--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Americans find it hard to believe that…" description: "\"“Americans find it hard to believe that foreigners are unalterably foreign, for they have seen generations of immigrants who became Americans. But old ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8c/saul-bellow-558_foreigners_americans-find-it-hard-to-believe-that-f_2595170.png" --- # Americans find it hard to believe that foreigners are… ![“Americans find it hard to believe that foreigners are unalterably foreign, for they have seen generations of immigrants who became Americans. But old cultures are impermeable and exclusive—none more so than the French.” quote by Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8c/saul-bellow-558_foreigners_americans-find-it-hard-to-believe-that-f_2595170.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8c/saul-bellow-558_foreigners_americans-find-it-hard-to-believe-that-f_2595170.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8c/saul-bellow-558_foreigners_americans-find-it-hard-to-believe-that-f_2595170.png) > ““Americans find it hard to believe that foreigners are unalterably foreign, for they have seen generations of immigrants who became Americans. But old cultures are impermeable and exclusive—none more so than the French.”” [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Americans view foreignness as changeable because of assimilation, yet some cultures remain rigidly exclusive, exemplified by the French. **In simple terms:** Americans think immigrants can become Americans, but some cultures stay closed. Key Takeaway Recognize cultural fluidity and avoid stereotypes. Themes identity assimilation culture stereotypes nationalism Mood reflective critical Type analytical observational When to use this quote - immigration policy - cross‑cultural communication - education curricula - media representation Key Concepts cultural relativism social identity theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you define “foreign” in your own experience? - What examples challenge the claim of French exclusivity? A Different Perspective Cultural rigidity can be overstated; many French individuals embrace diversity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Foreigners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreigners/) [Immigration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigration/) [Old culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-culture/) ## Related quotes > [“Marguerite Oswald was one of those Americans who believe foreigners are sure to understand you if you just speak slowly . . . and very LOUDLY.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/marguerite-oswald-was-one-of-those-americans-who-believe-foreigners/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [We take foreigners to be incomplete Americans -- convinced that we must help and hasten their evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/we-take-foreigners-to-be-incomplete-americans-convinced-that-we-must/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [The new culture war is about national identity rather than religion and 'transcendent authority.' It focuses on which groups the United States will formally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-j-dionne/the-new-culture-war-is-about-national-identity-rather-than-religion/) [E. J. Dionne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-j-dionne/) > [In the case of the Indian villager, an age-old culture is hidden under entrustment of crudeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/in-the-case-of-the-indian-villager-an-age-old-culture-is-hidden-under/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Those who have most at stake in the old culture, or are most rigid in their beliefs, try to summon people back to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/those-who-have-most-at-stake-in-the-old-culture-or-are-most-rigid-in/) [Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/) > [The way yogurt works is you take the old yogurt culture and you put it in milk. You have to put enough of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mackey/the-way-yogurt-works-is-you-take-the-old-yogurt-culture-and-you-put/) [John Mackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mackey/) > [The genes hold culture on a leash. The leash is very long, but inevitably values will be constrained in accordance with their effects on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-genes-hold-culture-on-a-leash-the-leash-is-very-long-but/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [“The old culture reflected fundamental human needs while respecting natural limits. And it worked. It worked for nature, and it worked for people. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helena-norberg-hodge/the-old-culture-reflected-fundamental-human-needs-while-respecting/) [Helena Norberg-Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helena-norberg-hodge/) > [I grew up in a wonderful blend of a lot of old culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-ortega/i-grew-up-in-a-wonderful-blend-of-a-lot-of-old-culture/) [Kenny Ortega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-ortega/) > [I have some advantages of viewing from the two lenses, the two perspectives. I think that a lot of visual artists who come back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chath-piersath/i-have-some-advantages-of-viewing-from-the-two-lenses-the-two/) [Chath Piersath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chath-piersath/) > [One of the West's singular migrations--from the Azores to California's Great Central Valley--is given faces and voices in Anthony Barcellos's new novel, Land of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-haslam/one-of-the-west-s-singular-migrations-from-the-azores-to-california-s/) Gerald Haslam > [Ours is certainly not an old culture. Yet in recent decades we've used more energy, destroyed more soil, created more pathogenicity (temporarily stopped some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/ours-is-certainly-not-an-old-culture-yet-in-recent-decades-we-ve-used/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [When people say that L.A. doesn't have a culture, I think it really does: a very old culture, and very specific. There's streets named…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-armisen/when-people-say-that-l-a-doesn-t-have-a-culture-i-think-it-really/) [Fred Armisen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-armisen/) > [When a scholar of the old culture vows no longer to have anything to do with men who believe in progress, he is right.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-a-scholar-of-the-old-culture-vows-no-longer-to-have-anything-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The Islamic culture is a question mark for many people across the world, but Qatar opens its doors to supporters all over the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-batistuta/the-islamic-culture-is-a-question-mark-for-many-people-across-the/) [Gabriel Batistuta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-batistuta/) ## More by Saul Bellow > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [If I'm out of my mind, it's all right with me, thought Moses Herzog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/if-i-m-out-of-my-mind-it-s-all-right-with-me-thought-moses-herzog/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [I have begun in old age to understand just how oddly we are all put together. We are so proud of our autonomy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-have-begun-in-old-age-to-understand-just-how-oddly-we-are-all-put/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/on-broadway-it-was-still-bright-afternoon-and-the-gassy-air-was/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are evils that have the ability to survive identification and go on for ever... money, for instance, or war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-evils-that-have-the-ability-to-survive-identification-and/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Myself is thus and so, and will continue thus and so. And why fight it? My balance comes from instability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/myself-is-thus-and-so-and-will-continue-thus-and-so-and-why-fight-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“A strange heart. I myself can't account for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-strange-heart-i-myself-can-t-account-for-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [The late philosopher Morris R. Cohen of CCNY was asked by a student in the metaphysics course, Professor Cohen, how do I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/the-late-philosopher-morris-r-cohen-of-ccny-was-asked-by-a-student-in/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“Therefore we didn't talk of genuine things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/therefore-we-didn-t-talk-of-genuine-things/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Is our species crazy? Plenty of evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/is-our-species-crazy-plenty-of-evidence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“But now the emphasis has shifted to making it. People have surrendered their personal moral objectives to government or schools or psychologists. It’s a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/but-now-the-emphasis-has-shifted-to-making-it-people-have-surrendered/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There's a kind of emptiness at the center of life ... nothing to form your life on, or by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-s-a-kind-of-emptiness-at-the-center-of-life-nothing-to-form/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“I don't know how it all at once came to me to talk a lot, tell jokes, kick up, and suddenly have views. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-don-t-know-how-it-all-at-once-came-to-me-to-talk-a-lot-tell-jokes/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are times when the most practical thing is to lie down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-times-when-the-most-practical-thing-is-to-lie-down/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“For knowledge of death makes us wish to extend our lives at the expense of others. And this is the root of the struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/for-knowledge-of-death-makes-us-wish-to-extend-our-lives-at-the/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) [Explore all 464 Saul Bellow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## More Foreigners quotes > [Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is what Americans are and that is what always upsets the foreigner, who deals with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/americans-are-very-friendly-and-very-suspicious-that-is-what/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [Do you realize that in the past sixty years, the only foreigners the French have been able to drive out are American tourists?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/do-you-realize-that-in-the-past-sixty-years-the-only-foreigners-the/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [“I don't want foreigners involved in my business. Jinn are one thing but I draw the line at Americans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-willow-wilson/i-don-t-want-foreigners-involved-in-my-business-jinn-are-one-thing/) [G. Willow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-willow-wilson/) > [Nearly all the Gauls are of a lofty stature, white, and of ruddy complexion; terrible from the sternness of their eyes, very quarrelsome, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammianus-marcellinus/nearly-all-the-gauls-are-of-a-lofty-stature-white-and-of-ruddy/) [Ammianus Marcellinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammianus-marcellinus/) > [I'm getting less good at faking it. People in my family are noticing and asking what's wrong. My friends give me invitations to talk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-manning/i-m-getting-less-good-at-faking-it-people-in-my-family-are-noticing/) [Martha Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-manning/) > [Faith, faith, faith in ourselves, faith, faith in God, this is the secret of greatness.If you have faith in all the three hundred and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/faith-faith-faith-in-ourselves-faith-faith-in-god-this-is-the-secret/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Half of the time I don't know what they're talking about; their jokes seem to relate to a past that everyone but me has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/half-of-the-time-i-don-t-know-what-they-re-talking-about-their-jokes/) [Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/) > [If he were allowed contact with foreigners he would discover that they are creatures similar to himself and that most of what he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-he-were-allowed-contact-with-foreigners-he-would-discover-that/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [People love to hear the brag of the local boy, because they want him to be great, but the foreigner must deny that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/people-love-to-hear-the-brag-of-the-local-boy-because-they-want-him/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Tapi yang menyenangkan dalam sebuah perjalanan adalah menemukan diri kita sendiri; sebuah rumah yang sesungguhnya. Yang membuat kita tak akan merasa asing meski berada…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/windy-ariestanty/tapi-yang-menyenangkan-dalam-sebuah-perjalanan-adalah-menemukan-diri/) [Windy Ariestanty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/windy-ariestanty/) > [I first went to Barcelona in 1975 after university, and I stayed for three years. I learnt Catalan because that's what everyone speaks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-first-went-to-barcelona-in-1975-after-university-and-i-stayed-for/) [Colm Toibin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [We of alien looks or words must stick together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-sansom/we-of-alien-looks-or-words-must-stick-together/) [C.J. Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-sansom/) > [A foreigner is an individual who is considered either comic or sinister. When the victim of a disaster - preferably natural but sometimes political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ralston-saul/a-foreigner-is-an-individual-who-is-considered-either-comic-or/) [John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ralston-saul/) > [I agree with you, Mr. Chairman, that the working men are the basis of all governments, for the plain reason that they are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-agree-with-you-mr-chairman-that-the-working-men-are-the-basis-of/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Modern man is educated to understand foreign languages and misunderstand foreigners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/modern-man-is-educated-to-understand-foreign-languages-and/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) [Browse all 430 Foreigners quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreigners/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Americans find it hard to believe that foreigners are unalterably foreign, for they have seen generations of immigrants who became Americans. 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