Railroad Standard Time

I'm sure that most of you know that the title of this story refers to the 1883 adoption of a standardized national time that would enable railroad and telegraphs to be synchronized between different locations. Some argue that this adoption was a significant historical marker of modern progress within the U.S.

So...I'm wondering about the significance of the title of Frank Chin's story as well as the symbolic import of the watch given to him by his mother. Passed down from his grandfather, the protagonist weighs the meaning of this "inheritance." His fragmented thoughts lead us through his complicated sense of his history, largely shaped by his dual identity as both Chinese and American. Why is this "gift" so problematic for him?