Old School By Tobias Wolff And American Born Chinese By Gene Luen Yang

Loneliness has the ability to substantially impact individuals as they are put in a unique experience that affects the way they try to shape their identities and influence their respective communities. In both "Old School" by Tobias Wolff and "American Born Chinese" by Gene Luen Yang, the characters' positions as outsiders grant them a distinctive perspective that sets them apart from the rest of their communities. By grappling with the conflicts that arise from their differences and feelings of loneliness, they undergo experiences that mold their identities which lead them to transformative change. As the characters attempt to overcome the obstacles that stem from their position, they strive to make an impact within their communities by embracing

This spurs his desire for acceptance and a sense of belonging which leads him to engage in acts that would become a conflict for himself in the long run. The primary conflict he faces is when he plagiarizes a story in a literary competition which would in turn lead to his expulsion from the school and revocation to attend Columbia University. The narrator plagiarizes with the hopes of gaining recognition and making his name known throughout the school. This problem causes the narrator to test his own integrity and honesty as he is forced to face the resulting consequences. In addition to this, the narrator’s new profound understanding of his personal integrity translates to the way he overcomes his conflicts as he creates opportunities for personal development and growth. After embarking on his new journey as a writer, he begins to take in his negative experiences and confront them with his own personal identity where he no longer obtains the position of an outsider. Things begin to come together for the narrator as he surprisingly receives an invitation to revisit his old school as a writer. Before he

Due to the cultural differences that set him apart, he struggles to develop a character that truly represents himself in a community where he feels like an outsider. His intense desire for acceptance results in him adjusting his behavior in the way he acts and appears. From perming his hair to refraining from eating dumplings, he is drawn towards the constant pressure to adhere to the American stereotypes. This initial conflict of not embracing his heritage became a further internal conflict when he adopts a disposition of a stereotypical American boy named Danny. However, this conflict molds Jin Wang’s identity as he learns the importance of embracing his heritage and being more self-aware. Trying to help Jin Wang understand the importance of identity, the Monkey King says, “I would have saved myself from five hundred years’ imprisonment beneath a mountain of rock had I only realized how good it is to be a monkey” (Yang 223). Gradually, Jin Wang was able to break free from societal norms and find his true self instead of one that isn’t him with the help of the Monkey King. He begins to embrace his American-Chinese identity as he accepts who he really is without conforming to societal expectations as he did before. Instead of holding fast to the American stereotypes, he now challenges them by helping those who