Week 15: Discussion Question for Don Lee's Yellow

Please provide your in-depth interpretation and analysis on the questions (at least 100 words per Discussion question #1, #2, and #3). Please try to include textual evidence (direct quotes along with the page number) in your answer.

Discussion Question #1 for Don Lee's Yellow (2001, pp. 197-234)

Why do you think "A woman from North Carolina" with whom Danny dated for three weeks while he was in graduate school (early 80s) told him, "Your manhood. . . . If I could find it" (197)? Does she have a stereotypical perception of Asian men? Why is Danny irritated by the question, "What are you?" from others (including from other Asian descendants of Americans) and what does that question implicate? Where was Danny Kim (Dae Hyung Kim) born? Is Danny perceived by people as Korean or as an American of Asian descent? Does Danny's ethnic background define who he is or does his legal citizenship define who he is? (Note: The term Asian Americans was coined in the 60s but was not widely used until the 80s)

Discussion 2

Why do you think Danny refused to eat traditional Korean dishes and to learn Korean while he was growing up (in the 60s)? Where does his desire "to be exemplary, unquestionably American" (201) come from? What is Danny's understanding of being an American? Why do Danny's parents feel "the humiliation of being immigrants" (200)? When Danny was young, he witnessed an incident of a drunken man who told Danny's father "I forgive you for Pearl Harbor" and then "kissed Danny's father on the mouth" (201). Why? (There must be a reason that Don Lee included the scene in the plot.) Does the man perceive an Asian man, like Danny's father, as an effeminate man? Why does Danny's father "politely thanking the man" (202)? What does Danny think of his father's attitude? Where does Danny's "perpetual sense of anger" (202) about himself come from?

Discussion 3

While Danny was taking boxing lessons for 2 years in his high school years (in the early 70s) and entered a boxing tournament, Danny was outmatched by his opponent, Raymond Rios in the semifinals. Why does Danny's couch Portillo tell Danny, "Be a man" (215) and why does Rios call Danny "yellow" (216)? While attending college, Danny rarely talked to people and yet he was "filled with self-loathing and doubt" (217). Why? Why was he hyper-conscious about himself? When Danny was dating Jenny Fallows at U.C.L.A., a group of male Asian students called Danny a "Banana" (meaning "Yellow on the outside, white on the inside" 227). How does Jenny react to this incident and why does Danny break up with Jenny? Is Danny too sensitive about his race, or is Jenny blind to racial differences?

Discussion Question #4 for Don Lee's Yellow (2001, pp. 235-255)

Why do you think Danny married a Korean American woman, Rachel Chung, although he does not seem to be in love with her? Has Danny's view of his Korean ethnicity changed after he married a Korean American woman? Did Danny marry Rachel Chung because he embraced his Korean ethnicity? What do you make of Danny's way of describing his newborn baby? Does Danny feel secure about himself and his ethnicity after his marriage, or does he still dislike his racial and ethnic identity? Why does Danny assume that Rachel is content despite that he has not spent much time with his family? Where does his assumption of their marriage come from? 

Discussion 5

Regarding Danny's assumption of the lack of possibility to be chosen as a partner of the consulting firm he works for, Rachel tells him, "You're overreacting" (245). What do you make of her response here? When Danny's coworker Kevin Sheridan is crying on the plane over his impending divorce, Danny tells him, "Get a hold of yourself. . . Be a man" (247). Why do you think Danny reacts this way? Why couldn't Danny answer Kevin's question, "Do you love your family?" right away? How does Kevin react to Danny and why does Danny feel ashamed of himself?

Discussion 6

When Danny sees Kevin's car crashing through the rail and falling into the river, Danny gets out of his car and dives into the river. Danny eventually rescues Kevin by head-butting Kevin's face. How is Danny's action toward Kevin different from what he did to Rios in the boxing tournament? What motivates Danny to save Kevin? What do you think Don Lee is trying to convey through the title of the story and what do you make of the repeated phrase, "Be a man" (215, 247), which was used by Portillo and Danny in different circumstances? What caused Danny's struggles with his race and identity? Does Danny overcome his insecurity of racial identity?