The Role of Emotion in Interior Chinatown
The use of emotion, or a lack thereof, is purposefully used to emphasize characters’ attitudes towards stereotypes in Interior Chinatown. Characters throughout the novel often feel flat and resigned to their circumstances. This is especially demonstrated by romantic relationships in the novel. For example, Ming-Chen Wu tells Dorothy “We don’t choose our circumstances. We will have to fall in love when we can. Stolen moments. Between jobs, between scenes” (155). One might expect Ming-Chen to be frustrated or impassioned about his inability to have his own love story, yet he remains stoically content with the hand he has been dealt in life. He accepts that an ardent love story is not in the cards for him. He’s okay with that.
Characters like Ming-Chen contrast with those who are more emotional and have higher aspirations. One such character is Karen. Though Karen embodies the Pretty Oriental Flower stereotype in Black and White, she dreams of a world in which her daughter can be more. She tells Willis “I just don’t want to be trapped” (178) and “There are other things worth pursuing, Willis. The world is out there, and it's big” (179). These passionate messages contrast with the general contentment most characters feel and encourage Willis to push for more in life.
Karen’s aspirations for her daughter translate to Phoebe, who works in conjunction with Karen to challenge Willis to be more. This is seen with Phoebe’s disinterest in Kung Fu, laughing at her dad when he suggests teaching her some moves. Willis finally realizes that there is more to life than generic stereotypes as he talks with Turner, grasping that “Kung Fu Guy is just another form of Generic Asian Man” (245) and admitting that he is partially to blame for willingly fitting himself into a societally-imposed box for so long.
Willis, a character who felt emotionless and submissive to his societal role for the majority of the novel, opens the final act by laughing with his daughter, the ultimate expression of love and happiness. This highlights the tonal differences from the opening pages of Act I, where Willis monotonously describes his status as Generic Asian Man, saying in life all one can do is “Take what you can get. Try to build a life. A life at the margin made from bit parts” (6). This juxtaposition exemplifies Willis’ character growth and concludes the novel on an optimistic tone.
I agree with the discussion surrounding emotion presented in this posting. I also noticed throughout the novel that most of the characters display a certain level of apathy. This is very intentional by Yu to display the feeling of disconnect the characters have towards the directions of their lives. Emotional apathy is displayed through Yu's cut-and-dry writing style in this novel. For example, "If you make it that far (hardly anyone does), you get stuck at Number One for a while and hope and pray for the light to find you" (Yu 11). This is how Willis describes the working environment, and it is a persistent general outlook throughout the novel. A certain level of hopelessness isn't necessarily displayed through the writing monologue/dialogue but is shown through a lack of emotion.
ReplyDeleteThe last paragraph in this discussion post made me think about how emotion changed at the end of the novel. Willis's connection with his daughter does spark this period of change within him, perhaps spurring him on to deliver his powerful monologue in the courtroom scene. It's interesting that although Willis Wu, throughout the novel, was generally apathetic towards his experiences, with a defined view of what he thought he wanted, it took an emotional connection with his daughter for him to see the world beyond what he viewed it to be.
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