The paper asserts that the main theme of the novel is cross-cultural barriers and problems faced by
immigrants in America.
The paper discusses the psychological causes underlying the difficulties that
immigrants, especially from Eastern countries, experience in integrating into a new society. The paper explains that while Western immigrants accept their new culture and assimilate relatively easily, Eastern immigrants resist
assimilation. The paper summarizes the book and analyzes the cross-cultural miscommunication demonstrated by the family disagreeing with the established medical community as to the true nature of their child's illness and its causes.