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The Difficulties of Assimilation
Themes and Colors
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in In the American Society, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
At the beginning of “In the American Society,” the Chang family appears to attain the American dream. Mr. Chang takes over a successful pancake business, and the family gets rich. They purchase a station wagon with air conditioning, Mr. Chang enjoys a new recliner, and Mrs. Chang quits her supermarket job and starts taking an interest in “espadrilles, and wallpaper.” Soon, however, the realities of being an immigrant business owner start to puncture Mr. Chang’s success. For one thing, his employees take offense to his expectations of them. When Mr. Chang asks the headwaitress Gertrude to scratch his back, she quits and makes a racially insensitive remark, implying that Mr. Chang treats his workers more like slaves than paid employees. Despite Mr. Chang’s outward success, racial undertones seem to have emerged in the restaurant dynamics, hinting at greater disharmony to come.
The challenges presented by the U.S. immigration system also threaten to undermine Mr. Chang’s success. Because Mr. Chang empathizes with an undocumented immigrant named Booker, he hires him as a busboy. He understands Booker’s struggle—the busboy came to the U.S. on a student visa “but had run out of money and was now in a bind,” with only a fake Social Security card to his name—so Mr. Chang goes out of his way to help the new hire. Even though Booker and his undocumented friend Cedric prove to be good employees, the other staff resent them and claim Cedric is a crook. Before long, the head cook Fernando is stealing meat, there’s a fistfight, and the immigration authorities put Booker and Cedric in jail. Even though Mr. Chang himself doesn’t get in trouble for hiring the men, his failure to successfully advocate for them in the long run suggests that his sympathy to undocumented workers is a dead end for his business. The unfortunate turn of events at the pancake shop, spurred on by racial tensions in the kitchen and the reckoning of harsh immigration policies, illustrates that immigrant business owners aren’t fully in control of their own success. Rather, broader cultural and political pressures can make comfort and success precarious for immigrant business owners.
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Success, Race, and Immigration ThemeTracker
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Success, Race, and Immigration Quotes in In the American Society
Below you will find the important quotes in In the American Society related to the theme of Success, Race, and Immigration.
His Own Society Quotes
There were occasions when the clear running truth seemed to eddy, when he would pinch the vinyl of his chair up into little peaks and wonder if he was doing things right. But with time he would always smooth the peaks back down; and when business started to slide in the spring, he kept on like a horse in his ways.
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This is the only time in the story when Mr. Chang appears to question his own judgment before being forced by circumstances to do so. These lines come after employees start quitting their work at the pancake house due to Mr. Chang’s unreasonable expectations that they do personal tasks for him. In her narration, Callie observes Mr. Chang’s stubbornness, but she also reveals that “the clear running truth seems to eddy,” meaning that Mr. Chang occasionally wonders if he is making the right choices. During these moments of self-doubt, he pinches his chair vinyl into “little peaks.” As the rest Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Mol
“You know, the Chinese have a saying,” said my mother. “To do nothing is better than to overdo. You mean well, but you tell me now what will happen.”
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Mrs. Chang’s interpretation of Mona’s lack of propriety—Mona tells her friend Annie Lardner that the Changs are considering joining the country club, and Mrs. Lardner pays a surprise visit as a result—relies on the wisdom of a Chinese saying. It is an interesting choice for Mrs. Chang to reference a Chinese adage, as, in a way, Mona has behaved in a distinctly American way by trying to further assimilate her family into town life. Mrs. Chang’s words imply that she is not only angry at her daughter for overstepping and creating what might become a problem; she also recognizes Mona’s Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque o
“So what else I should do?” My father threw up his hands. “Those are my boys.”
“Your boys!” exploded my mother. “What about your family? What about your wife?”
My father took a long sip of tea. “You know,” he said finally, “in the war my father sent our cook to the soldiers to use. He always said it—the province comes before the town, the town comes before the family.”
“A restaurant is not a town,” said my mother.
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Mr. Chang and Mrs. Chang argue about his next steps after Booker and Cedric are detained for working without the proper documentation. Because Mr. Chang kept his hiring of Booker and Cedric a secret from his wife, she is irate at learning that the restaurant might now be in peril. The subsequent argument pits Mr. Chang’s loyalty to his employees against his loyalty to his wife and daughters. Mrs. Chang’s question—“What about your family? What about your wife?”—compels Mr. Chang to choose between his workers’ best interests and his family’s. It is notable that, in this moment of crisis, Mr. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic
In the American Society Quotes
“Maybe this suit not fit me,” fretted my father.
“Just don’t take your jacket off,” said the salesgirl.
He gave her a tip before they left, but when he got home, he refused to remove the price tag.
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Before Jeremy Brothers’s bon voyage party, the Changs take Mr. Chang shopping, assuming that none of his clothes will be appropriate for the gathering. He ends up buying an ill-fitting suit and decides to keep on the price tag so that he can ask the tailor later about the size. The suit jacket is a major symbol in the story, and its lack of fit on Mr. Chang represents the ways in which American society does not fit his values and preferences. Just as he’s uncomfortable with the suit jacket, he feels ambivalent about American life. He worries that it’s Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatib
Of course, my father tried to eat a cracker full of shallots, and burned himself in an attempt to help Mr. Lardner turn the coals of the barbecue; but on the whole, he seemed to be doing all right. Not nearly so well as my mother, though, who had accepted an entire cupful of Mrs. Lardner’s magic punch and indeed seemed to be under some spell. […] I watched my mother take off her shoes, laughing and laughing as a man with a beard regaled her with navy stories by the pool. Apparently he had been stationed in the Orient and remembered a few words of Chinese, which made my mother laugh still more.
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At Jeremy Brothers’s party, Mr. and Mrs. Chang both try to fit in, despite the fact that Mr. Chang ends up being overdressed in a suit. This description of the two Chang parents at the party shows the contrast between how easily Mrs. Chang is able to assimilate and how much her husband struggles. While he tries to “eat a cracker full of shallots,” and burns himself on the barbecue (and is still seen by Callie to be “doing all right”), Mrs. Chang charms the other guests and appears to fit right in. It’s possible that the alcoholic “magic punch” Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et u
Jeremy began to roar. “This is my party, my party, and I’ve never seen you before in my life.” My father backed up as Jeremy came toward him. “Who are you? WHO ARE YOU?”
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In this climactic quotation, the drunk Jeremy Brothers confronts Mr. Chang and challenges his very presence at the party—though, of course, Mrs. Lardner has invited him and Mr. Chang has every right to be there. Aside from defining Jeremy Brothers’s character as drunk, belligerent, and unpredictable, this charged interaction brings one of the story’s questions to the surface. Who is Mr. Chang? Does he see himself as American? Chinese? Both? Jeremy Brothers does not intend the question to land this way, but readers can draw a parallel between Mr. Chang’s ambivalence towards American society and the imperative that he find Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus volup
“Take off your shirt.”
“I do not taking orders like a servant,” announced my father stiffly.
“Take off your shirt, or I’m going to throw this jacket right into the pool, just right into this little pool here.” Jeremy held it over the water.
“Go ahead.”
“One hundred twelve-fifty,” taunted Jeremy. “One hundred twelve …”
My father flung the polo shirt into the water with such force that part of it bounced back up into the air like a fluorescent fountain. Then it settled into a soft heap on top of the water.
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After Mrs. Lardner intervenes in Jeremy Brothers’s drunken scene, reassuring him that she invited Mr. Chang to his party, he exaggerates his apology. Jeremy offers unwanted help to get Mr. Chang more appropriate clothes, since Jeremy finds him overdressed. The insult soon worsens into a confrontation as Jeremy takes the offer too far, demanding that Mr. Chang take off his suit jacket and instead put on the polo shirt Jeremy is wearing. This quote is important to the story because it marks Mr. Chang’s decision. While Jeremy mocks the price of his suit jacket, calling out, “One hundred twelve-fifty,” Mr. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis.
“You girls are good swimmers,” he said finally. “Not like me.”
Then his shirt started moving again, and we trooped up the hill after it, into the dark.
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In the final two lines of “In the American Society,” the Changs are discussing how to get back Mr. Chang’s keys, which are still in his suit pocket in Jeremy Brothers’s pool. On a deeper level, however, these lines show Mr. Chang contending with his daughters’ level of assimilation into American life versus his own. Earlier in the story, Mr. Chang dismisses the notion that Callie could possibly understand America better than him. Now, after the incident at Jeremy Brothers’s party, he not only accepts that Callie and Mona might be better “swimmers” than he is, literally—a sign of an Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantiu
