Coffeehouse #5

My favorite story so far has been “Assimilation” by Doctorow because this story shows how the ethics that Ramon has takes a toll in the decisions he makes. Ramon works as a dishwasher in a Russian restaurant and he is offered a chance to make three thousand dollars and the chance to become a busboy, the one thing he has to do in return is that he has to marry his bosses niece who is named Jelena in order for her to get a green card. I really enjoyed reading this story because it gives you a clear idea of Ramon’s situation, of how different he is compared to his brother Leon and we  get to see how he stands up to Borislav’s requests. In the story it is mentioned that even though it was an  arranged marriage he still wanted to learn everything about Jelena, not only for when they would be questioned by immigration but because he felt it was his duty as a husband. He takes the time to walk her to  home from work and on the way he tries to ask her questions. The main characters in this story are Ramon, Jelena, Leon and Borislav. Ramon makes the decision to marry Jelena and  Jelena has to be in an arranged marriage for her benefit. Leon is the person who warns Ramon saying that Jelena asked him to hit her because if Ramon did then she could get divorced and fix the whole paperwork in two weeks instead of two years. I think that Ramon holds deontology and virtue ethics because he constantly worries about who he is and who he wants to be. Ramon is struggling to achieve his dream of finishing film school, he could take the easy way out and ask his brother for financial help but instead he wants to do it the right way.