level Up

I think the story deals with specific cultural values within greater American society.

"Level Up" is the story of an Asian-American boy who became obsessed with video game-playing. When he was a young boy, he was the only one among his peers who was not allowed to have money to play video games. It was a tradition among the Chinese culture to work hard and "eat much bitterness" during life. To Dennis' mother and father it was frivolous to waste money on playing video games. Not being able to join in with his friends in after-school game-playing was probably difficult for the young boy which could have led to his obsession.

It was also a tradition in Chinese culture to honor the wishes of family elders. Dennis' father felt like a failure much of his life because he failed to keep the promise to his father to become a doctor. Dennis' father transferred the guilt he felt over his failure to his own son who he pressured to become a doctor. When all the other kids were getting Nintendo Entertainment systems for Christmas, Dennis received a chemistry set. Had Dennis and his family lived in China rather than in America, he may not have felt that he was being treated so unfairly; but living in another culture, the difference in how his parents treated him as compared to his friends was stark.

Ishap, Dennis' friend in med school, was from an East Indian family. There was a long tradition of young people becoming surgeons in her family. She was expected to do the same. But unlike Dennis, Ishap felt happy to live up to that tradition. It was an element of her life and family that she embraced and felt proud of. And although it could be argued that Ishap was influenced or pressured by her culture, she did not reject it or feel she was being mistreated.