Assimilation and Being an American

 Willis Wu asks, “[w]ho gets to be an American? What does an American look like” (251)? Why is “an Asian man . . . so hard to assimilate” (250)? How does Yu answer such questions?

Older Brother delivers a powerful monologue describing the challenges Asian Americans face in film, in immigrant culture, and generally in American life. Asians never fit into the traditional story of America, putting them in a unique position which Older Brother argues becomes internalized for Asian Americans. “You somehow feel that your oppression, because it does not include the original American sin-of slavery – that it will never add up to something equivalent…your oppression is second-class” Older Brother states (233). He continues in his monologue, stating, “this is it. The root of it all. The real history of yellow people in America. Two hundred years of being perpetual foreigners” (238). He argues that Asians don’t get to look like Americans because they have always been considered foreigners to whites and even other minority groups. Even though Asian Americans have lived in America for centuries, they still do not get the reward of being considered American. 

Throughout the novel, Older Brother exemplifies the problem of assimilation and the model minority phenomenon. In the beginning, Older Brother exists as an almost mythical being with the perfect balance of assimilated and authentic. Older Brother’s character exemplifies the point that perfect Asian assimilation into American culture is simply impossible and unattainable. It is so difficult for the Asian American to assimilate because there was no place for him in the original story of America, and attempting to create a place after years of legislative exclusion and exclusion from the narrative is essentially impossible. To begin to assimilate, Asian Americans cling to already utilized roles in American society, such as Old Asian Man or Generic Asian Man. Although these roles seem to provide the only solution available for solving the problem of Asian assimilation, they are essentially black holes leading to nowhere. The roles don’t allow Asian Americans to “climb the latter” or assimilate more simply into American culture. Instead, they restrain Asians. Roles are essentially a pathway to a state of limbo, but they have always seemed to be the only possible way for assimilation. This in itself is the problem. 

Yu utilizes the screenplay format to his advantage in answering these questions. The screenplay format allows Yu to hold a discussion about complex topics in a rather simplified manner. With the screenplay format, the characters can be blunt and straightforward. The readers can clearly see the reactions from Turner, Green, Karen Lee, etc.