Coming To America: Adjusting To A Culture Essay, Research Paper

Coming To America: Adjusting to a Culture

Prince Ahkeim Jahfar wakes up on his twenty-first birthday and realizes

that he is to be wed to a woman he has never met before. This is a custom that

is traditional in the royal family of Zamoonda, Africa. His father, King

Jahfi Jahfar had been planning this wedding for many years. The woman who is

groomed to be the prince’s wife has been trained since birth to learn

everything about the prince and what he likes. She is trained to fill his

every desire. As it turned out, the Prince was not satisfied with his wife to

be because her intellect did not meet his standards. He decides to travel to

America to find his bride to be.

Prince Ahkeim and his servant Simi fly to Queens, New York to fill out

the Prince’s dreams. They arrive in a suburban area of Queens wearing very

expensive suits and animal skins around their chest. Soon they find out that

they need to change their wardrobe to fit in with the rest of the population.

Prince Ahkeim plans to meet a woman that will love him for who he is and not

for the wealth he has. He must make everybody he meets believe that he is an

ordinary person from New York so that his cover will not be “blown”. The

Prince even gets a job at a fast-food restaurant and works like a peasant would

from his home. When asked where he is from, he simply replies “I’m an African

student who is studying here at the University”.

Prince Ahkeim learns that there are many things that go on in America

that are different from his world. He seems to be amused that people dump

trash on the streets and greet each other by shouting curse words at each other.

The apartment that he moves into is almost a complete opposite of the palace

he left. Rats and roaches crawl around the floor as if they owned the building.

This doesn’t seem to bother the Prince even though he is used to petal girls

throwing rose petals to cover the floor before him and girls to bathe him.

He soon meets a girl that he is very interested in but she is already

engaged to marry someone. Daryl, her fiance is the son a wealthy entrepreneur

and comes across as very superficial to the Prince. Prince Ahkeim worked hard

at his new job and tries to come in contact with Lisa as much as possible.

Lisa invites Ahkeim to go on a double date with her sister. During the game,

Daryl asked Ahkeim “I bet wearing clothes is a new experience for you.” Lisa

gradually becomes aware of the Prince’s charm and prestige. Slowly but surely,

Lisa starts to fall in love with Ahkeim. As far as she knows, Ahkeim is the

son of a goat herder.

King Jahfi comes to find out that his son is living poorly and decides

to visit America to find out what exactly is going on. When he arrives, he

finds Prince Ahkeim’s servant Simi at the roach infested apartment and learns

that his son has betrayed his wealth and fortune for a girl. The King then

goes to Lisa McDowell’s house to find his son. King Jahfi is very disturbed

about his son’s behavior and refuses to allow him to marry the woman he loves.

The King finally retrieves his son and brings him back to the palace of

Zamoonda to marry the woman chosen to be his wife.

At the wedding, Prince Ahkeim lifts the vail from the bride’s face to

find out that it is Lisa and becomes overwhelmed with joy. King Jahfi changed

a tradition of many generations to bring true happiness to his son.