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David M Brittain Jr.
Prof. Laughlin
Eng. Comp. II
Nov. 27, 2011
Draft 6
Trying to Find China Town,
Home and Where We Belong
Who are we? Where do we belong? As human beings we all possess a need to belong amongst
others, we have a self-imposed requirement to define who we are, so we create groups within groups
within groups, so that we may all have a place, a home, a standing amongst others. We classify
ourselves by our hobbies, interests, and activities, by our careers or lack thereof. We group ourselves by
our preferred style of clothing, music, and sexual preference. Often we are bonded to other human
beings “…who share a national, racial, linguistic, or religious heritage” (Encarta). We call these bonds
ethnics. What does this mean? Is our ethnics defined by genetics? Our communities? Or how we were
raised? We will explore these questions as we investigate how the characters, in the play Trying to Find
Chinatown, by David Henry Hwang, view the expectations and qualifications that make someone a
member of an ethnic society and how this influences the way they view their relationship.
“If genes don’t determine race, what does?” (Ronnie 1828). When people discuss ethnics they
most commonly discuss ancestry, as defined by genetics, or heredity. Ronnie views a person’s ethnic’s
to be determined by the genes passed down from biological parents to their children. It’s been proven
that genes provide us with our skin tone and hair and eye color. Through sarcastic comments like “Yeah.
It’s called ‘You white’” and “Even though you’re blond and blue-eyed” (1828) Ronnie makes it clear that
genetics, to him, is an expected qualifying piece of ethnicity. Due to this belief Ronnie sees Benjamin as
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just another person passing through, as someone with whom he shares no connection. He sees genes as
an important factor in defining ethnics, but are genetics needed to define a person’s ethnical society?
“Well, you can’t judge my race by my genetic heritage alone” (Benjamin 1828). As an adopted
white male it is obvious Benjamin’s claim of Asian ethnicity cannot come from genetics. Yet without the
look of Asian descent, he still fell victim to racial hatred “when the white kids chased [him] home yelling,
‘Gook! Chink! Slant-eyes!’” (1827). Even though he looks white, these children obviously recognized him
to be of oriental ethnicity. His views about his race are not always shared, and often he feels that “a
society wedded to racial constructs constantly forces [him] to explain [his] very existence” (1828).
Benjamin holds true to the belief that his ethnic society is that of an Asian-American. He determines that
Ronnie and he share a common bond, through similar ethnics that are not defined by genetics. If it’s
possible to qualify oneself within a certain race without genetics, than how might ethnics be defined.
Might our ethnicity come from our communities?
“I dunno what community you’re talking about, but it sure as hell not mine” (Ronnie 1828).
Often we define our ethnics by our race related communities such as an Asian might feel Chinatown is
their community. For Ronnie sharing a common community is not a qualifying aspect of ethnicity. He
feels no connection to Benjamin despite the fact that they share a common community, America. To
him “Those places don’t tell you a thing about who [he is]” (1828). Obviously Ronnie feels people, like
Benjamin, should not expect or qualify his ethnic group by where he lives or what community he belong
to. But can ethnics be defined by our communities?
“When I finally found Doyers Street, … I felt immediately that I had entered a world where all
things were finally familiar” (Benjamin 1829). A place Benjamin had never been before instantly became
like home, like his community. For him common race or his belief that he shares a common race,
instantly bonds or qualifies him as a member of the community. Instantly bonds him to Ronnie. Until his
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arrival in Chinatown he was “…just trying to find what [other Asians] already [had],” “a home, [a
community]” (1828). Clearly Benjamin qualifies his ethnicity by a racially connected community, or
home, in the world. He claims to be of not only Asian but American ethnicity as well. We are left with
the belief that he feels he is American because of his views about community and his place here in
America. As humans we can define our ethnic group by our biological heritage, like Ronnie, or our
community, like Benjamin, or possibly both or neither. How we are raised, our upbringing, plays an
important role in who we become, but can our ethnicity be determined by the histories and traditions in
which we learned during upbringing?
“What can I say if the banging of a gong or the clinking of a pickax on the Transcontinental
Railroad fails to move me…” (Ronnie 1829). Often people realize they belong within a specific ethnic
group by how their traditions and history reaches out to them. Ronnie Chang, although Asian, definitely
does not have any emotional connection to his upbringing with Asian traditions and history, he “…read
all those Asian identity books… [and] folks,[like Benjamin] … act like that means something.”(1828)
Instead his heart is held by the traditions and history of the violin. “…Could any legacy be more rich,
more crowded with mythology and heroes to inspire pride?” (1829). His ethnicity is clearly not defined
by his Asian histories and traditions, but rather by linguistics, or more specifically, his sharing of the
language of the violin with other violinists. So traditions and racial history passed down to us are not
always an expectation in how we define ethnics, but can they be viewed as qualifications of our
ethnicity?
“You see, I was adopted by Chinese-American parents at birth. So clearly, I’m an AsianAmerican” (Benjamin 1828). How does being adopted play a role in ethnicity? Benjamin qualifies himself
as Asian-American by how he was raised. He believes that being made to eat “a hot bowl of jok with
thousand-day-old-eggs” (1827) and learning about “…the Chinese god of warriors…” “…Gwan Gung,”
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(1828) along with other Asian experiences from his youth, defines his ethnical placement. He expects to
share and be accepted as a member of the Asian community, along with other humans, such as Ronnie,
who were raised with the same beliefs and traditions. So than how is our ethnicity determined?
Benjamin believes he qualifies as Asian-American because his Asian adoptive parents raised him
with Asian traditions and beliefs, in an American community. He expects a common bond, created by a
sense of community, to qualify someone within an ethnical group. He feels that his heritage, or genes,
play an insignificant role in deciding his ethnic society. Due to these beliefs, he regards his relationship
with Ronnie as one of instantaneous friendship. Are his beliefs an accurate way to define ethnics?
Ronnie’s expectations and qualifications of ethnics are defined differently from Benjamin’s.
Ronnie believes he is Asian because his genetically related ancestors are Asian. He does not believe
Asian communities or traditions and histories define his ethnics and he shows no signs that he even
considers himself American. He feels no connection to Benjamin despite similar upbringings. Instead he
holds to the belief that his ethnics are connected to the violin. Different from Benjamin believing he is
Asian-American, Ronnie feels his ethnicity is that of an Asian-Violinist. Can someone’s ethnics be defined
as Violinist?
We viewed some very different ways of defining ethnics. We’ve seen that genetics can be an
expectation of ethnics. That it is possible to qualify our ethnicity by our communities. That histories and
traditions from our youth can also provide our ethnic placement. We have also seen that these possible
qualification and expectations may have no impact on our ethnics. So than what are ethnics? Ethnics is
defined in the Encarta Dictionary as “relating to a person or to a large group of people who share a
national, racial, linguistic, or religious heritage, whether or not they reside in their countries of origin.”
What exactly does this mean? Are our ethnics predetermined by where we live, our looks, and our past,
or is ethnics a choice determined by how we as humans view in what manner we relate to others?
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Works Citied
“Ethnic”. Encarta Dictionary, English (North American) ed. 2011. Microsoft Word, 2011.
Hwang, David Henry. Trying to Find China Town. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed.
Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 1825-30. Print.