If something is typical it shows all the characteristics that you would expect from a stated person, thing or group. Something which is typical might also show all the bad characteristics that you expect from someone or something, often in a way that is annoying. (Dictionary)

Ralph, Theresa and Helen, the main characters of Gish Jen's novel Typical American came to America to seek the American Dream. They were convinced that everyone in the US had a chance to become happy, rich and successful if they worked hard. They yearned for being Americanized; however, there was not their desire to become "typical Americans". In their perception a term"typical American" had a pejorative meaning:

"Typical American no-good", ..., "typical American don't-know-how-to-get-along"[,] ..., "typical American just-want-to-be-the-center-of-things"[,] ..., "typical American no-morals"[,] ..., "typical American use-brute-force"[.] (Typical American, 67)

In my opinion all of them followed the myth of the American Dream and became, to some extend, typical Americans.

When Ralph came to the US he certainly was a Ch

For the next few years Ralph was successful. He did what he was supposed to do according to the Chinese culture. He studied hard, he married a Chinese girl, his sister's friend and they lived together. Then the Americanization came. They did what other American families did: they watched TV, they read American newspapers, they bought a car and then a bargain house in the suburbs. They were happy to have their first baby, a girl.

Theresa didn't mind, but Helen and Ralph were disappointed until they held her, and saw the way she nestled her plump cheek into her shoulder, as though she had no neck. And then they could not imagine how parents drowned their daughters, as they knew farmers in China often did - bathing the baby, it was called. (Typical American, 116)

Unfortunately, not everything went successfully. Ralph made his sister move out although it was a Chinese tradition for the whole family to live together. His business also started to fall apart and Grover Ding, who was a master and a friend to him let him down, having an affair with Ralph's wife. Even though Ralph perceived himself as an American, he could not understand the reason the bad things were happening to him. "In China, one lived in one's family's house. In America, one could always name whose house one was in; and to live in a house not one's own was to be less

Some common words found in the essay are:
Typical American, American Dream, Grover Ding, Success Theresa, Americanization American, Helen Ralph, typical american, American According, Ralf America, Dream Grover, Student Affairs, american dream, typical americans, life bought, main characters, characteristics expect, american extend, gish jen's, typical american extend,
Approximate Word count = 911
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)