The balance that the playwright, Lauren Yee, strikes between the underlying dark subjects and the light, humorous nature of the play enables her and the audience to transcend stereotypes and fight for an identity. The irony with which Yee crafts the play through her language in the dialogue and stage directions, particularly in Scene 2, allows us to explore the themes of identity, or the lack thereof, of this Chinese-American home and reflect on our own identities. In Scene 2, Jinquiang, or J, is introduced as “the Chinese Man,” which is ironic given that the entire Wong family is also Chinese-American (or at least we think they are until the plot twist and discovering that both Desdemona and Upton are adopted). Desdemona also asks “Who’s that?…The Asian guy,” referring again to Jinquiang despite the fact that she and the other three of her family members are also Asian. (page 9)
The stage directions labeling J as “the Chinese Man” and Desdemona’s own language create two distinct senses of a lack of identity for the Wong family. The stage directions portray an objetified view that the Wong family has become so Americanized that they can no longer be identified with their cultural roots or ancestors. They have been displaced both by geographical and by mental processes that have transformed their mindset to reflect their dismisall of their own identity. Desdemona failing to recognzie herself as an Asian or Asian-American adds an additional dimension to the play in that not only is the Wong family perceived to not be “Asian enough,” but they are also misguided by their own identities.
Upton says, “Just call him J,” in Scene 2 (page 10). This is a moment that many audience members may find offensive, and it is a moment that resonated with me. As children of immigrants, we often have complicated names and Asian-Americans are not the only group that has faced this part of the immigrant experience. We have been in the position of sitting in a classroom, dreading for our name to be called. We know the familiar feeling of our teacher standing at the front of the room, squinting at the attendance list, and knowing that it is our name they are struggling to pronounce. Our names are a part of our identity. At times, it is difficult not to hold resentment towards our name, and thereby our culture, heritage, and identity. We long for names that are easier to pronounce and ones that don’t reveal our past just by the combination of letters. We long for names that can’t be ridiculed, names that are pronounceable, names that are American.
Simultaneously, this scene of meeting Jinquiang and calling him J to make it easier for the Wong family to pronounce is also comical. Cutting Jinquiang’s name short represents stripping him of his identity, even though he is the most confident and least confused about his identity. He is very clearly “the Chinese man.” Desdemona and Upton have the longest names of all the characters, yet they are the least aware of their own identities. In this ironic way, it is as though Desdemona and Upton, and their parents, are projecting their own insecurities onto Jinquiang, but he is not unaffected by it because he cannot understand them anyway. In a way, Jinquiang lives in his own world. He continues his journey and aspirations of becoming a dancer who can communicate to everyone, regardless of the language they speak, breaking stereotypes along the way through humorous jokes about his lack of calculus skills. This lighthearted aspect of the play allows for Yee to convey her point about the assimilation tactics of Americans, of great-grandchildren of immigrants, while maintaining a subplot that is lighter and reflects immigrants’ ability to continue dreaming in a world where they are dehumanized.
Looking at my own life, I try to implement Jinquiang’s attitude towards the world, especially the American one, in order to make sense of my identity amidst a sea of unknown. People play games with my last name, trying to pronounce it correctly and others race to get it right first. For me, it is a moment of joy rather than a moment of resentment. I smile, I fight the urge to lower my gaze when teachers stumble upon my name, I break it down into Peace-a-ref-ski. I spell it out.
The end of the play brings a sort of resolution for the Wong family when Grace finds out that she is pregnant. She will finally have someone to look after and someone who needs her. She cannot come with Jinquiang because she knows exactly where she needs to be and what she needs to be. She is discovering a new identity for herself, which symbolizes everyone else’s ability to finally become who they are. Years of splintering self-hatred rest in the palms of the Wong family, giving them the power to transform it into acceptance.
I liked how you cited specific examples with line numbers from the play. This helps to reader have more context. I completely agree with your argument as well!
I like how you were able to talk about the irony of the Wong family being Chinese American but not being able to speak Chinese. It goes to show how Americanized they have become that they have lost the Chinese culture that they were meant to have within themselves.
I especially resonated with the part where you mentioned how we dread the calling out names from the attendance sheet because I know that they will mess up my name and I would have to correct them. At those times, just like you said, I really wished I had a more common name that was easier to pronounce.
I liked how you mentioned that the Wong family is so Americanized that they struggle to connect with their cultural roots. This was especially evident in the way that they treated those around them and also had an effect on the way that they perceived themselves.