Nature gives us our parents, our ancestors, our gender, skin tone, hair color and texture, and facial features. At birth, we become part of a group: friends, society, and country of origin. Our family's economic situation and status add more to our identity. Then nurture gives us language, traditions, and values.
In "Crazy Rich Asians," author Kevin Kwan's characters happen to be Asian but have different levels of wealth and different parenting. Nicholas Young was born into a very rich family with great status going back many generations. Rachel Chu was born into a family of more modest means and knows only a part of her ancestry. Both are educated, leading successful lives in America, and are "almost engaged" to each other.
At the start of the novel is the family tree of Nicholas which shows the multiple generations. As the story progresses, these characters come to life, revealing much in common but with many differences. When Nicholas takes Rachel to visit his extended family in Singapore, she experiences serious culture shock because he gave her no advanced preparation of what to expect. As she meets the family, she witnesses their crazy rich lifestyle, traditions, and behaviors.
We "modern" Americans, as do other cultures around the world, believe that our own lives make the most sense and find it difficult to understand "others." As we broaden our experience, we can better understand a different way of life but usually still prefer our own.
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