Vocabulary
This word means "very embarrassing or ashamed," describing how the Lins felt after the celery incident.
What is mortified?
The narrator's first and only friend in the story.
Who is Meg Gleason?
The Chinese believe slurping is polite because it shows appreciation and does this to the hot food.
What is "cools it down"?
The first American food the Lins tried that made them feel "revolted."
What is milk?
True or False: The Lins thought the Gleasons ate their food very messily.
What is True?
This word means "gross or disgusting," which is how the Lins first felt about drinking plain milk.
What is revolting?
This character adjusted to American school life the fastest by playing a sport.
Who is the brother (Bok)?
At the Gleason's party, the Lins were confused because there were no chairs at the table for this type of casual meal.
What is a buffet?
The Lin family "disgraced" themselves at the Gleason's dinner party while trying to eat this raw vegetable.
What is celery?
True or False: The moral of the story is that the Chinese way of eating is better than the American way.
What is false (the story shows every culture has unique customs, and all people share common traits)?
This word means "the act of eating or using something," like when the family discussed eating different foods.
What is consumption?
This character made many diagrams of "future perfect" and "pluperfect" English words.
Who is the father?
Chinese families eat every dish separately, so they were shocked to see Americans doing this with all their food on one plate.
What is mixing it all together?
When the Lins slurped their soup at the fancy restaurant, they discovered that sometimes Americans actually do this when they drink this specific fast-food item.
What is a milkshake/slurping a milkshake?
At the dinner party, the Lins were confused because the dining table had no "these," making them retrieve some from the living room.
What are chairs (for a buffet-style meal)?
This word means "the fancy rules of behavior," which the mother tried to learn from her list of phrases.
What is etiquette?
This is the feeling the narrator has when she finally convinces her mom to buy her jeans.
What is fitting in (or "passing" for an American)?
The Lins learned that Americans also slurp when they drink very cold, thick drinks with this item.
What is a straw?
This is what Meg and Mrs. Gleason used awkwardly when they ate at the Lin family's home.
What are chopsticks?
The overall lesson the narrator learns is that despite cultural differences, people have many things in common.
What is people really aren't that different (or the same inside)?
This word means "to deal effectively with something difficult."
What is cope?
When the teacher complimented the daughter, the parents said she was "very stupid" because of this Chinese cultural reason.
What is modesty or humility (it is bad manners to brag)?
The narrator realized that there is no single "All-American" way to eat, act, or slurp, showing that America is made up of many different traditions.
What is a melting pot (or diversity)?
At the formal restaurant where they slurped soup, the Lins couldn't understand the menu because it was written in this language.
What is French?
The narrator's statement about almost "passing" for an American highlights this specific aspect of fitting in.
What is appearance or feeling self-conscious about looking different?