In Ken Liu’s short story “The Paper Menagerie,” Jack’s identity changes and develops through the use of symbolism, character’s actions, and third-person point of view.

In Ken Liu’s short story “The Paper Menagerie,” the actions of multiple characters emphasizes the reason Jack is struggling when accepting his mother’s culture. In the beginning, Jack’s neighbors said: “That doesn’t sound very Chinesey” (Liu 38) when he told them his name, making it clear that people in the community are stereotypical. The diction in this response guides Jack to think that his Chinese culture is causing him to not fit into the community. Not only are adults using his Chinese culture to comment about him, but it is also shown when Jack’s paper tiger broke Mark’s toy, and in response, Mark punched him then said: “Here’s your stupid cheap Chinese garbage” (55). The tone of Mark’s voice saying “stupid Chinese garbage” emphasizes that people his age are also using his ethnicity as an insult, so it causes Mark to dislike his culture even more in a western community. In addition, Jack’s mother keeps talking to him in Chinese causing him to dislike his mother’s culture even more because he wants to fit into the western community. The repetition of this leads strengthens Jack’s thoughts towards Chinese culture.