In the American Society

“In the American Society” is divided into two sections, symbolizing how Mr. Chang first tried to stay in his own world and then how he tried, unsuccessfully, to assimilate into American culture. Jen titles the first section, “His Own Society,” and in this section, Mr. Chang neither desires nor attempts to conform to his new culture’s norms. He wears dirty, old clothing because he doesn’t care about appealing to others, and he refuses to change his business practices to conform to American labor practices. Instead, he attempts to recreate the patriarchal culture he came from by positioning himself as the man in charge. While Mr. Chang requires deference from his employees and demands things outside of their job duties such as chauffeuring him around, he views his role as benevolent as well. Like his grandfather, who distributed cash to villagers in need, Mr. Chang tries to exercise his role as patriarch by providing for specific employees, going so far as to pay bail and sponsor immigration paperwork for Booker and Cedric, “his boys.” Ultimately, Mr. Chang is unable to perpetuate “his own society”—Booker and Cedric, his surrogate sons, skip town because they don’t want to go to court. After this point, Mr. Chang pays less attention to the restaurant and more attention to his wife and daughters, symbolically turning away from the patriarchal hierarchy he has been trying to maintain.

After this turning point, in which Mr. Chang realizes that he cannot make American society fit his desires, the next section begins: “In the American Society.” Jen titles this section as such because Mr. Chang is now willing to try to conform to the values and norms of American society. This is symbolized by the first event in this section, in which the Changs buy Mr. Chang a new, American suit. However, making the attempt does not mean he or his family will be successful. This is foreshadowed first in the section title, as in English, the definite article “the” would not usually be included before the phrase “American society.” There are some barriers that the Chang family will always come up against in their pursuit to navigate culture, and language is one of them. This is paralleled by Mr. Chang’s suit, which does not fit correctly and is ill-suited for the weather. The two section titles help the reader understand the changes that occur in Mr. Chang’s mind as he attempts to raise his family and run his business in a new culture.

This story is narrated by Callie from the first-person point of view. This perspective accentuates some of the story’s themes and ideas. The story is about one family’s attempt to make a place for themselves in American society, and by using the first-person point of view, Jen cultivates an intimate tone that reflects this family dynamic. Choosing Callie as the narrator rather than using the protagonist’s point of view is key for advancing Jen’s themes because neither Callie nor Mona, the Changs’ two daughters, show any difficulty assimilating into American culture. They were born in this new culture, and as such, understand it in a way their parents never will. At the same time, they have ties to Chinese culture and understand their parents’ desires and actions. When the reader sees the Changs through Callie’s eyes, they understand how Mr. and Mrs. Chang look from the outside, but they also understand why they do what they do. Their children understand them intimately and are able to discern their different motives while still seeing where they fall into error. With this, the perspective enhances the theme of The Interconnected Nature of Families.

In addition to point of view, Jen establishes tone and characterization through dialogue. These quotes are important because they show the different language conventions of each character. For example, Mr. and Mrs. Chang do not always use perfect English grammar, and Booker and Cedric’s letter to Mr. Chang has numerous grammatical and spelling errors. These errors are authentic to those whose first language is not English, and they remind the reader of the barriers to assimilation these characters face. Language sets them apart from those born in America, as Callie and Mona speak with casual fluency. Likewise, Mrs. Lardner speaks in a flowery, proper dialect, telling Mrs. Chang she’d be “honored and delighted” (31) to write her a letter of recommendation. This dialogue embodies the class to which Mrs. Chang aspires, though she does not reach it.

The story’s major conflicts do not pit these main characters against each other; rather it pits them against themselves and the outside world, highlighting The Difficulties of the Immigrant Experience in America. One of the primary conflicts is between the two Chang adults and American culture. They do not fit into American culture and society seamlessly because they were not raised in America. They learned how to survive in Chinese culture, but this proves inadequate for allowing them to flourish in America. This is represented in the contrast between Mr. Chang’s natural business sense, which initially makes the pancake house successful, and his difficulty understanding the jargon in the newspaper’s economics articles. This detail indicates that there is a limit to the Changs’ success.

The second conflict is between Mr. Chang and himself. He has an ardent desire to become a pillar in his community, caring for his people. His Chinese culture was patriarchal, and he desires to recreate this culture in America and place himself on top of this hierarchy. He is inflexible in his attempts to establish this patriarchal domain, even when his pancake house begins to suffer as a result of his actions. He blames other people rather than himself, but when Booker and Cedric leave, he finally understands that his old methods will not work in this new place. He begins to be more amenable to suggestions from his wife, such as her advice on the suit. However, his behavior at the party demonstrates that he is unwilling to give up his pride to fit into American culture. He does not engage with Jeremy Brothers’ insults, nor does he accept his apology afterward. When Jeremy points out that Mr. Chang is overdressed—signifying his failure to assimilate—and threatens to throw Mr. Chang’s clothes into the pool if he doesn’t wear Jeremy’s shirt, Mr. Chang asserts his sense of self by throwing his suit jacket into the pool himself.

The story ends with the four Changs leaving the Lardner’s party, and the sense of humor they exhibit while leaving shows that this conflict was never between them. All of the Changs had difficult experiences at the party, highlighting the theme of Anti-Immigrant Sentiment in the US; Mrs. Chang is objectified, and Callie is pressured into serving food even though she is a guest. Their unity at the end shows that they must stand together against and within a culture that they all approach differently. Mona calls her dad “stupendous,” bridging the gap between first-generation parents and their second-generation children. They do not all fit into their old world or their new world, but they do all fit into their family.