Why does Yep feel like an outsider?

Yep feels like an outsider for lots of reasons. For one thing, as a Chinese American he does not feel completely accepted in society. No matter where he goes or what he does, he never seems to fit in anywhere. Yep was raised in a predominantly black neighborhood; at the same time, he is too American to fit easily into Chinatown and too Chinese to fit in anywhere else. There is also the inevitable generation gap between himself and his hardworking immigrant parents. Yep's parents spend every hour that God sends running a grocery store, which leaves little time for them to devote to their son. Because Yep cannot speak Chinese, he is unable to connect with his grandmother, Marie Lee, who leads a traditional Chinese lifestyle. It is no wonder that Yep feels like such an outsider.