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.