In this response I'm going to tell you who's the most Americanized character halfway throught the book and whether or not I like them. I think Ralph is the most Americanized of the main characters. First of all, he had little Chinese in him to start with since he seemed to dislike everything he did in China. He was eager to escape his father and cut his ties to his family and leaving China was the best way to do that. When he came over he had little trouble shedding Chinese customs and adapting to an American lifestyle. He did experience trouble accepting the fact that he had left his family behind forever, but he said goodbye to China easily. I'm sure he was also glad to be leaving the middle or a revolution.
When he got here he was open to all kinds of American customs and ways of life he'd never have seen in China. He was able to build a life for himself as an independent person by getting a degree, having a family, buying successively better homes, and making enough money to by a car. These things would have been done for him in China, instead of him doing them for himself. The car also gave him freedom unknown to him in China. He could now go wherever he wanted and explore the greater part of New England whenever he wanted. He also had the experience of being a sort of self-made man since he worked his way from living in exile in the bad part of town and working as a chicken butcher to living happily in the suburbs with a nice, secure job.
I don't like Ralph because he has retained something from China, and that's the idea of a male-dominated household. He treats his wife and sister poorly and orders them around a lot. He doesn't seem to be doing anything for the community, just trying to get rich off it. I don't like Ralph because he's a volitale and selfish guy.
