Masaryk University Faculty of Arts

1.10 Process of Adaptation

Assimilation is a concept which foresees the complete loss of the original cultural identity to be replaced with that of the members of host society. Adaptation, on the other hand, is a state of reconciliation and of coming to terms with the new socio-cultural environment by making adjustments in one's cultural identity (“Culture”).

He claims that assimilation is very difficult to achieve, whereas the concept of adaptation explains the real life situation of the immigrants. Timothy Mo’s characters deal with Chinese and British cultural backgrounds, the clash of these two, and thus experience the cross-cultural adaptation process in Britain in the 1960s. The members of the Chen family encounter the new cultural environment and “achieve different levels of success in culturally transplanting and adapting themselves into the host society” (“Culture”). Abercrombie implies that “this process of adaptation and acceptance may be broken into several phases which can proceed at varying speeds and may be complete only after several generations have passed” (246). In Sour Sweet, this process is indicated in the character of Man Kee who is exposed to the influence of the new environment, attends an English school and starts speaking English at the age of five. On the other hand, Phillips’s West Indian immigrants tried to assimilate to the new environment without making adjustments in their confused cultural identity, they were anxious to accept the British identity.

Winkelman claims that when immigrant groups encounter a foreign, different culture, numerous stressors such as “strain and anxiety resulting from [this] contact [...] and the feelings of loss, confusion, and impotence” occur and lead to cultural shock (121). These reactions might provoke psychological crises or social dysfunctions, which we can observe in both Phillips’s and Mo’s characters. Winkelman further argues that the individual reactions to cultural shock are subject to the factors such as “the degree of difference in one’s own and the host culture; the degree of preparation; social support networks; and individual psychological characteristics” (121). This implies that although West Indians were better prepared to face the British culture which they had already known well enough from the colonial times, Leila and Michael were growing apart and experiencing all difficulties individually. On the other hand, the Chinese sense of mutual dependence, group orientation and supportive community enabled the Chen family to cope with the adaptation process more successfully.

Cultural shock involves four phases, with the first one being “the honeymoon or tourist phase” (122). Seeing that it entails interest, excitement, positive expectations, and idealizations about the new culture, Leila and Michael appear to have been experiencing the first phase even before the migration to Britain, when they keenly believed the half-truths and rumours about the land of promise spread in the Caribbean. The second phase, the crises or cultural shock phase, may emerge immediately upon arrival or within few weeks. It might begin with “a full-blown crisis or as a series of escalating problems, negative experiences, and reactions” (122). Mui faced the cultural shock phase for months, it may be argued that she was xenophobic since she was afraid of going out and confronting the white world. She became addicted to watching English TV programmes and was horrified by the English and their culture she saw on the screen. She was “a nervous young woman who had not left the house more than a dozen times [...] since her arrival twenty-two months ago” (Mo 3). Winkelman also notes that one may feel helpless, confused, disliked by others, lack control of one’s life and suspect that one is being taken advantage of or cheated. Moreover, depression may grow serious and one generally wants to go home (122). This is illustrated in Leila’s figure who suspected her 50 year old white neighbour Mary of having an affair with Michael. She knew that he was cheating on her with a white woman and “was, without even realizing it, making an enemy in her mind of the only real friend she had in England” (Phillips, Final Passage 189). She was passive, resigned to circumstances and sceptical of her future in England: “She tried to think of a time when she could imagine herself being happy in England with two children, and no father, and little money” (194). Leila stayed in England for five months, and eventually she decided to return to the Caribbean.

The third phase, adjustment and reorientation, involves learning how to adjust effectively to the new cultural environment (Winkelman 122). However, many people like Leila do not achieve effective adaptation and choose to go back home during the crises phase, and others like Chen use various forms of isolation such as avoiding substantial learning about the new culture. Rothfolk contends that although the Chinese family depicted in Sour Sweet considered their residence in Britain to be only of a temporary matter to make money, they adapted to different degrees to the new culture and society. Regarding Confucianism and family, he observes that Lily represents the balance between the old, Chen and the Neo-Confucian orthodoxy professed by the Triad, and the new, Mui and her uncritical acceptance of the host culture. Chen’s entanglement with the Triad, the old society, led to his death and the disintegration of their extended family, which suggests that his incapability of responding to a new culture and Neo-Confucian submission is not a way to follow in the modern world (Rothfolk). On the other hand, Lily’s moderation and looking for compromise between the Chinese and British identities and cultures seem to be much more successful way to comply with. As Suprajitno implies, Chen’s death brought about the change Lily needed in order to achieve balance, find the equilibrium between the two cultures. Seeing that she and Man Kee were going to stay in Britain, she realized the importance of understanding British culture and traditions (85). Although Man Kee was being educated in an English school, she wanted him to attend a Chinese school and learn about their heritage as well. Mui was able to “overcome her initial inertia and [began] interacting with the world at large” (86). Her obsession with watching English TV programmes helped her to acquire English language and understand the British society and culture. She was the only member of the Chen family who could tell apart the white British and recognize their regular customers. As opposed to Leila, who resolved to go back home, Michael’s attitude to the mother country was different, “England was more than [he] had dared hope for” (Phillips, Final Passage 169). He was concerned about making money and “came to admit that his future might not include Leila” and since he was determined to fulfil the wishes of his grandparents, “there was no chance of his leaving this country with nothing” (169-70).