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Jiaying Li
Prof. Firestone
English 101
29 October 2023
Fitting in American Culture
A phrase commonly used goes, “The wearer of the shoes knows where it pinches.” It
means that understanding the suffering of other people’s situations is difficult unless you put
yourself in the same spot they are. It is the same scenario of the people fleeing to America trying
to find their American dream. The idea that America is a great place and a land of the free has
prompted most people to consider risking their lives trying to get to that place in search of
greener pastures. Usually, people hope to find a better life than their homes. Unfortunately,
things turn out to be what they least expected with challenges at their beck and call. From culture
shock, institutionalized racism, prejudice, name it, the immigrants are faced with all kinds of
problems when they get to America and try to integrate into society. Through Sara GoldrickRab's article, "The City of Broken Dreams," and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "The Danger of a
Single Story," it is accurate that colored immigrants find it rough in America. Apart from racial
discrimination, single stories through stereotypes, financial hurdles are a stumbling block to
people moving to America. Adichie’s and Goldrick-Rab’s perspectives shed light on the
influences of narratives, implications of stereotypes, and societal expectations coupled with
financial and educational inequalities as obstacles to fitting into American culture.
Inequality in education and poverty lead to segregation which is a hindrance to fitting in
American culture. Goldrick-Rab’s article underscores the existing gap in the education of the
black community especially in Milwaukee because of financial difficulties. Goldrick-Rab says,
"Today Milwaukee is one of America's poorest and most segregated cities. One-quarter of
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families live below the federal poverty level, nearly 27 percent of households are on food
stamps, and over 36 percent of households take in $25,000 or less in annual income" (GoldrickRab 412). Poverty is a stumbling block to blending in American society. From the quote, it is
evident poverty creates a stratification of society whereby interactions are based on the haves and
have-nots. Upscaling the societal ladder becomes an uphill task when one is poor because
socialization is limited to people within the poor class and there is not much interaction to learn
from the others who have made it. Such interactions based on social class limit interaction and
make it difficult to fit into American society. Goldrick-Rab compares the statics of blacks and
Latinos to their white counterparts who have access to better education. Goldrick-Rab says that
"… just 9 percent [African Americans in Milwaukee] hold bachelor's degrees" (Goldrick-Rab
414). Because of the interconnectedness of poverty and poor education, most students from
minority communities such as African Americans opt to work longer hours to cope with life and
fail to pursue education. The cost of education which is high favors the rich. As a consequence,
inequality continues to hold back minority communities and students from such families find it
hard to integrate into American society with ease because of the barriers they cannot control.
The influence of narratives and implications of stereotypes of people from various
backgrounds is an obstacle to making connections and limits integration into society. In
Adichie’s video, she talks about the powerful nature of narratives to shape perspectives on
cultures. Some of the perspectives are shared through Adichie’s anecdotes whereby she talks of
her life consuming only American and UK books. Adichie says, "I loved those American and
British books I read. They stirred my imagination. They opened up new worlds for me. But the
unintended consequence was that I did not know that people like me could exist in literature"
(Adichie). Given that she did not know people like her could exist in literature shed light on her
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single story about literature. Single story that only a particular group existed in literature and not
others. In Adichie’s mind, only white people existed in literature. Reading African books opened
her eyes and made her see things differently. She could imagine not only white characters existed
but also black characters like her. Apart from the single story, narratives could create stereotypes
that result in misjudgments. The racial stereotype Adichie highlights in her story is about the
American roommate who looked down upon her because she was African. The roommate knew
that Africans could neither speak proper English nor use a stove. Adichie asserts, "My roommate
had a single story of Africa: In this single story, there was no possibility of Africans being
similar to her in any way, no possibility of a connection as human equals" (Adichie). Because of
the preformed opinions that Africans could not speak English and use stoves, the roommate
never wanted to associate with anything of ignorance. The roommate’s single story of Africa was
of it being a place of ignorance. From Adichie’s anecdote, it is accurate that her single story
about literature blocked her mind from exploring other literature. Doing away with single stories
such as Adichie’s and the roommate's about something opens up a world of free interaction and
association. The stereotypes the roommate had could limit Adichie and her from connecting
genuinely as friends staying together. From whatever the roommate thought about Adichie and
Africa, it was unlikely for her to open up to Adichie and form a genuine connection. To the
roommate, Adichie might have been primitive and thus limited integration of Adichie in
American society. That is the extent to which stereotypes and narratives about somebody or a
place do to interactions between people. Stereotypes thus limit the integration of people into the
American society.
Also, societal expectations can limit people’s integration into American society. Narrow
societal views and discrimination are interlinked. Because of single stories, it is possible to judge
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others because you do not know their story. From judging comes the denial of access to some
services and opportunities. For example, because of a single story, "there was no possibility of
Africans being similar to her[roommate] in any way" (Adichie). That was the extent of Adichie’s
roommate's single story towards Africans and to her, Africans and whites were different in some
way. The chain of events continues in that manner but the overall consequence is that it limits
integration in American society. From Goldrick-Rab's writing, Alicia’s family expectations
limited her integration into American society. Instead of continuing with her education, she
opted to support the family by working extra hours due to financial hardship. Her chances of
integrating into society through education were limited. Society expects children to take off their
parents when the parents are unable to which is the right thing to do no matter the cost. For
Alicia, the cost of supporting the family came at the expense of dropping out of school. Alicia is
an example of trying to balance family expectations, school, and work. Despite it being the right
thing to do, supporting the family, it is also a barrier that hinders the integration of people in
society. Because of the demands of her work, the family needs, and the young child she has, the
school has to lag.
In conclusion, the pursuit of the American dream by immigrants, particularly those of
color, is a complex journey marred with numerous challenges. The essays by Sara Goldrick-Rab
and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie shed light on the significant barriers these individuals face
when attempting to integrate into American society. Inequality in education, poverty, the power
of narratives, stereotypes, and societal expectations all contribute to the hurdles they must
overcome. Understanding these obstacles is crucial in fostering empathy, dismantling
stereotypes, and working towards a more inclusive and equitable society. It is only by
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acknowledging and addressing these issues that America can truly live up to its ideals of being a
land of opportunity and freedom for all.
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Works Cited
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “The Danger of a Single Story.” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The
Danger of a Single Story | TED Talk,
www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/transcript?
language=en. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.
Goldrick-Rab, Sara. "The City of Broken Dreams." Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen. ReReading
America. Boston: MacMillan , 2013. 411-430.