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Dragon's Gate

 

             Dragon's Gate, by Laurence Yep, is about a young boy named Otter who lives in China, kills a Manchu soldier, and gets sent to San Francisco where his father and uncle are so he doesn't get caught and killed. In San Francisco, many men from China are building a railroad and the bosses over the Chinese men happen to be Westerners. Otter is often alienated by the Westerners in this book because he is not the same race as the Westerners and also because he is small and strong hearted. Otter, like his uncle, was aggressive towards the Westerners and didn't like that they didn't get treated like the other Westerners at the mountain. Though Otter is alienated through most part of this novel, he learns what he must do about it and does it to be accepted.
             The bosses over the Chinese men are Westerners. The Westerners are over the Chinese men so they could have complete control over what they do and to know what is going on with them. The Westerners assume that the Chinese men, especially Otter, are not smart, so they try to trick them by letting the Westerners receive more pay than them. They also assumed the Chinese men can't and won't do anything about them being treated unfairly, but the Westerners were wrong. The Chinese men rioted and some were not scared of getting whipped. Every assumption made by the Westerners, about the Chinese men, were proven to be false by the Chinese men.
             Otter is the main character that the Westerners alienate because he is only a boy and because he is Chinese. The Westerners were very hostile to him and tried their best to keep him down. The Westerners assumptions about him were also off. After he healed, after getting whipped, he caused riots for equal pay and working hours. Otters actions are what caused the Westerners to alienate him. The Westerners moral values were evil and could not be tolerated by Otter, let alone the whole Chinese crew. Otter proved them wrong when he did what the other Westerners nor other Chinese men, except his uncle, would not do and that is climb the mountain to save their people as well as the Westerners.


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