In Ken Liu’s short story “The Paper Menagerie,” Jack’s identity changes and develops through the use of symbols, dialogues, and actions.

 

In Ken Liu’s short story, “The Paper Menagerie,” the setting emphasizes the disconnection between the protagonist Jack and his mother. Specifically, living in the United States resulted in a young Chinese-American boy, Jack, to grow apart from his mom’s Chinese culture. For example, when Jack and his family first moved into a new house, their neighbors claimed, “The child looks unfinished. Slanty eyes, white-faced. A little monster… That doesn’t sound very Chinesey.” This quote may have led Jack to think that his Chinese identity isolated him from society, eventually leading to hatred towards his mother and the Chinese part of life. In addition, when Jack’s friend, Mark, visited him, Mark stated, “That doesn’t look like a tiger at all. Your Mom makes toys for you from trash?… I had never thought of Laohu as trash. But looking at him now, he was really just a piece of wrapping paper.” Again, Jack’s surrounding people are mocking him about his Chinese identity. Therefore, Jack may have felt “annoyed,” leading to disconnection with his mother.