Method of the Study

it because her novel concerned more about Kay’s way of thinking. However, there was a part in introduction that described Kay’s physical appereance seen from her mother’s point of view. Through the eyes of Kay’s mother Irene, Fei noted that Kay is “tall and tan and strong, with a surpsising delicacy to her brow and chin” and also has “trademark grin, wide, and cheesy, kept her from ever appearing as if she’d tried to look pretty” Fei, 2010 : 4. According to Murphy, when the author described the character through the eyes and opinions of the other character is the kind of characterization called “Character as seen by another.” Switching to Kay’s mental character and way of thinking, Fei gave several points in the novel that showed Kay as a open-minded, extrovert, and strong woman. When she was child, she head-butted a school bully and invited his victim over to play eventhough she didn’t like the kid either Fei, 2010 : 4. She also dare to curse at the neighbourhood boys who pulled slanted eyes at them and called the Chinks, an act taught by her sister Nora Fei, 2010 : 15. As Kay grew older, she became a person who willing to speak and stand for herself. An act that can be seen from the event when she told a white men to “Go fuck yourself” and “Fuck off” when the white men seduced her and later her sisters, expecting they would fell for white men just like the other Chinese’s girl Fei, 2010 : 73, 218. She also dislike how the white men portray Asian girl, particularly Chinese, as meek and voiceless which made her has one-sided conflict with her roommate Tomoko Fei, 2010 : 213. Kay also pictured as a very smart girl. It can be seen from how she became valedictorian a student with the highest grade in her year and then got scholarship to China. She is also very fluent in English and Mandarin. All of the Kay’s characters were mostly described using “Character as seen by another” and “Thought” method of characterization. Actions that describe Kay character were mostly used ”Character as seen by another” method of characterization as Fei using other person opinion e.g. Irene, her mother to describe her action and way of thinking. However, sometimes Fei also using “Thought” characterization method especially when Fei showed the reader how Kay disliked white men stereotypes’ of Chinese girl and how the Chinese girl were succumbed to those stereotypes. Instead of using other person point of view, Fei gave the reader Kay’s thought in order to make the reader directly understand Kay’s way of thinking. Here is one example These women couldn’t understand how what seemed like romance, or at least mutual attraction, was shameless capitalization; or the historical context of Orientalism; or the subtext of those English ads – how, for starters, that “Handsome European male” preferred his Asian women inarticulate, if not voiceless; or how such presumptions coiled around people, until they no longer knew how their very identity had been constricted Fei, 2010 : 73. From this part, it can be seen that Fei provided Kay’s thought and point of view toward the reader. This part was clearly Kay’s view because she did not say it loud to the other character and there is no other character said this to her as she was alone. By using the combination of characterizations, Fei gave the reader more deep and rich understanding of Kay’s character. Kay’s character and characterization provided background and reason of how Kay would react toward the stereotypes addressed to her in order to establish her personal identity. By knowing how Kay’s being potrayed, the writer could analyzed and understand that the way Kay reacted to the stereotypes addressed to her were closely related to Kay’s character as a person.

B. The Stereotypes Kay Experienced as a Chinese-American

This part analyzes the stereotypes that Kay experienced as a Chinese- American. The writer divided this part into several points. Each point contains a stereotype that Kay faced as a Chinese-American. In each point after giving the description of the stereotypes from the novel, the writer gave explanations on it. In analyzing the stereotypes that Kay experienced, the writer referred to the definition of stereotype by Joe Feagin to separate which parts that are considered as stereotypes and which ones are not. Feagin’s defined stereotypes as an overgeneralization associated with racial or ethnic group that goes beyond existing evidence Feagin, 1978:12. By using this definition as guidance, the writer analyzed the stereotypes that Kay faced as a Chinese-American. As mentioned before, Feagin’s view about stereotypes would give insights about which acts Kay experienced that were considered as a stereotype and which ones are not. Feagin’s definition also became an indirect limitation to this part, made this part solely to analyze stereotyped-related actions and not all actions found in the novel.

1. Being Seen as Non-American

As a person born in America, speaking English fluently and living there until high school, Kay has every right to call herself an American citizen. However, people around her, especially White Americans, insisted that she is not an American but a Chinese instead. This happened because Kay was born from Bill and Irene Shen, who were first-generation Chinese immigrants, causing her to have the same physical features as a Chinese. Believing herself as an American, this stereotype made Kay feel that she was a foreigner in her own country. As Fei noted When Byron motioned for her to join him in a dim corner of the hotel lobby, she said, “The short answer is, Asian American have always been treated as foreigner, and I wanted to change that” Fei, 2010:213 This part showed Kay’s answer toward Byron when he asked about her reason to join Asian-American organizations. Kay’s answer showed that in America, Asian- Americans, including Chinese-Americans, were treated as non-American instead of American citizens. Like Kay, they were unable to say that they were Americans as people around them would still insist that they are Chinese. This unfair treatment made Kay experience a difficulty to answer a simple question “Where are you from?” from the people around her. It was a question with a simple answer for everyone, but not Kay Where are you from? That relentless question, long the bane of her existence, and every other Asian American’s; the one question that somehow was, to the questioner, of paramount importance. In America, no matter if you were American-born, spoke only English, knew nothing else, the answer that satisfied people was China, or something equally foreign Fei, 2010 : 63. This part showed how this stereotype made Kay, and other Asian-Americans, confused about their origin. Her honest answer to the question was “I’m