se heritage. The daughter, on the other hand, is exercising her human right to live as a person free of the control of another, even of her father or mother.
Of course, the problem need not be as stark as a choice between one or the other. Just because Wong has left her father's patriarchal oppression, this does not mean she will do nothing to preserve the Chinese culture in her life. To her father and mother, however, her decision means that she has forever lost any connection with that Chinese culture.
We see again and again in her story evidence that her parents' views are so inflexible that they cannot even consider an alternative to their way of life: "There was no thought that dim, airless quarters were terrible conditions for living and working" (Wong 49); "It never occurred to that kind of parent to be friends with their children on common ground" (Wong 51); "My mother heard the commotion and joined my father to face me; both appeared shocked and incredulous" (Wong 55).
Obviously, Wong's parents had no idea that their obedient daughter was about to break out of the patriarchal prison which they had carefully constructed around her. At the same time, to be fair to her parents, they had built this prison because that is all they knew to do. Their cultural experience in China had taught them no other way to raise a daughter.
On the other hand, the sons of Chinese immigrants, especially the elder son, enjoyed many rights and privileges which females did not enjoy. Wong herself had little idea of an alternative way of life before she began to attend junior college and bring in a little income separate from her family's business. The parents' experience taught them that tight control over the family, no displays of affection, a tight connection between family and work life, emphasis on the Chinese language and culture, and keeping females in a secondary position, all contributed to the survival and cohesion of the f...