Hsu as an Interloper
Early in the book, Hsu details how his father moved back to Taiwan in the 1990s to pursue better career prospects. For months at a time, Hsu and his mother would go back to Taiwan to visit. Back in Taiwan, Hsu describes how his father "grew younger...the humidity and food turned them into different people” (p. 28). Sitting together at dinner time, Hsu describes how he would feel like an "interloper" in their presence. By interloper, Hsu means someone who interrupts or is not welcome in a social setting. By comparing himself to such a figure, even in his own family, Hsu emphasizes the sense of cultural disconnect that exists between him and his parents. While they are happy to be back in Taiwan, Hsu feels as though he does not quite belong. This sense of dislocation is so strong that it makes him feel out of place even in his own family.
Records as Relics
Hsu pays particular attention to music throughout the book. For him, music is a key facet of one's cultural identity and sense of self. Hsu's father shares this interest in music, and the two spend hours together browsing in record stores. As Hsu sees it, music was a way for his father to connect with American culture. Thus he amasses a large collection of records by American musicians including Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles, and Bob Dylan. Yet when he decides to return to Taiwan, Hsu writes the his “father’s record collection began to seem like relics of an unfollowed path" (p. 28). Comparing these records to relics not only emphasizes their age – even their outdatedness – but also makes them seem mystical. While Hsu's father came to enjoy this American music, he was ultimately unable to forge a deeper connection to American culture and thus left his life there as "an unfollowed path."
Assimilation as a Race Towards a Horizon
In the description of his early life in the United States, Hsu addresses the concept of cultural assimilation. This is particularly evident in his descriptions of his father's musical tastes. While he was born in the United States, Hsu suggests that as the son of immigrants, he too had to undergo a process of assimilation into the culture of white America. As he writes, "there comes a moment for the immigrant’s child when you realize that you and your parents are assimilating at the same time... we were both sifting, store to store, for some possible future” (p. 29). Furthermore, he describes this process of assimilation as “a race toward a horizon...that wasn't fixed” (p. 29-30). The metaphor of assimilation as a journey to an unfixed horizon introduces a sense of futility and impossibility. Hsu suggests that as hard as he tries to become American, he will never quite arrive. Indeed, as he explains, "the ideal was ever shifting, and your accent would never be quite perfect" (p. 30). For this reason, Hsu comes to cultivate a sense of identity that is premised on independence, creativity, and free-thinking as opposed to whatever "the ideal" might be.
Kurt Cobain as a Guide
In a moving passage, Hsu describes the role that Kurt Cobain played in his own maturation. Hsu had discovered Cobain's band, Nirvana, when they were “a relatively obscure band from an unfancied part of the country" and felt a close connection to them because of this (p. 30). Shortly thereafter, Nirvana became one of the most popular bands in the world. Hsu describes how Cobain introduced him to a whole new world of music and culture. As Hsu writes, Cobain "led us down a trail, pointing us toward out-of-the-way landmarks. Casting about for those other territories became my reason for being.” Of course, this is to be understood metaphorically as Cobain did not literally lead Hsu down a trail. Instead, Hsu is gesturing toward the ways in which young people often look to figures like Cobain for inspiration and guidance. In a sense, Hsu suggests that Cobain helped lead him down the trail of adolescence into early adulthood. Stay True offers Hsu an emotionally-rich depiction of the difficulties of growing up and establishing a sense of self, and here the reader is prompted to think of the figures that played important roles in their own maturation.
Ken's Hometown as a Golden Place
Ken grew up outside of San Diego in the city of El Cajon, California. Hsu writes that when Ken talked about his hometown, “he made it sound like a singular, golden place. Close to the beach, perfect weather, the nicest people, the prettiest girl" (p. 46). As Hsu puts it bluntly, "it sounded hellish and generic to me” (p. 46). The simile comparing El Cajon to "a singular, golden place" emphasizes not only the incredible differences between Hsu and Ken and their respective values, but also the incredible positivity and joy that Ken radiates throughout the book. While it is not uncommon for people to dislike their hometown, Ken feels quite the opposite. So, while Hsu is more ironic and critical, he nonetheless comes to admire Ken's positive attitude. Indeed, reading the book, one gets the sense that Ken could find anywhere to be a "singular, golden place" (p. 46).
