The Four Winds

When Tony and Rose prepare to leave Sicily, they find a penny on the ground, which they take as an omen of good luck. It is American currency, and the wheat stalks embossed on the back portend their success as farmers. The penny also represents their transition from Europeans to Americans, a change of identity they embrace with the fervor of many immigrants seeking a new life. The penny becomes an heirloom, just as much a part of family tradition as winemaking or Tony’s fiddle, and when they pass it on to Elsa, they do so in the hope it will bring her the same luck it brought them. Traditionally, a penny is only lucky if found head side up. Tony finds his promise of luck on the tails side, and subsequently, his luck is decidedly mixed. These myths have no real power except that which people invest in them. Tony and Rose’s luck certainly takes a turn for the worse, but Tony passes on the penny as a good luck charm anyway, hoping it will presage the same fortune it brought Rose and him earlier. A penny has little economic value, but Tony and Rose’s penny pays for itself many times over as a talisman of hope.