Two Ways To Belong In America

Adapting to any new culture is a challenge for anyone. All cultures have their own customs & standards of living. Whether you're an immigrant & new to a culture, or being born into a culture, it's always a new experience for any person. In Notes of a Native Speaker, the protagonist, Eric, grows up isolated from his own native culture. As a young Chinese boy surrounded by American culture, Eric grows up trying to fulfill the "standards" of American culture so he feels belonging. "I didn't even have the breeding to say "Thank you" after sleeping at a friend's house. I can recall the awful, sour feeling in my stomach when this friend told me his mother had been offended by my impoliteness." (7) Because of how Eric focuses himself around American culture, it affects his ability to connect with those of other cultures, especially his own. In Two Ways to Belong in America, two

You become more accepted around the community of that culture you assimilate to once fully assimilated. In Notes of a Native Speaker, Eric picks up on cues on how American culture is interactively. He becomes more Americanized after implementing what he sees into his life, "I was, after all, sweet and funny and smart and nice. Hair notwithstanding, I was not unattractive, at least compared with some of the beasts who had started "going out" with girls." (6) In Two Ways to Belong in America, Bharati adapts fully to the American culture & even becomes an American citizen. She recognizes that her sister Mira will not have the full benefits of an American if she doesn't assimilate to it, "The price that the immigrant willingly pays, and that the exile avoids, is the trauma of self-transformation" (4). In conclusion, fully assimilating to a culture allows more opportunities that benefit you in the end. Eric becomes more socially experienced & Bharati & her sister Mira obtain full American