Asian American Literature - Essay Example

The removal of confusion about the identity and ethnicity of the characters in Asian American literature depends on flexibility and diversity of the texts and the themes. The coming of age experience in Asian American Literature depicts pan ethnic entrepreneurship and father's story telling techniques as part of the narration in the novels and stories. The racial identity and economic inequality are focal points in the story telling techniques of Asian American literature. As the Asian American intellectual classes have been defined as academics, artists and activists, the cultural production finds its base in economic world.

The above-mentioned economic world includes the symbolic capital that we invest with value that is capable of generating economic returns. However, the racial identity as the resistance to capitalist exploitation is explicit in most of the Asian American Literature like that of Donald Duk as well as 'Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers'(Nguyen, Viet, 2002). As a prelude to analysis of coming of age experiences in Donald Duk, it is necessary to focus on the points that rise the points of identity in Asian American youth.

According to Ho Jennifer Ann (2005), the focus is on four distinct modes of identification. They are historic pride, consumerism, mourning and fusion. The Donald Duk and Wild meat and Bully Burgers express cultural legacies with alternative ethnic affiliations in Asian American youth. The author opines that the food of Chinese Americans who helped in developmental activities in US differ from the American Society in terms of nature and color as Donald Duk tries to identify him in American society.

The necessity for Asian Americans to identify themselves in American Society makes them to adopt local food and culture. However, the natural aversion towards them and lack of historic cultural support for their aversion makes them confused and they tend to establish themselves as a reflection of a celebrity. The above traits can be observed in Donald Duk character and his father King Duk guides him towards an open minded attitude that helps in being identified in American Society. Another important aspect identified by Jennifer Ann is the tension in Asian Americans regarding their physical appearance.

Though, Donald Duk expresses the above trait in his mentality that is better expressed in Lovey character of novel 'Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers'. She lounges for blonde and Caucasian appearance and her father convinces her to be realistic and open minded in her behavior with her friends and colleagues. The differences between food of Asians and Americans also play a major role in struggle for identification of Lovey. The author of Wild Meat and Bully Burgers delineates the consumption habits of Lovey and offers correction by pointing out to her Hawaiian culture.

In both the cases, the characters are adolescents, who are most vulnerable to the cultural as well as food differences and appearance that give identity (Ho, Jennifer Ann, 2005).The problems of identity and mingling in the American society are well depicted in Frank Chin's