why does it matter? (Baked Beans and Burnt Toast)

 All of the short stories in 'Growing Up Asian in Australia' have the same motifs, this being belonging and identity.  "Baked Beans and Burnt Toast" displays the same major motifs represented throughout the whole book, the general outline of the story being about the author returning the Hong Kong after growing up in Australia being called a banana or ABC (Australian born Chinese). The author experiences Hong Kong for the first time and has flashbacks to how discriminatory people were in her childhood and this can be summed up in one quote "of all the Aussies who've enquired, 'Why don't you go back to where you came from?' down the years. Well, I'm back now. Back to a place I've never been to before. Happy?" this quote describes the disgust of prejudice the author despises from the many preconceived ideologies. This story represents the sense of identity second generation immigrants feel when making the transition between immigrant and Australian this can be seen in the discussion with Pete. This can be seen when the author describes the harsh differences Hong Kong is compared to Australia and how it's "like a slap in the face that makes you feel good" this describes how shocking Hong Kong is while exhilarating.

The title "Baked Beans and Burnt Toast" is juxtaposed to the strange country the author experiences highlighting how different she is compared to her 'home country'. This highlights the motif of belonging and sense of identity that is demonstrated throughout the book. Overall the story is describes the hardships of racism that the author experiences and how she feels that she is Australian rather than Chinese this can be seen when she describes herself as an ABC or banana, this can be seen through the extended anecdote describing her first day at school and the inherited racism the teacher has towards her asking whether she speaks English. Throughout the entire story an extended metaphor can be seen involving loyalty by using dogs, this can be seen when the author describes Peter "a stray dog that follows you around all day. You shoo it away, throw rocks at it, ignore it, but it would always be back" and "It's bit of a talking dog thing, isn't it?" these quotes use the stereotype of how dogs will always find their owner this is demonstrated when after many years the author finds Peter the "stray dog".