immigrants,  Poverty,  Fiction,  Fiction, general

Places: Chicago (Ill.),  Illinois,  Chicago

Times: 1919-1947