"After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town"

At first glance, I thought that this short story would be a fictional, silly story due to the title. However, the theme of the short story is a lot like that of other short stories that we have been reading recently -- stories of the intersection of cultures and relationships. The cultures portrayed in this story are both American and Chinese, and both are portrayed in a humorous light, that makes the short story more enjoyable and keeps the reader interested. One quote that I found particularly interesting was when the man muttered "American dogs," (p. 185) referring to the Chinese workers who had prepared his meal. I feel that this comment was unnecessary and particularly hurtful. As the story develops, we come to understand that the main character, Mr. Shapiro, who has all Chinese workers. The quote on pages 189-190, "At first Mr. Shapiro worked hard, often staying around until we closed at ten-thirty. Bu as the business was flourishing, he hung back more and stayed in his office hours on end," is particularly interesting. This shows that the more successful he is and the more income he is generating, the more able he is to hire others to do work for him so that he can solely reap the benefits with no cost to him. To me, this is becoming the American lifestyle, which is distasteful. Also, this introduces a huge culture difference between American and Chinese people -- in Chinese culture, they are taught that hard work is for a lifetime. As the story progresses, we learn that Mr. Shapiro wants to turn his restaurant into a buffet, or as he calls it, a "skinflint" (p. 193). A "skinflint" is someone who tries to spend as little money as possible. Another interesting fact is that the workers are not given a discount on their food, which is very rare in the food business, it seems. This fact adds to the unlikely qualities of Mr. Shapiro. A humorous part in the short story is when a patron calls, wanting to have his wedding feast at the restaurant. He says that he wants something exotic for their dinner, so he chooses the "Cowboy Chicken" (p. 199), which, to me, sounds anything but exotic. A recurring issue in the short story is the boss wanting to take his younger, female workers on dates. I feel that this is another cultural difference between America and China, because the Chinese girls go through with this in order to not displease their boss, but the American workers would report him, without fear of punishment. Reading about the culture differences between our countries is very interesting, and gives me a new perspective on everyday things.