Analysis of Stealing Buddhas Dinner Book by Nguyen - Essay Example

Bich is torn between the Buddhist and Christianity religions, her grandmother is a Buddhist, and her new mother is a reformed catholic who is now an atheist, all her classmates at school are Christians, and she struggles to fit in one of the religions. Her other dilemma is about the foods that they eat, as a kid, she likes junk American food, but later in life, she seems to mature and takes the food that she is given at home. In chapter thirteen of the book, the author narrates her mature life in the 1980s, she replaces some of her childhood preferences with new ones.

For example, the writer has a new liking for music, something that she did not even think about as a kid, It just appears to like it as she grows up, she is also attracted to some television shows, which indicates that she is influenced by the pop culture of the Americans. This indicates that she is somehow adapting to American life at last after a battle with the culture for a long time. The fact that she is no longer interested in American junk food and opts for Buddha’s dinner offered at home.

This is an indication of the conservation of native culture in the past a kid the author treasured American junk food, like spaghettis, apple pies, and jiffy muffins. This was because she wanted to feel like other American children and not necessarily, because she wanted it, this showed how much she wanted to fit in American society. Later in life, she gains a liking for the Vietnamese food that is offered at home she takes this as a reminder of her culture back in Vietnam. This is an indication that she is now mature, and is not willing to do things just to please others and to fit in society, she is already comfortable with her life as an American, and practicing her own culture does not bother her.

The author quotes that she came of age in the 1980s; this indicates that she now accepted the fact that that she was an Asian American and not all-American as she heard with some of her friends, she still treasured some of the Vietnamese cultures, like the food and the religion. The author also narrates that no matter how many people she interacted with who practiced Christianity, she still felt drawn to Buddhism and thought of it as the legitimate religion for her. This chapter mainly emphasizes the mature life of the author in the 1980s, and how she had changed in some aspects of life. 

She now understands some of the things that she could not understand as a kid, like the all-American slogan on the billboard, as a child, the author could not understand the meaning of the phrase, she thought of fit mainly as a threat. That is why she tried so much to impress and fit into American society, she seems to act out of desperation. As grown up she knows the meaning of the phrase and is not ready to leave aside some of her native cultures, she accepts who she is and is not very determined to impress the American natives.

She has her values within which she abides. At this point, we see how much she treasures her culture; it indicates how culture is an important aspect of one’s life, Bich defends her religion at all costs and is not swayed, by others even if she is the only one practicing the culture in the neighborhood.