Last night through the wall I heard Abogee tell O-Ma that if we were in Korea, I would never talk back to him like I do. So how does he know? How can he predict what I’d be like? … The way Abogee talks, you’d think he had me mixed up with some other son.
-- Chan (Narration)  (One)

Importance: This quote, from the novel's first chapter, establishes the thematically central father-son conflict that defines much of the novel's action. Chan's comment here is a fairly accurate representation of his father's perspective, since Abogee defines Chan in terms related to what Abogee wants him to be, as opposed to who he actually is. This means that the comment is also a component of the book's thematically central consideration of defining identity, since Chan's choices over the course of the narrative, in relationship to his relationship with Abogee and otherwise, are almost entirely defined by...