Introduction
From a cultural standpoint, the problem of self-identity has established several controversies. Culture shapes how and if people prioritize such characteristics as modesty, personality, courtesy, and confidence. On the other hand, identity, as a common phrase, refers to one’s concept of self that stems from any type of ownership in communities that share shared language, ideas, principles, mindset, customs, and lifestyles. The identity dilemma is accurately reflected in the short novel “The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu. It illustrates the identity issues brought about by the impact of two cultures. Liu’s work is full of Chinese tradition and is preoccupied with the identity issues of Jack, the character who grew up in both American and Chinese diverse cultures. The story also describes how Jack, born of a Chinese postal bride was delighted by his mother’s wizardry of origami creatures that came to life when she breathed into them. However, after mocked by his peers, he began to detest her for her ethnicity and culture. As per Ken Liu’s “The Paper Menagerie,” Jack’s identity crisis is driven by cultural disputes, American ideologies, and racial prejudice.
Cultural Conflict
Cultural problems result in a person’s inability to identify their own identity, resulting in an identity crisis. Cultural conflicts are mostly depicted in the novel by the clash between Jack’s Origami tiger and Mark’s Jurassic world toy. His mother built an origami creature as a play toy for him in the hopes that he would acquire Chinese identity (Liu 179). At first, Jack was quite satisfied with his toys, but when he competed and won against Mark’s star war toy, he never earned his admiration. According to Liu, Mark ripped Jack’s Origami and yelled, “Here’s your stupid cheap Chinese garbage,” (183). As per this interpretation, Mark displayed cultural tension and prejudice. Cultural conflict, according to Ching et al., can lead to an identity problem (473). This is true if one comes from a weak and sensitive ethnic heritage. Despite initially enjoying the Origami toys, Jack requested that the Star Wars toys be purchased to detach his Chinese identity and eliminate the imprint of Chinese culture from him. From this vantage point, Jack was experiencing an identity crisis in terms of which subculture was dominating over the other.
American Ideology
Identity dilemma is impacted by American ideologies and beliefs with regards to conservatism. Based on Jack’s concerns with Chinese heritage, he unavoidably approached his mother with ethnocentrism, biased perception of western people who detest collectivist countries and unilaterally and mythically depict them in their perspective (Liu 179). Jack’s favorite toys as a youngster were those paper creatures produced by his mother. Star Wars toys, on the other hand, were the most desirable toys in U.S. history. Even while the Origami creatures gave Jack a joyful upbringing, he coveted other American-style toys. As such, found in the dilemma of choosing between the Origami, the Chinese’s traditional toy, and the Mark’s star war toy, the American-style game, Jack developed cultural mix-up conservatism, resulting in identity dilemma. Furthermore, Ideologies and cultural orientations affect not just political allegiances, but also sociocultural endorsements (Campbell 551). Jack, in his view, agreed with the ideals of American society. As a result, when he saw that his personality was fragile based on the American culture, he instantly altered his perspective and began to scorn whatsoever activity was Chinese resulting in loss of conservatism, hence identify dilemma.
Racial Discrimination
Encounter to racial prejudice may have a long-term impact on the evolution of culture and identity dilemma. For example, in “The Paper Menagerie,” Liu narrates how Jack was depicted as “a little monster” with “slanty eyes and white face,” (181). Furthermore, Mark, his friend, insulted him by claiming that his Origami tiger was made of garbage. In this regard, because of his Chinese appearance, Jack was racially prejudiced against by his neighbors and friends, and other pupils at preschool. These embarrassments had greatly damaged young Jack, he came to despise his heritage, and gained an aggressive anxiety to gain the acceptance of Caucasians. In this regard, Jack lost his stand with regards to his true identity because of racial discrimination, hence identity dilemma. According to Galán et al. (4), race-based inequality is a continuing public health concern in the United States, expressed by large discrepancies in societal and bilateral physical aggression. Even though many minority ethnic adolescents display amazing endurance by relying on cultural and family virtues, recurrent interactions with systemic racism can result in considerable psychosocial impairment, commonly referred to as racial identity impasse.
Racial discrimination plays a role in the damage of self-recognition. According to Jack, his mother lost the self-recognition by claiming that she was just a product purchased from China by his father (Liu 182). In this regard, Jack despised his mother for selling herself like a good and service at an appropriate price. From this perspective, despite facing humiliation at school, he was not furious but ashamed of his mother for losing her dignity, consequently developing identity dilemma. Racist societal systems engender discriminatory cognitive structures, which lead to a loss of conviction and a weakened sense of self-recognition (Hänel 257). For example, by Jack not striving to comprehend his mother’s pains due to racism and rather siding with those who insulted her, it showed how prejudice towards Chinese in the U.S. had occupied his mind. Moreover, despite being subjected to racial bigotry; he nevertheless became a collaborator with racist friends, thus becoming trapped in an identity crisis as a result of his inconsistent self-recognition.
Conclusion
In inclusion, it is apparent that “The Paper Menagerie” centers on Jack’s increasing encounters, illuminating his distinctive predicament as a result of cultural interactions, American belief, and racial discernment. The development of a person’s awareness of their ethnic traditions starts at birth and is impacted by behaviors prominent at home and in the external environment. Identity, on the contrary, is distinguished as a component of social identification that relates explicitly to the ethnic groups to which the individual belongs. In the case of Jack, cultural clashes made it impossible for him to appreciate his true self. The influence of the U.S. dogma provoked him to pass judgment on traditional Chinese; and racial prejudice led him to hate himself, which disoriented his self-cognition. In this sense, listening to people’s prior unique traditions is essential for understanding the psychological essence of another culture. For example, for Jack to recover from his identity crisis and rebuild his bilingual culture, he must comprehend the core of Chinese culture in American contemporary society. This topic is important for uncovering an individual’s sense of nationalism and by building togetherness in a multicultural community.
Works Cited
Campbell, David E., et al. “Putting politics first: The Impact of Politics on American Religious and Secular Orientations.” American Journal of Political Science, vol. 62, no. 3, 2018, pp. 551-565. Web.
Ching, Yuerong, et al. “Challenges Facing Chinese International Students Studying in the United States.” Educational Research and Reviews, vol. 12, no. 8, 2017, pp. 473-482. Web.
Hänel, Hilkje C. “Epistemic Injustice and Recognition Theory: What We Owe to Refugees.” Migration, Recognition and Critical Theory, edited by Gottfried Schweiger, 2017, pp. 257-282.
Galán, Chardeé A., et al. “Exploration of Experiences and Perpetration of Identity-Based Bullying Among Adolescents by Race/Ethnicity and other Marginalized Identities.” JAMA Network Open, vol. 4, no. 7, 2021, pp. 1-24. Web.
Liu, Ken. The Paper Menagerie and other Stories. Saga Press, 2016.