Chapter 2—Pages 137-161 Summary

Wang Yuan arrives in America at age 20, full of dreams, unsettled feelings and incomplete plans. He lived a privileged life in China, thought he does not recognize it. There someone always took care of his needs, and now he stands on the shores of America totally on his own. He plans on going to school for six years to get his degree and then to return to his homeland, but other than that, he has no plan and no place to live.

The beauty and strangeness of this new country amazes Yuan. Life in America is different. By the second day, he experiences prejudice when a white man accidentally takes his hat and walks out of a diner. Yuan trails after the man and points out the error. The man says to words Yuan does not recognize...