ABSTRACT
Throughout Greek America a set of themes keeps recurring: the persistencies and changes in Hellenic culture over the generations, much of which is captured in Greek-American fiction. Brushing aside questions of how one measures what is “typical,” generalizations can be made about Greek-American life. A generalized respect for elders is ingrained in both Greek and Greek-American cultural norms. This is complemented by the notion that grandparents are expected to “spoil” their grandchildren. Even though most second-generation Greek Americans were familiar with the Greek language, and many could speak it quite well, English became the language of American-born Greeks in their own homes as well as on the outside. The Greek-American community has had to change its position on intermarriage in the face of its frequency. If Greek-American characters in fiction often behave like rogues, they nevertheless possess the qualities of bravery and quickness of wit, qualities that Greeks seem to admire more than principled behavior.
