Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Crazy Rich Asians, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Wealth and Absurdity
Marriage and Money
Family vs. Individuality
Chinese vs. Western Culture
Summary
Analysis
After Auntie Neena gives Rachel the full tour of Villa d’Oro, Rachel and Peik Lin return to the hotel for afternoon high tea. Over tea and delightful pastries, Rachel and Peik Lin discuss Colin. Rachel is shocked that he acts so modest for as wealthy as his family is, citing that he wanted to eat at a hawker center. Peik Lin explains that everyone loves hawker centers, and in Asia, the wealthy try not to stand out. Her family is different; Peik Lin’s grandfather was a bricklayer from China and a self-made man. The Khoos are in another league, as they’re at the top of the Forbes “Asia Rich List,” and those people always have more assets than what Forbes can verify.
Peik Lin is explicit here that wealthy folks in Singapore are normal in some big ways, such as in enjoying the same “national pastime” of frequenting hawker centers. Still, she acknowledges that there are differences between the ultrawealthy like Colin and Nick and the newly rich Mainland Chinese families like the Gohs. The Gohs and similar families don’t hide their wealth; the point is to stand out and flaunt the fact that they’ve made it. For the ultrawealthy, though, it’s essential to hide their true worth and seek out privacy. It’s also satisfying to note that Eddie isn’t ever going to make the “Asia Rich List”; he won’t ever be as wealthy as Colin.
Themes
Rachel’s cell phone rings. It’s Nick, calling from his tux fitting to invite Rachel to family dinner at Ah Ma’s tonight. It’ll just be some relatives, including Astrid. Peik Lin encourages Rachel to say yes. Then, Nick says that due to traffic, it’d be most convenient if Rachel would taxi to his grandmother’s house (Peik Lin mouths that she’ll drive Rachel). The address he gives is just “Tyersall Park,” though he tells her to look for two white pillars behind the Botanic Gardens. Peik Lin is intrigued. However, she insists on making sure Rachel is dressed appropriately first. She and Rachel decide on Rachel’s brown linen dress and heeled sandals, to which Rachel adds a silver bracelet and her pearl earrings, the only expensive jewelry she owns.
It’s an intriguing detail that Tyersall Park doesn’t have a standard street address. This implies that the house or apartment isn’t a part of the normal address system for some reason. Also, note that (for now) Peik Lin is perfectly happy to help make sure Rachel is dressed appropriately, in clothes and accessories that Rachel brought. This is one way Peik Lin shows Rachel respect; she demonstrates that she thinks Rachel’s clothes are just fine as-is. More broadly, though, Rachel’s clothes symbolize Rachel’s status as a middle-class American: she wears inexpensive basics and only has one nice piece of jewelry.
Themes
Peik Lin’s driver winds through back roads looking for Tyersall Avenue, but it doesn’t show up on his GPS. Peik Lin figures Nick’s grandma must live in a government housing complex. They finally turn onto the correct, overgrown street—and they come to the white pillars and a gate with a sign reading “Tyersall Park.” An Indian guard politely waves them through, and Peik Lin’s driver turns to the girls in shock: that was a Gurkha, one of the deadliest soldiers in the world. The car reaches another gate, which more Gurkha guards wave them through. At the end of a long driveway lined with palm trees, Rachel and Peik Lin gasp: ahead is a palace with luxury European cars in the driveway. Nick is on the steps. Peik Lin says she doesn’t know who Nick’s family is, but “these people are richer than God.”
Tyersall Park seems more intriguing by the minute. In addition to not having a standard address, it also doesn’t show up on GPS—which suggests that, perhaps, Tyersall Park and Ah Ma are simply above needing to adhere to standard address practices. This highlights Ah Ma’s power and her wealth, things that become apparent to Peik Lin as soon as she sees the building. Suggesting that the Youngs are “richer than God” indicates that Nick’s family aren’t just powerful; they are power—in Singapore, at least, they’re the ones in control.
Themes
