Re-read the following passage from Okada’s No-No Boy:
and then…a sweet-looking Chinese girl is at a high-school prom with a white boy. She has risen in the world, or so she thinks, for it is evident in her expression and manner. She does not entirely ignore the other Chinese and Japanese at the dance, which would at least be honest, but worse, she flaunts her newly found status in their faces with haughty smiles and overly polite phrases. (2192)
In a paper of 800 to 1000 words, use this passage as a jumping-off point for a discussion of the novel’s representation of racial conflict and injustice in the U.S. This passage is but one of a series of related vignettes toward the end of the excerpt introduced by the phrase “and then,” so feel free to refer to any of those other passages as well. Open up your observations on this passage to address what, across the rest of the text, is noteworthy about experiences of racial conflict and injustice among Asian Americans. In your conclusion, reflect on what kind of account of America Okada is offering here.
