China
China ends up being something that Ralph remembers back to, like he remembers his own name as if it were trivia. "Lai Fu" is far from trivia; as a name, it represents Ralph's commitment to success, to fighting for his destiny. The damage comes from the fact that in his Chinese culture, the norms were to be stern and cold to children until they succeed, so Ralph wrongly associates the beauty and richness of his Chinese childhood with a paradise that he can not attain. China represents his state of bliss, but since his experience China is broken by his unloving parents, he has a hard time adjusting to the changes that American life brings.
New York, pre-Theresa
Before he encounters Theresa, New York represents a kind of hell to Ralph. He doesn't feel comfortable with the language or customs of this place, and no matter where he goes, he is treated with relentless scrutiny and judgment. Why? Because as a Chinese person in a newly xenophobic country, he deals with people who believe he is Japanese, an ethnicity whom Americans hated so profusely that they put them Japanese Americans in camps. That is not a happy, healthy environment for Ralph to deal with his mommy and daddy issues, and his new change in fate.
New York, post-Theresa
Ralph has a completely new opinion of New York after he finds his sister. Having been exiled in the Big Apple was more torturous than he could endure, but right when he needed a sign most, his own flesh and blood arrives to help him, the same family he felt he'd been separated from forever. Now, New York represents a kind of battlefield, not an all out apocalypse, but rather, it is a chess board, where together, three family members, Ralph, Theresa, and Helen, all get to experience life in New York alone, then they return to a happy little den where they share their stories, and that adds a layer of peace to their difficult lives.
Connecticut
Connecticut represents something in the novel, and it's fabulous mansions represent something about Ralph's life. He is reaching for the highest rung of society he can imagine. You know who is living better than the rich businessmen in New York City? Perhaps it is the people who have retired to unimaginable paradise, enjoying their wealth in the communities of Connecticut. That's what Ralph perceives of the situation at least, and the reader should view this as a combination of his utopian imagination and his interest in moving.
