The theme addressed in this episode is being a minority in a community where the majority race is White. This is addressed in a few different ways. First, Louis, the father, decides that the reason his restaurant isn’t doing well is that he, a Taiwanese man, is the host and greets people rather than a White person. This is definitely relevant in a world where many people tend to see White people as safe while other races are seen for stereotypes.

Next, in school, Eddie is the only Asian kid in school and at lunch he is exiled because the meal his mom packed for him smells funny to the White kids. Having immigrant parents can cause children to stand out in school. Some kids can be embarrassed by not fitting in to mainstream culture. In Eddie’s case, he decides that to fit in he needs to buy Lunchables for his meal because that is what everybody else has.

The struggle of being a minority continues when Eddie gets called a racial slur by the only Black kid in school. The Black kid seems to have called him this because he seemed mad that Eddie would have the opportunity to fit in with the White kids before him.

Being a minority in a majority White community definitely seems like it will be a major theme throughout Fresh Off the Boat. It seems like it will follow their struggles and triumphs within the community. Both Eddie and Louis seem like they are willing to conform to White culture in order to succeed in their fields. Jessica, however, seems like she misses living in Chinatown in DC and doesn’t want to fit in as much with the White woman in the neighborhood. At the end of the day, the whole family still is proud of who they are. They stick up for Eddie when he gets in the fight after being called a racial slur. They won’t forget their background.