Chinatowns were formed for many of the same reasons as other areas of large cities like the Irish areas in Boston and the little Italy section of North Beach. The immigrants were not accepted readily by Americans and needed a place to congregate with others who shared the same beliefs and traditions.
             Racism was visible in Jade Snow's life. I first noticed it in the very beginning of the book on page 51 when the family is moving into the basement. Her father "hired Negroes to chisel out part of the brick walls." The rest of the workers involved in the move did no harsh physical labor. Also, Jade experiences racism against herself when she goes to her new school. A boy named Richard harasses her by calling her "chinky." Jade Snow does not respond to him because she knows that she is smarter than he is and feels that he can not help his insensibility.
             The sex roles were divided in Jade Snow's culture. Little boys were celebrated more than girls were in families. Jade Snow's younger brother, Forgiveness from Heaven was given much attention and Jade Snow recalled that other female babies did not receive that kind of attention. Women did most of the cooking and cleaning and assisted the men whenever they could. Men were responsible for making most of the financial and family decisions. In the Wong family, the father gave the mother a lot of input on the family. He felt that an educated woman was of more use than one who was not. He said, "since sons and their education are of primary importance, we must have intelligent mothers. If nobody educates his daughters, how can we have intelligent mothers for our sons?"(14-15)
             Family was very important in the Chinese culture. A girl would always keep her maiden name. It would even go on her tombstone when she died. When saying names, the last name goes first to show family importance. Jade Snow's u
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