Adapting, though it is one of most humans’ skills, is simple for some but problematic for others. Learning a new language, culture, or a social group can be challenging. In the stories “Greasy Lake” and “Mericans”, these main characters are facing just that in the themes. Whereas the characters come from different worlds than the settings of the stories, both authors show the struggle with the uncertainty of one's identity given that the ends of the stories show the one cannot judge a book by its cover. In the reading "Greasy Lake" by T. Coraghessan Boyle the author portrays a group of young men are struggling with the uncertainty of their identity. The narrator, Digby, and Jeff are trying to fit in into the “dangerous” culture. These young …show more content…
The title by itself is a symbol of the play on the two cultures of Mexico and America mixed for our three main characters. The three children do not understand the awful grandmother’s praying because it’s old Mexican tradition that the reader can tell has died out because “there are so many prayers and promises and thanks be to God to be given in the name of the husband and the sons and the only daughter who never attend mass” (Cisneros 89). Outside the church the children stand waiting for their grandmother watching the American influence vendors outside which the children “cannot spend their allowance on fried cookies, comic books, or those clear con-shaped suckers that make everything look like a rainbow” (Cisneros 89). Keeks, Micaela’s younger brother, has also become familiarized by the American culture as he is playing games that reflect the pop culture like Flash Gordon and The Long Ranger. The author plays a bit of a twist on the identity crisis in this story by adding in that Micaela is a girl. “Girl. We can’t play with a girl,” (Cisneros 89) was her brothers’ way of insulting her. The author is showing us the role reversal did not matter in what culture it was because Micaela played into the insult since she would not cry because “ crying is what girls do” (Cisneros 89). The ending of this story brings back judging a book by its cover when