Comparing Paper Menagerie And The Fall Of A City

The contrast in themes between “Paper Menagerie” and “The Fall of a City”

The bildungsroman issues are present in most stories today. Stories with completely different premises can be connected by these issues. This topic is usually used to further character development and show how conflict can change characters. Throughout both “Paper Menagerie '' by Ken Liu, and, “The Fall of a City '' by Alden Nowlan, the bildungsroman themes of discrimination and adult influence are the driving forces that result in the characters coming of age.

The theme of discrimination was the initial spark which initiated the growth of the characters. In “Paper Menagerie” the main character Jack experiences discrimination from his peers, which results in him changing

In both stories, the behaviour and presence of parental figures are what result in how the characters respond to discrimination. After experiencing discrimination and confronting his parents about the name-calling he experienced, Jack’s father responds by attempting to change his wife's behaviour, instead of addressing his son’s feelings which is shown by him saying, "‘You have to’ [...] ‘I've been too easy on you. Jack needs to fit in’"(Liu 4). Instead of attempting to help his son get through the discrimination he was experiencing, Jack’s father rolls over and accepts the fact that the only way Jack will be happy will be to fit in by adopting western culture. By allowing young and immature Jack to dictate how the family behaves, he is permitting and indirectly influencing Jack’s behaviour and personality. If the father took a more strict approach to deal with his son's bullying, Jack could have matured past a need to fit in, and instead embrace his culture. Ultimately, the way that Jack’s father decides to handle his son’s discrimination, influenced Jack and his identity. On the other hand, the adult influence experienced by Teddy is much more direct. Instead of being influenced by an adult's lack of action, Teddy was directly influenced during the altercation with his uncle. The ridicule Teddy experiences is what results in a change in mentality. This is shown in paragraph 53 where it states, “The city was as he had left it. Yet everything had changed. Always before when he had come here, his flesh had tingled, his eyes had shone with excitement. Now there was only a taste like that of sour milk” (Nowlan 4). After being the victim of ridicule by an adult parental figure, Teddy's perspective on his kingdom completely shifted. The behaviour of Teddy’s uncle influenced how Teddy perceived his passion and