Discussion 5

What, really, is identity? When people ask me, "What are you?" (I do get asked that more than you might imagine), my quick answer is, "I'm Irish," but am I? I have never been to Ireland, do not speak the language, rarely eat the food (though I do love potatoes; is that a stereotype?), and so on. To be fair, I am (like many in the U.S.) more of a mutt with some smatterings of Scottish and English as well, but Corbally is an Irish name still known in County Limerick.

Discuss the following:

• Which of the two characters, Ronnie or Benjamin, has the better claim for being Chinese (or, if you prefer, Chinese-American)and why?

Don't rush here; this one-act play is a lot more complex than it might seem (and so is the question about what makes up identity).

Also, be sure to support your position with details from the play (I certainly would not overlook the long monologue where Ronnie names a whole lot of people (you will want to look them up) or the fact that the stage directions mention he is playing his violin like Hendrix.

Some tips and added thoughts:
This particular discussion begs for a little bit of research on ethnicity/race/identity (what do sociologists think about this?). If you do include researched material, please include the Works Cited entry and/or links to other sites.

Also consider such recent events as the Rachel Dolezal controversy.

You might even want to look up and refer to Nell Bernstein's article "Goin' Gangsta, Choosin' Cholita" (which is available on the internet as I type this).