American Paper Son: A chinese immigrant in the midwest - Book Report/Review Example

Such a story is woven in the life of Wayne Hung Wong, whose name back in China was Mar Ying Wing, as he described it in his memoir American Paper Son: A Chinese Immigrant in the Midwest. Reading the book can give the reader a vivid picture of what is was to be like as an illegal immigrant through Wong’s eyes during the 1930’s onwards, trying to live and blend in an American society quite far from the East Coast, staying true to his Chinese roots by visiting his homeland, and eventually passing on his ancestors’ legacy to his own children while letting them be as integrated to the society as possible.

The book is written as the author’s account of what he had experienced before and after immigrating to the U.S. Wong’s family is rather affluent due to the businesses of his great-grandfather and grandfather, but what set his father and his self apart from other Chinese immigrants is that while the other immigrants wanted to escape the poverty in China, the Wongs had the wish of having an improved life in the U.S. compared to what they had back in China. This is attributed by Wong to his father’s exposure to modern conveniences, and the idea that the U.S. is a mountain of gold and fortune, which they and other Chinese called “Gum Saan, or Gold Mountain” (Wong 32).

Finally, Wong’s real father was able to pay for him to have a slot as a son of a cousin working as a merchant in the U.S., thus becoming a paper son, which is described as a “Chinese man who resorted to a fraudulent scheme that admitted them to the United States in spite of the exclusionary laws barring Chinese immigration’ (Wong 125). In a sense, Wong was a merchant’s “son” on paper, but not biologically. After memorizing the necessary information to pass the immigrant screening and getting his citizenship, Wong traveled to Wichita, Kansas and served as an assistant then a cook along with his “paper brother” in the restaurant that his “paper father” and real father worked in.

He was also able to finish elementary and start high school but after learning that those that would choose to get drafted during the Second World War can receive “instruction at the Mechanic Learner Training School” (Wong 47) , Wong immediately sent a letter to apply as a member of the corps. He became a member of the 987th Signals Operation Company, which was the only troop that fully consisted of Chinese-Americans, and operated from Yunnan in China up to the Indochina border. After the war, Wong visited his family in Guangdong, got married to his wife under Chinese traditions, then got married again under the Christian church in order for her to gain entry in the U.S. as a war bride under the “1945 War Brides Act, which allowed spouses and children of U.S. citizens to gain visas during the next three years” (Wong 151).

Along with his young wife, Wong started a family and business, accruing assets steadily through the years, and finally winning his American citizenship in 1964 after professing himself to be a paper son. The wealth that Wong was able to acquire was able to sustain his family’s visits to China and giving support to his relatives there, as well as being able to donate to several institutions. After several decades, his narrative was