Saving Sourdi by Mai-Lee Chai

¶ … Saving Sourdi" by Mai-Lee Chai and "Clothes" by Chitta Banerjee Divakaruni. Specifically it will discuss the process of immigrants becoming Americanized in the two works. Both of these short stories show how immigrants can have trouble fitting into American society, and how they try to become Americanized so they will fit in better. Both the stories teach lessons about trying to fit in, and about hanging on to culture and tradition, too.

In "Saving Sourdi," the main character is Nea, who always tries to "save" her sister when she is in trouble, even if she does not need saving. Sourdi is older and wiser than Nea, and she has managed to fit into society better, too, even if she does submit to an arranged marriage. Nea kind of expects life in America to be perfect, and Sourdi knows better. Nea thinks, "When we moved to South Dakota, I thought we'd find the real America, the one where we were supposed to be, not the hot sweaty America where we lived packed together in an apartment with bars on the windows [...]" (Chai 131). Nea thinks that to fit into American society, everything needs to be perfect and perfectly American. It is funny, because they move to the Midwest, which is supposed to represent the "real" America, and Nea thinks it is "hick." She says, "We're city girls,' I said, glaring at him. 'Why would we like this hick stuff?'" (Chai 134). Nea tries to be a real American, but she really does not understand what that means, or what it really means to be a true American. Duke is an American not because he was born here, but because he can appreciate the land and the life of a farmer, while Nea cannot.

The story also shows that the girls have no trouble learning about the "important" things in American society. Chai writes, "Sometimes we locked ourselves in the bathroom then, just the two of us, so we could talk about things like boys at school or who was the cutest actor on television shows we liked [...]" (Chai 132). The girls have no trouble learning about society and how teenage girls act in society, in fact, it just seems to come naturally to them. They become just like American teenagers very easily, even though they have to work in their family restaurant and work harder than most other American kids. They are in between two worlds, but they manage to fit into both, somehow.

After Sourdi's wedding, Nea does what any teenager would do, she rebels. She drinks beer, smokes cigarettes, and does all the things American kids do to get in trouble. Chai writes, "After a few minutes, I could take a sip from Duke's beer. [...] I took out the pack of cigarettes I'd stolen from Ma's purse and lit one. It took five puffs before I could mask the taste of bile and sugar" (Chai 136). This shows that she is used to smoking, and that she is doing things that her family would not approve of, and certainly things she probably would not be doing if she still lived in Cambodia. In addition, Sourdi's new life is typically American. She and her husband live in a suburb, celebrate an American type of Christmas, and like to spend money on things like appliances and cars.

The most important part of the girls becoming Americanized in this story is how Nea sees her sister. She says, "You sound like an old lady. You're only twenty, for Chrissake. You don't have to live like this. Ma is wrong. You can be anything, Sourdi'" (Chai 142). Nea realizes that they do not have to live their lives like they did before, and that anything is possible here, and that is the most important part of truly becoming an American.

In "Clothes," it is easier to see the Americanization of the main character, because she comes to America in the story, and has never been there before. Everything is new to her, and she becomes Americanized partly to please her husband and partly because she likes the life. She tries on American clothes, but sometimes she is frightened by everything new around her. The author writes, "But at other times I feel caught in a world where everything is frozen in place, like a scene inside a glass paperweight. It is a world so small that if I were to stretch out my arms, I would touch its cold unyielding edges" (Divakaruni 278). She does not welcome everything about America like the sisters in the other story. There are many things that frighten her, and it is more difficult for her to feel like an American and embrace the American lifestyle. However, when tragedy comes to her life, she discovers that she truly is an American, and that she can never go back to India, she has changed too much. The author writes, "That when I know I cannot go back. I don't know yet how I'll manage here in this new, dangerous land. I only know I must" (Divakaruni 281). She realizes something that Nea also realizes that in America, anything is possible, and that she can be anything she wants to be, if she works hard and learns.