Chapters 4 through 6 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 4: Save Me, Mickey

Since the initial plan was to live in America only two years, the family lost no time in seeing and doing everything California had to offer. They had fun at the many amusement parks, enjoyed the abundance of junk food, and were impressed by the clean bathrooms, smiling faces, and clear signage. These were little things but lacking in their homeland. In a league by itself, outpacing every wonderful thing about America and California, was Disneyland. The family had an almost religious devotion to it. To Kazem, Walt Disney was a genius who allowed everyone to revisit the wonderment of childhood. To Kazem, the pinnacle of mankind's achievement was "The Pirates of the Caribbean" ride at Disneyland.

One weekend, he arranged for six Iranian colleagues and their families to meet his family at Disneyland. Having...