Discrimination Theme in Ellen Oh’s Kodama’s Ramen Shop and Kitty Tsui a Chinese Banquet (Essay Sample)

Can irrational discrimination ever be justified? Where does discrimination even come from? In Ellen Oh’s Kodama’s Ramen Shop and Kitty Tsui’s A Chinese Banquet, these texts explore the connection between family and discrimination’s power, as well as the effects of discriminatory actions. Kodama’s Ramen Shop primarily discusses the discrimination of race, specifically the Japanese towards Koreans. In the short story, an elderly Japanese woman discriminates against a Korean woman, calling her classless and tasteless due to her own beliefs, which kindles an argument within her family. A Chinese Banquet covers the topic of homophobia and its effect on family relations. Kitty Tsui is a woman who loves another woman, however her family cannot accept that and refuses to acknowledge her feelings. Both texts explore the power of family and discrimination, but they also cover the topics of power of stereotypes that eventually lead to discrimination. The power that family holds is greatly immense, and yet sometimes it is used nefariously due to stereotypes and discriminations that are set in minds.

Kodama’s Ramen Shop is a story that heavily concentrates on the importance of family and what it means to be family. The main conflict occurs when Jessie, Obaasan’s granddaughter, retorts back at a comment Obaasan made about Koreans. Obaasan “muttered in Japanese under her breath. ‘No taste, no class,’” (Oh 6) Being half Korean, Jessie snaps back with “‘All my life, you’ve made me feel like being half-Korean was something to be ashamed of. That my mom was someone to be ashamed of. And I hate it!’”(Oh 8) The ramen shop employee tried to persuade Jessie, “‘…, don’t talk to your Obaasan like that,’” (Oh 8) This is the best example of how Obaasan holds power over Jessie due to her age and status in the family, as though she should respected simply because she is an elderly. It’s also because of this power that Obaasan holds that Obaasan feels as if her racism towards Koreans is justified, as she believes her age gives her more authority. In this case, a widely believed stereotype is powerful as people automatically default to such an opinion, and will therefore support the stereotype, even though the stereotype might not be right. This text teaches us that power can sometimes be determined due to who you are born as, and not earned. It also teaches us about the power of deception, since stereotypes are a form of deception that depicts people as merely descriptions or ideas.

A Chinese Banquet is about a woman whose family struggles to accept her as who she is. Kitty Tsui introduces the reader to the setting by describing the atmosphere and the people in the event. As the, “aunts and uncles and cousins, the grandson who is a dentist, the one who drives a mercedes benz, sitting down for shark’s fin soup,” (Tsui 3), light conversations begin “…about buying a house and taking a two week vacation in Beijing,” (Tsui 4) However, the conversation took a turn when Kitty’s mother asks about Kitty, commenting “you’re twenty six and not getting younger. it’s about time you got a decent job. she no longer asks when I’m getting married,” (Tsui 5) This scene indicates that Kitty’s mother used to care deeply about her daughter's love life, but now doesn’t due to her sexuality preferences. Instead of facing the truth, her mother decides to ignore the matter by diverting the subject. This decision by her mother is further explained when Kitty tries to request for her mother’s acceptance, stating “mother I’m gay and so happy with her. but she will not listen, she shakes her head,” (Tsui 8) This is an example of the power of discrimination and stereotype, as this power is affecting Kity’s mother so that she does not accept her own daughter. Her mother believes that the stereotype is “real”, and so the stereotype holds power over her, affecting her decisions. Kitty’s mother and family have the power in this situation because they intentionally exclude Kitty’s romantic partner from her personal life.

In my opinion, both texts illustrate the correlation between power and discrimination quite beautifully, by utilizing disagreements and family relations. Nonetheless, there are some differences in how both texts portray the power of discrimination and status. Kodama’s Ramen Shop talks about how the power of discrimination can wound family relations, and is an irrational mindset that doesn’t make sense. The story uses the human nature that believes we are superior to others to discuss the irony of having a mindset that isn’t rational, but can cause true damage. A Chinese Banquet is similar in this sense, as the homophobia that Jessie experiences is irrational, but to her family’s minds, it is justified even if they can’t provide reasons as to why. The power that her family holds over her is provided by a stereotype that eventually led to discrimination, as well as their power of numbers and power of status. Both main characters experience unjustified discrimination, but only Kitty accepts it. Jessis fights back to her grandmother, and eventually her grandmother opens her mind just a little. Kitty, on the other hand, attempted meagerly to stand her ground, but her family shut her down before she could provide a valid argument that her family could understand. The main difference in these two texts is that while Jessie stands up, Kitty does not, and this demonstrates the different magnitudes of power that discrimination and family can hold over a person. This also relates a little to the power of numbers, as Jessie was only standing up to her grandmother, while Kitty tried standing up to her entire family. This proves that it is harder to face a large crowd than a single power-wielding person. Overall, both texts have their differences, but primarily express the same messages about power.

Power is a difficult topic to cover, as there are numerous different types, applications and magnitudes of power. Nevertheless, these two texts utilize similar and specific types of power that are used in the story to illustrate how power can be used in a damaging way. Sometimes the power that family holds over you can be the most powerful, in both benevolent and malicious ways. Discrimination is fueled by stereotypes, which is a form of power of numbers, and the power of numbers and family is enough to affect a person’s life and decisions. Family is forever connected, and so family holds the most power in influencing one’s life. However, can a person be separate from their family’s wrath? Can we distance ourselves enough to unshackle the bonds we were born with? And when do we determine when it is right to start liberating ourselves from the mindset of our family members?