In Phuc Tran’s book, Sigh, Gone, he discusses the difficulty of figuring out his identity as an immigrant in a mostly American neighborhood. From questioning his name to determining where he fits in the social structure of his high school, Tran has to navigate learning who he is with an additional barrier to the average teenager, having a whole other culture as a large part of his life. One way that Tran finds ways to carve out his place is to read, not just to improve his vocabulary, but so he can have the same cultural references as the typical white guy, using Clifton Fadiman’s The Lifetime Reading Plan as a guide.
At one point in the story Phuc’s father beats him so badly on his butt and the back of his legs with a metal rod, that he can’t sit down in school the next day. His second grade teacher, after several prompts to sit, calls him to her desk and he breaks down to explain why he can’t sit. She decides to call his parents and asks to visit. During her visit, Phuc is forced to wait in his bedroom, terrified this interaction will cause him to be beaten again. When she leaves, his father explains that she told them about the incident and how parents in America can’t hit their children as much as parents in Vietnam, and to Phuc’s surprise, his father heeds her words. He reflects, “My father didn’t beat me that week. Nor the next week. And he didn’t beat me for the rest of that school year. It was a long reprieve for me, and I was thankful for it.” (Tran 67)
Based on this idea and the ideas from your book, what are examples you’re seeing of where Americans aren’t explaining things clearly to immigrants and it’s causing problems? Or where, after a brief explanation, simple things are resolved?
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