What metaphors are used in China Men by Maxine Hong Kingston?

In The Adventures of Lo Bun Sun... Lo Bun Son is, of course, the eponymous character from Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, Lo Bun Sun being a minor pronunciation variant of Robinson. In Chinese, "Lo Bun Sun" has many possible subtleties of meaning, but the author's preferred rendering means Naked Toiling Mule, while Sing Kay Ng represents Friday. The classic story is heavily summarized but remains fundamentally true to the original tale. This provides a delightful interlude in the narrative and also links the text tightly with Western literature and experience.

It is interesting to note how aptly the life of Robinson Crusoe, as Lo Bun Sun, is allegorical to the experiences of most, if not all, of the Chinese men and women presented in the text. Lo Bun Sun is stranded on a deserted island far from home, which serves as a metaphor for emigrating from China to the United States of America.