![]() Nice Chinese girls did not take their clothes off, throw dirt at people, and kick their mommies. She repeatedly assures the reader that Chinese little girls do not misbehave like Sophie. She then turns around and compares the beauty of Sophie to her horrible behavior. She describes Sophie as being beautiful with her black hair and black eyes and her nose being just as perfect (274). The narrator seems to paint the perfect picture of what a Chinese girl is supposed to look like and act like. Going back to her Chinese heritage, this behavior is tolerated in America but not in China. Sophie’s conduct and demeanor is nothing like a good Chinese girl. Sophie lacks discipline and shows no respect toward her grandmother when they are together. The narrator does not understand why Sophie misbehaves when they are outside, because little Chinese girls do not behave like this in privacy and especially not in public: “It is inside that she is like not any Chinese girl I ever see” (275).Īccording to the grandmother, if Sophie’s behavior was controlled while she was inside, they would not have problems with her when she is out in public. Even when her grandmother bribes her with a lollipop she still does not obey her. Sophie does not listen to her grandmother, and the more she tries to correct her, the more Sophie tests her patience. The narrator and Sophie also share a huge miscommunication when they are together, especially when Sophie plays in the park. Ultimately the miscommunication between the narrator and John is that the two never discuss their differences, making the grandmother resent him even more not only as a husband and a father, but also a man. Suddenly he knows more about raising Sophie now than ever before. When John finally gets a job he becomes an “expert” (276) at everything, according to the grandmother. His reason for this is that “he is a man” (273). She has a terrible understanding why Sophie’s own father does not help take care of her while Natalie is at work. Going back to her Chinese heritage, in her opinion, John would be happy in China: “If John lived in China, he would be very happy, but he is not happy” (Jen 273). She thinks he always has something to complain about and that he never is genuinely happy. The grandmother and John have difficulty communicating, because she does not understand what he values in life. Communication issues arise at the beginning of the story between the narrator and her relationship with her son-in-law, John. The primary problem in the household is the lack of communication between the narrator and the Shea family. Throughout the story, the narrator voices her opinion on different morals and values her daughter’s family practices, which becomes the root of her family’s communication issues. The different lifestyle her daughter’s family lives is quite different from the household she raised in China. The story primarily focuses on the difficulties in communication between family relationships. Gish Jen’s “Who’s Irish? ” tells the story of a Chinese immigrant grandmother who has a hard time adjusting to life in America. The Struggle for Communication in Gish Jen’s “Who’s Irish” Analysis
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