Thanks to the COM352 students for contributing a bunch of new pages! I'll be moving these pages into the main area of the wiki soon.

From UMassWiki

Have you ever felt like you had to change just to fit in? We have all been in situations where we felt the need to change something about ourselves. Maybe it was the way you dressed, or the way you talked. With these changes, you must never forget your history. One must learn to combine both new experiences with old experiences. The short story, “If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I?” is a great example of combining the two. The story is written by a woman named Kothari. Throughout the story, Kothari tells about the many changes she had to make when coming to America. Her main problem was food. American food was nothing like the foods that she was familiar with.

In order to assimilate to a new culture, you must first learn to change some things about yourself. How much should you be willing to give up? This is a question that Kothari had to learn how to answer. As she got older, Kothari realized that she had gone too far. She now wishes she had spent more time learning her own culture’s recipes, rather than the American ones.

“I want to eat what the kids at school eat: bologna, hot dogs, salami - foods my parents find repugnant because they contain pork and meat byproducts, crushed bone and hair glued together by chemicals and fat” (Kothari 21). In the Indian culture, these foods are not accepted. Before coming to America, Kothari and her family would never think of eating any of these foods. She must learn to eat some of these foods, even if it does go against her family’s beliefs. Kothari feels that eating this way is a big part of fitting in with Americans.

“There is so much my parents don’t know, they are not like other parents, and they disappoint me and my sister” (22). Trying to fit in with Americans is tearing the Kothari family apart. Kothari does not understand why her parents can not help her. They should be teaching her about American food. Instead, Kothari is showing her parents how to make simple American foods, such as a tuna sandwich. “The tuna smells fishy, which surprises me because I can’t remember anyone’s tuna sandwich actually smelling like fish” (22). Since Kothari does not have anyone to teach her about these foods, she turns to strangers for help. She learns the correct way of making American food by watching a girl. “I learned how to prepare and eat lobster from the same girl who taught me tuna salad. I ate bacon at her house too,” (29).

“Back home my sister and I do not argue about food with my parents. Home is where they know all the rules” (24). Being in America, Kothari has taken on some new responsibilities. Besides taking care of herself, Kothari must also help her parents since they are struggling with adapting to these new ways.

What if Kothari had decided not to change her ways? What if she only ate Indian food, and did not learn the American ways? Then what would happen? “My classmates scoff, then marvel, then laugh at my ignorance” (26). Kothari knows that acting stubborn will not get her anywhere. Kothari believed that Americans would not accept her family if they were not willing to change. In order to be an American, you must learn the American way.

“My parents were afraid my sister and I would learn to despise the foods they loved, replace them with bologna and bacon and lose our taste for marsala” (30). Becoming an American does not mean you must forget about your culture. Instead you must learn new ways of doing things, and incorporate them with your own ways. No one asked Kothari and her family to forget their past. It is just much easier to live in America if you know and understand the culture.

“But I haven’t eaten lobster in years. In my kitchen cupboards there is a thirteen-pound bag of basmati rice, jars of lime pickle, mango pickle, and ghee, cans of tuna and anchovies, canned soups, coconut milk, and tomatoes, rice noodles, several kinds of pasta, dried mushrooms, and unlabeled bottles of spices: haldi, jeera, hing” (30). This statement shows the outcome of Kothari’s experience. Although Kothari had to give up some things in the beginning, she never forgot about her own culture. Instead, she found a way to combine them both. You should never forget about where you come from. Jessica 00:00, 1 May 2007 (EDT)