The story of the Chang family in America is the story of a family coming to terms with the pride and humility needed to navigate a modern society. Ralph is a prideful man, and he is contrasted with his more humble sister. The way their tendencies dictate their futures is evident, but they are not always the ones who suffer for or benefit from their actions. Occasionally, the perils of pride or the benefits of humility are inflicted on other people.

Ralph is proud. He leaves China to step out of his father’s shadow and make a name for himself. He devotes himself to study and devises a list of rules that will lead to success. The list is abandoned very quickly when he falls in love with a receptionist named Cammy. Ralph allows himself to be distracted and his standards slip. His pride leads him to resent others’ success. He fixates on other people and becomes jealous, too proud to admit that he has brought about his own failure. He does eventually succeed with the help of others like Henry Chao, but he refuses to acknowledge their role in his success. Later, Ralph goes into business and gets scammed by Grover.