A sheet of paper can wield more power than an army. In the novel All That Matters by Wayson Choy the power of paper is described as a double-edged sword; where it acts both as a catalyst for change and opportunity, but also as a tool to imprison and constrain individuals. While paper “represents a significant tool of diasporic mobility,” says literary critic Alena Chercover in her analysis of Wayson Choy’s All That Matters, she argues that there is a significant trade-off in its ability to facilitate “survival in diaspora, [as] often comes with a high price” (12). This toll that results from crossing “national, ethnic, gender, and class boundaries” (Chercover 12) seems to weigh most heavily on immigrant women. Immigration and the documents that facilitate it tend to foster positive outcomes for males, however, for many immigrant women, “ghost documents facilitate the enslavement of Chinese women rather than freeing them from the restrictions of their home or host land” (Chercover 12 ). . The stepmother character exemplifies how her "passage across national borders comes at the expense of her feminine agency, requiring the confinement of her body in exchange" (Chercover 13). These assimilation struggles are revealed in Choy's writings, as he draws on his own experiences to provide vivid images and insight into the emotions experienced by immigrants. In her analysis of Wayson Choy's works, literary critic Deborah Madsen writes, "growing up in Vancouver's Chinatown was instrumental in shaping Choy's writing" (101). Madsen explains that “the immigrant condition of failure to belong, whether to the nation of ethnic origin or to that of residence” (101) is a recurring theme in Choy's novels as a result of his own experiences. Madse...... middle of paper...... women from all over the world who immigrate to new countries. The negative effects of the card are still common in our immigration system today, with issues such as “mail order brides” and human trafficking, and are especially problematic for many immigrant women struggling to find their voice in a new nation. The weight of paper is ultimately underestimated and overlooked because it is easy to overlook a paper document, but it is this tragic flaw that often results in the enslavement of women. Works Cited Chercover, Alena. ““His Paper Family Knew Their Place”: Diasporic Space in Wayson Choy’s All That Matters.” Postcolonial text 6.3 (2011): n. page. Network. February 25, 2014.Choy, Wayson. Everything that matters. Toronto: Anchor, 2005. PrintMadsen, Deborah L. “Mo No Boy, the Negative Rhetoric of the Nation in the Work of Wayson Choy.” West Coast Line 42.3 (2008): 100-111. Press.