Donald Duk: Analysis of Major Characters
"Donald Duk" is a coming-of-age narrative centered on a twelve-year-old boy grappling with his Chinese heritage and identity in a predominantly American environment. The protagonist, Donald, feels embarrassment about his ancestry, his father's role as a restaurant owner, and the resemblance of his name to a cartoon character. His father, King Duk, embodies a blend of affection and humor, encouraging Donald to embrace his cultural roots while navigating the complexities of American life. Meanwhile, Donald draws inspiration from Chinese folklore, particularly the figure of Kwan Kung, and experiences vivid dreams that explore his ancestral history and contributions of Chinese workers to American railroad construction.
As Donald's journey unfolds, he confronts feelings of shame and resentment towards his identity, especially upon realizing the lack of recognition for Chinese contributions in historical narratives. His father, while proud of their heritage, acknowledges the limitations of mainstream American history in honoring these contributions. Additionally, Uncle Donald Duk plays a significant role in celebrating their culture through a New Year performance and acts of communal generosity. Together, these characters illustrate the struggle for identity, the significance of cultural pride, and the quest for recognition in a diverse society, making "Donald Duk" a poignant exploration of personal and cultural reconciliation.
Donald Duk: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Frank Chin
First published: 1991
Genre: Novel
Locale: The Chinatown area of San Francisco, California
Plot: Bildungsroman
Time: The 1980's
Donald Duk, a twelve-year-old schoolboy in a well-to-do Chinese family. He is suffering from an identity crisis. He is ashamed of his Chinese ancestry, his father's occupation as a restaurant owner, and his name, resembling that of a cartoon character. His father, King Duk, treats him affectionately and humorously, recognizing his desire to give up everything Chinese to be fully American. His father suggests that he must have taken a little white boy home from the hospital. Like his mother and sisters, Donald is fascinated by old Hollywood films and fancies himself as the Chinese Fred Astaire. He takes up tap dancing. In the days leading up to the Chinese New Year, Donald is inspired by a character in Chinese folklore, Kwan Kung. Donald's uncle, whose name is the same as Donald's, tells Donald that one of his ancestors was a bloodthirsty warrior and that Donald's grandfather, who was one of the first of his family to come to America, had worked laying track for the transcontinental railway. He shows Donald a photograph of the Golden Spike Ceremony, during which the tracks from the east and the west were joined. That night, Donald dreams that he is in the midst of a camp of Chinese railroad workers, watching one of them brandish a battle-ax weighing more than one hundred pounds. Describing it as formerly the weapon of Kwan Kung, he throws it to his twelve-year-old son, who catches it and throws it back. Then the swordsman exhorts the workers to outdo the Irish on the eastern section of track by laying ten miles in a single day. This dream recurs. In a later version, Donald tells Fred Astaire that the Chinese are passive and without the spirit of competition. He then finds himself in a railroad camp where Kwan Kung is foreman and participates in a Chinese lion dance, celebrating the laying of ten miles of track in a day. In another dream, he is given a chance to sign his name in Chinese characters on the last railroad tie to be put in place, but he hesitates, as though ashamed. The next day, he goes to the library to research the history of the railroad. He finds the names of eight Irish workers who were present at the Golden Spike Ceremony but no mention of the Chinese who had broken the record. After a further dream in which the railroad officials destroy the tie bearing the names of the Chinese workers and prevent the Chinese from attending the ceremony, Donald deliberately picks a fight with his best friend, a white schoolmate. He admits that he is now afraid to dream because everything he dreams is or was true. Now he hates all white people. When he returns to his private school, he corrects his history teacher, Mr. Meanwright, for describing the Chinese as passive and noncompetitive.
King Duk, Donald's father, who combines, in his restaurant menu, items from the major cuisines of the world; he accepts the American multicultural society in which he lives. For years, he has been building a collection of model military airplanes. He plans to set them afire, after launching, as part of the Chinese New Year celebration. Having played the role of Kwan Kung in a Chinese opera, he tells Donald that whoever has that part takes on the traits and personality of the character, acquiring an invincible source of power. Despite this display of ethnic pride, King does not condemn American history books for failing to honor the contribution of the Chinese in building American railroads. He attributes this omission to the Confucian doctrine of “the mandate of heaven.” King plays the part of Kwan Kung in a performance by a visiting opera troupe led by Donald's uncle. After the performance, he goes to the roof of his apartment house, launches his model airplanes, and sets them afire when aloft. The burning planes symbolize the rise and fall of kingdoms, King's confidence in the Chinese way of life, and his adjustment to the pluralistic society in which he lives.
Uncle Donald Duk, who at his own expense brings his opera company to perform for the New Year as a tribute to King Duk. He buys jackets for all the boys at Donald's private school and supervises the distribution of fifty-pound gift sacks of rice, one for every apartment on the side of the block where Donald lives.