“In the American Society” has to be one of the most enjoyable short stories I have read in a while. Being from a family whose parents are immigrants and children are American born, I can totally understand the predicament the family faces. Although our stories are not completely alike, I see a lot of similarities between my family members and the characters in the story… and a lot of what the narrator says is exactly what I have had passing through my mind as I watch my parents go through the motions of blending the culture they left behind and the culture they have come to live in.
The first section of the story is subtitled “In His Society,” showing the workings of the mini-community Ralph sets up for himself. He initially tries to assimilate into the American society by planning ahead for his daughter’s college tuition, but runs his entire business the wrong way despite starting off well. Helen sighs at Ralph’s mindset that America is just like China, but even her own upbringing keeps her from stepping out of her own boundaries as a woman. The Chinese believes that “to embrace what [the] father embraced [is] to love him; to embrace something else [is] to betray him.” Now, my mom has never been the timid type by any means, but there were always times where she was hesitant to purchase something or try something new. My brother and I were always the ones to instigate her; we always pushed her to do it (especially if there was something for us to gain).
Ralph also pushes his workers to be more than just their assigned job. He does not listen to the complaints of the workers, either. He continues to push them further, asking them to do odd jobs not only at the restaurant, but at his home too. I think Ralph tries to take what he imagines he would enjoy from the American society and blend it into his own. When one by one, the employees leave, Ralph still believes “that the fault lay with them,” and not his own management. At wits end, Ralph hires illegal workers, seeing the law as guidelines but not strict rules. The stubbornness with which Ralph is portrayed is exactly like my dad. My parents did a fine job of adjusting to the American ways, but sometimes I can see that bit of “but back then…” creeping into our household.
The second half of the story made me laugh the most, as the daughters began to play a larger role in the story. Upon going to a party technically “uninvited,” Helen exercises some of her power as the woman of the household to force Ralph to buy a new jacket. However, Ralph does not take off the price tag, saying that he would “Like to asking the tailor about the size.” Mona sees right through his charade, exclaiming that he wants to wear it and then return it. Caught off guard, Ralph replies stiffly—repeating that all he wants to do is ask the tailor about the size.
While the mother enjoys the party, Ralph lingers at the finger foods. The narrator tries to read but is coerced into being a pseudo waitress. The other sister flits off with her friend, gossiping. The way the characters disperse into the crowd while Ralph holds back is an example of the father just being out of place when not in his own environment. The party gives Ralph a chance to step back and see how his family’s views differ from his own. This small revelation is enough to let his anger take the best of him when a drunk man comes up and begins yelling. He throws the man’s shirt in the water and then allows his own jacket—price tag and everything—to be thrown in the pool, only to find out that the keys were in the pocket as well. Nevertheless, he tells his family they will walk home and wait for the party to finish before calling about the keys.
Mona’s last statement is that they would have to dive for the jacket. The father stops, saying finally that the “girls are good swimmers” not like him. His resigned statement shows that he understands the difference between his generation and theirs.
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