Comparing the Culture of Cambodia and American Culture

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Comparing the Culture of Cambodia and American Culture

After reading the novel Children of the River, I have learned some customs that people in Cambodia practice in their country. In this essay, I shall describe some examples of their traditions and contrast them with the American culture as shown in the novel and Honduran culture of which I am most familiar.

One good example of this contrast is when Sundara, the main character of the novel, explains to Jonathan (Pg 23) that in Cambodia, students at school show respect to their teachers. Students don’t ask questions to their teachers if they don’t understand a lesson. In their culture, asking such questions is a sign of disrespect. Sundara explains in the novel that people in Cambodia do not argue with each other; they avoid confrontation at all times.

Another example is when Soka (Pg. 78) is mad about the fact that at school, teachers call her Mrs. Kep instead of her name. In Cambodia, a married woman keeps the name she is born with. This episode reminds me that in Latin America, a married woman keeps her maid...

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