Challenges Confronted by Asian Pacific Americans in Adopting American Culture

Asian immigrants in the United States face challenges in retaining their cultural identity, adapting to new linguistic and cultural norms, and navigating everyday life amidst differences from American culture. The post-1965 immigration act era brought unprecedented numbers of immigrants, transforming urban areas and leading to responses such as permanent citizenship and political empowerment for Asian Americans.

Passage: 3
Meaningful passage in the short girls by Bich Minh Nguyen
It is the story of two girls who were migrated from the Vietnamese who faced many problems
since their mother died and they were insulated by the Vietnamese's American community. They
found that they were bounded by the cultural, family and demands of their ageing father. Both
the girls felt unmetered and the burden of secrets due to which both of them never confide with
each other (Hoa et al., 1957). Van has faced many problems in her married life whereas the linny
has drifted into the serious affair with the white married men. The short girls record the pitfalls
which are governed by all families. The author shows the complexity faced by the immigrant
girls which include the complexity of culture, ambition and duty. The meaning passage in the
story came when the life of Linny got the negative turn due to affair with the white guy who is
married, and she is plagued by the bad memories of the unhappy married life of their parents and
another reason was long term suspension of her father's infidelity, and their brothers thought that
their mother had died since nine years (Xu et al., 2011). From all the problems in her life despite
boyfriend and few girlfriends she felt along in the world, and she saw the husband of the van
with other women in the hotel of Chicago then she came to realise that she is not the only one
with the problems. It is the meaningful message in the story which shows that everyone is facing
the problem in their life.
Meaningful passage in the southland by Nina Revoyr
The southland is the compelling story of racial tragedy and family. The author describes the
history of southern California brutal and the survival of family with the tenacity, love and

dignity. The author focuses on the past and presents to the racial justice in the Los Angeles. It is
the mystery murdered novel which took place in the forties and nineties when the racial
discrimination is at the high peak. The two characters, namely, Cutis Martindale and Frank
Sakai who were affected by the racism in the neighbourhood of Los Angeles. The meaningful
passage in the story includes the reveal of mystery when the investigation is reopened by the
Jackie and James in which they are pointing the Lawson because he hates black and he was
present at the night of the murder in the shop of frank (Kuroki et al. 2011). When the
investigation goes deeper into the past of Cutis, then it tolls on the three years relationship with
his girlfriend who Laura. The past and present clues were disclosed which shows that the
romantic link between the frank and mother of Cutis. When the suspense of killing is figured
then the dark conclusion of racial intolerance and justice is determined. The meaningful passage
in the story includes the discrimination faced by the people in the Los Angeles due to which the
mystery of family is investigated by the granddaughter of frank. The mystery is a will
investigates in which it is revealed that then Cutis was the son of Frank due to which he leave his
store in the name of his son. The main issues describe in the story was discrimination due to
which the relationship between the people of two different community leads to the punishment
faced by the lovers which result from the rape by his wife and beaten half to death.
Dilemma faced by contemporary Asian American
In both the stories, the discrimination is faced by the contemporary Asian American such as
racial discrimination due to which the black men are not allowed to befriend with the white
women which result in the punishment given to the women by raping and beaten her half to the
death. There is the cultural difference which is faced by the innocent immigrants which include

the complexity of duty, ambition and culture. Another issue is of gender relation which the main
issue is faced by the contemporary Asian American because they are not allowed to befriend
with the people of another community. For example, black men are not allowed to have a
relationship with the white women (Alba et al. 2009). Another issue is one-dimensional
representation on the television which creates a stereotype image of contemporary Asian
Americans among the people due to which discrimination is faced by the people. The model
minority is developed for the Asian American which shows that they are separated from the
common citizens on the basis of colour, caste, race, ethnicity and religion.
Passage: 4
Challenges faced by immigrants American & Asian pacific
Americans
1. Cultural adoption
The cultural adoption is one of the challenges which are faced by the immigrants because
the American culture is based on the beliefs and for the Asian pacific Americans, it is
difficult to adopt the culture due to which the long legacy is confronted by them. The
inequality is faced by the immigrants on the basis of linguistic differences at the
workplace, schools, and colleges (Nakanishi et al., 2014).
2. Cultural retention
Another challenge is to retain the culture by the immigrants and Asian pacific Americans
due to differences in the culture. The cultures of every country are different, so it is
difficult for the immigrants to retain the culture in another country because the traditional

values customs, the bicultural identity of Asian Americans were totally different from
Americans. The languages of every country are different due to which the huge
challenges are faced by the immigrants.
3. Heritage learning
The legacy of America is totally different from other countries due to which it is the big
challenge for migrants to understand the legacy in order to live in the United States. At
the time of established of immigration act 1971, the immigrations were not permitted in
the United States which increase the racist attacks on the Asian countries who were
presented in the United States. Then at that time ethnic Asian enclaves support the Asian
immigrants in order to provide comfort to them. The heritage learning is become a big
dilemma for immigrants because of they if they learnt American heritage then it means
their own cultural heritage has lost due to which it is a big challenge for immigrants to
learn the heritage of the United States in order to reside in the America.
4. Everyday living
The living style of Americans is totally different from the immigrants due to which it is
difficult for them to adopt the living style of Americans which becomes a major
challenge for them. There is a promising future for the Asian Americans in the United
States due to which they were accepting the challenge to change their day to day lifestyle
in order to get the sustainable lifestyle. The immigrants were not allowed to involved in
the political conditions of the country due to which they are separated from the political
involvement of America political empowerment.

Response to challenges in the post-1965 immigration act era
The immigration and nationality act 1965 acts a watershed for the immigrants in the history of
Asian Americans. The response to the challenges includes a unprecedented number of
immigrants from Mexico, Asia, Latin American and other non-western nations who are allowed
to migrate to the United States (Massey et al., 2012). It the new arrival process in which the
economic, demographic and cultural characteristics of the urban areas are transformed. The
external and internal pressure on the United States leads to develop the new restrictive policies of
the national origin system. The various pieces of legislation are passed by the United States
which allows the Europeans to enter the country before and after the Second World War. The
immigration policies are used by the country as a psychological tool which is used against the
communism. The Americans want to show that the country ideals of democracy, capitalism and
freedom then the other countries that have the restricted policies regarding the immigration. The
response to the challenges faced by the immigrants leads to sponsor the permanent citizenship to
the immigrants who are unmarried and under the age of twenty-one, professionals, married
children, siblings, and political refugees. The Asian immigrants attain the political power which
is commensurate with the economic success and emergence of demographics. After the post-
immigration act, the Asian American are allowed to contribute towards the cultural and
economic conditions of the country. After the immigration act, the Asian American allows taking
participation in the voting system of the country which empowers them politically. The
involvement of Asian Americans immigrants in the politics of the country has the positive trend
which prevents them from the discrimination on the basis of racial subjugations. The power is
gained by the immigrants after the immigration act which enables to raise the socio-historical
status of the Asian Americans and immigrants. They are treated as the model minority which

helps to overcome the hardship by the preserving in the workplace and constant diligence. After
the immigration act, the Asian Americans contributes towards the economic growth of the
country.

References
Xu, W. (2011). A Psychoanalytical Approach to Bich Minh Nguyen s Stealing Buddha s
Dinner. Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies, 2(1), 111-111.
Hoa, N. Đ. (1957). Classifiers in Vietnamese. Word, 13(1), 124-152.
Kuroki, M. (2011). LA Stories: Identity and Conflict in Posturban Culture.
Alba, R., & Nee, V. (2009). Remaking the American mainstream: Assimilation and
contemporary immigration. Harvard University Press.
Nakanishi, D., & Yamano, T. (2014). The Asian American educational experience: A sourcebook
for teachers and students. Routledge.
Massey, D. S., & Pren, K. A. (2012). Unintended consequences of US immigration policy:
explaining the post‐1965 surge from Latin America. Population and Development Review, 38(1),
1-29.