Typical American

Ralph has spent nine years in America. He, Theresa, and Helen begin the process of converting from permanent residents to citizens of the United States. They are becoming more American, culturally. They switch back and forth between English and Chinese all the time. The young girls grow up fully immersed in American culture, but they are taught Chinese at home. Callie is smart like Theresa, while Mona is good-natured like Helen. The whole family laughs together. Janis has a son of her own, and Henry becomes head of the department where Ralph works. Ralph’s old feelings of jealousy and bitterness seem to have dissipated.

One night over dinner Theresa confesses that her scholarship was never canceled, she just said it was to make her brother feel better. Ralph thumps the table and confesses that it did cheer him up. He teases Theresa about not being married. He jokes that “family member means not allowed to leave” (84) and suggests that they call themselves “the Chinese Yankees […] Chang-kees for short” (84). Everyone laughs. They watch baseball on the new television. Their one attempt to attend a game resulted in someone shouting racial abuse, so they only watch at home. Ralph and Helen decide that Mona and Callie will learn English first and Chinese second to help them integrate into society.