The concept of assimilation is the main idea in the story of the author Gustavo Arellano’s book Orange County: A Personal History. A definition of assimilation based on dictionary.com would be the absorption and integration of people, ideas, or culture into a wider society or culture. The type of culture mainly discussed on the idea of assimilation would be Mexicans because of the Arellano’s cultural background. Throughout the book he gives many examples of how he and his family have assimilated and struggled to assimilate in their lives living in Orange County, California. An example of assimilation that Arellano writes in his book is when his father comes to the U.S. is stated “My father first stayed in the United States at the house of his tia Maria in East Los Angeles, along with about fifteen other men from Jomuquillo” (Arellano 77). This is a classic and stereotypical example of Mexicans both struggling to find places to stay and the
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At school, all the kids spoke it. Among cousins, we only used English. But when addressing adults, we addressed in Spanish- and they didn’t like it when we tried to speak back to them in English” (Arellano 117). I could relate to Arellano when it comes to speaking Spanish to older adults and speaking English to everybody else. The idea of assimilation comes in when many Immigrants, children of immigrants and those with Hispanic background begin giving up their native tongue as their primary language to assimilate better to American culture. I have family members that have been living here in America for 30 plus years and barely know any English, many have trouble learning a new language and some just don’t care to even learn English. Like Arellano my primary language is English and my Spanish speaking skills have diminished over the years because of how rarely I use the
At school, all the kids spoke it. Among cousins, we only used English. But when addressing adults, we addressed in Spanish- and they didn’t like it when we tried to speak back to them in English” (Arellano 117). I could relate to Arellano when it comes to speaking Spanish to older adults and speaking English to everybody else. The idea of assimilation comes in when many Immigrants, children of immigrants and those with Hispanic background begin giving up their native tongue as their primary language to assimilate better to American culture. I have family members that have been living here in America for 30 plus years and barely know any English, many have trouble learning a new language and some just don’t care to even learn English. Like Arellano my primary language is English and my Spanish speaking skills have diminished over the years because of how rarely I use the