In Ken Liu’s short story “The Paper Menagerie,” Jack’s identity changes and develops by building up conflict and setting.
In Ken Liu’s short story “The Paper Menagerie, “The Protagonist, Jack, changes his thoughts about his mother after growing up and meeting new people. Before, when he was young, he had never come across issues of racism until he moved and made new friends. He was ashamed of his identity, his”Chink face,” “cheap Chinese garbage,” and his Chinese mother. All he wanted to do was to fit into the American background, trying to get rid of every piece of scattered Chinese culture on him. As time passes, when he finally accepts the culture, remorse welled up all the “mistakes” he made in the past years, but it is always too late—finally knowing how to cherish when losing it first.