Read this passage from Dragonwings by Laurence Yep. During those trips alone among the demons, Father and I learned things about one another; and more, we learned about being a father and a son. Every trip was an adventure into a strange, fearful city; and yet I felt safe by my father's side. Anyone who could laugh and tell stories and jokes and sing while he was alone among the demons must know what he was doing. In my own mind, Father was the embodiment of Uncle's superior man. Only once during all those trips did we have any trouble. Some demon boys were out in the street. They stooped as if to pick up things to throw, and Father whispered to me to sit up straight and not show I was afraid. The demon boys called out some things, but we ignored them until we had passed them by. A rock whizzed by my ear and hit Red Rabbit in the side. He snorted, but plodded on as steadily as before. How does this passage show the types of problems Chinese immigrants faced in the early 1900s? The boys are throwing rocks at the narrator and his father because they are Chinese. The narrator calls the boys demons instead of calling them Americans. The horse has a traditional Chinese name, Red Rabbit, instead of an American name. The narrator and his father ignore the boys instead of confronting them for their actions.
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