The book explores the differences between first-generation American immigrants, and their second and third-generation offspring. My mother-in-law gave me some thoughts of these differences, and here's a summary of them, with my own thoughts on top of them.
First-generation immigrants cling to their mother culture, because it is a source of comfort and sanity in a world that is foreign and cold. They know the futility of fitting in to the new world, and form enclaves and niches. Their cultural pride and traditions are often intensified as a protection against assimilation and losing themselves and who they are.
The second-generation children are born into a dual-identity. They go to school in a completely American world and come home to one entrenched in the old way of life.
The third-generation children know nothing of the "old way of life". They are completely American. They participate in some vestiges of traditions of the cultures their grandparents came from, but often as a novelty rather than any real outlook on life.
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