I turned to Mr. Gleason. He was chasing a pea around his plate. Several times he got it to the edge, but when he tried to pick it up with his chopsticks, it rolled back toward the center of the plate again. Finally he put down his chopsticks and picked up the pea with his fingers. He really did! A grown man!

4. It allows the narrator to see other people struggling with new cultures.

Explanation:

This allows the narrator to see other people struggling with new cultures. The entire event of the story revolves around Mr. Gleason not being able to pick up the round pea with his chopsticks. This was most likely due to him having very little to no practice using chopsticks because it is not part of his culture. Therefore, this task became very difficult and frustrating for him, up to the point where he decided to abandon the use of chopsticks and use his fingers which were much easier. Therefore, the entire event led to the resolution of the frustration and struggle that Mr. Gleason had with the new culture.