I was intrigued by our class discussion of Interior Chinatown, more specifically, the idea that the actors, scenes, shows and sets are really one big metaphor. When I began reading this novel, I believed that the show, Black and White was a real production taking place in the novel and that Willus Wu just lived in a place where everyone was trying to make it in the entertainment industry. After completing the book, however, I am convinced that it is something more. If we commit to the idea that Interior Chinatown is a complete allegory, then what purpose does Yu's decision serve? In other words, what is Interior Chinatown an allegory for?
Authenticity is a theme we have seen in not only Interior Chinatown, but Americanah as well. There are many parallels between the two novels and one of the most serious of themes: Authenticity. The lack of authenticity can lead to a feeling of having no purpose and no self-acceptance. In Americanah, Dike becomes trapped in an identity limbo as he struggles to find his authentic self, resulting in his attempted suicide. We also see this in Interior Chinatown, through Allen Chen. "Allen, newly rich, with a devoted wife and well-loved and loving children, decides to move out of his house for a while... He does not feel at ease in the United States. Taiwan is not home anymore... When Allen is fifty-eight years old, he takes half a bottle of sleeping pills and never wakes up." (Yu, 149). Allen, has "made it" in America. He has made a fortune, has a loving family, and yet his struggle to still be accepted in society is what leads to his demise. Finding your authentic identity is something we have seen many minorities struggle with in Interior Chinatown and Americanah, but also in American history. The main reason for this is because white Americans have never made it an easy process. America is said to be a place of wide diversity, yet throughout history, white Americans have expected everyone to fit into one, white society. Charles Yu presents this idea in a unique way where we, the "accepted" American population, is the audience, watching and critiquing Asian-American Identity leading to one trial. In the final court scene of the novel, Willus Wu admits his guilt to conforming to white society, saying, "But at the same time, I'm guilty, too. Guilty of playing this role. Letting it define me. Internalizing the role so completely that I've lost track of where reality starts and the performance begins." (Yu, 246). The role Yu is referring to is not Willus Wu's acting role in the show, Black and White, but rather the identity role he has been playing in order to fit into white society.
When we are the audience, watching the performances of Asian-Americans, we not only critique, but sympathize. We have seen Willus's life as an actor, forever being Kung-Fu Guy and forever trying to please white American's expectations while fitting into their society. When we see Willus with Phoebe, living his authentic life as "just dad," we, as the audience, applaud.
I would actually argue that "Interior Chinatown" makes it so that we can't *just* be the audience to Willis's story. The entire book being written in a second-person perspective makes it so that we Can't simply stay the audience to everything going on in Willis's life. We instead are forced to enter and engage within his headspace and come to a deeper understanding of him as a person and His Asian American experience. We do, however, play spectator to the pasts of his parents, and the events that take place regarding Allen and his inability to live with "making it" in American society. Through the other characters that we learn about juxtaposed to Willis, we are given a varied look at the Asian American experience, and how it's not just one monolithic experience, or "role," for people to fulfill. Willis puts it pretty succinctly towards the end of the story: "Look at all of you here. We got our surfers there... our b-boys. Floppy-haired emo guys. Tats, no tats. All of the varieties of the Asian American male..." (Yu, 246-247) "...What I'm trying to say is, we aren't Generic Asian Men. I mean, look at us. We look ridiculous. All pretending to be the same thing. We're not" (Yu, 248). Charles Yu primes us to see and empathize with Willis through the structure of the novel, making us and him intrinsically linked to the main point that he's getting across: people can't just be boxed into simple categories that define everything about them, especially not categories that are defined solely by race.
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