1968 by Dan

1968: Eye Hotel

General Questions
1. Do you like or dislike Yamashita’s writing style, and why?
2. How does Yamashita’s writing style convey her message?
3. What is Yamashita’s message thus far in the book?
4. Which section of 1968 was your favorite and why?

Chapter 1. Year of the Monkey
Summary:
Paul Lin’s father passes away during Lunar New Year festivities. Paul’s aunt comes to support him and help him handle the obligations concerning his father’s funeral. There is a procession through Chinatown, during which Paul meets Chen, a friend of his father’s, who teaches a Chinese literature class at San Francisco State. One day, Paul decides to clean his father’s house from top to bottom, and then go to SFSC to attend Chen’s classes, part of his journey to find out more about his own identity and his own niche now that he is on his own. He meets Edmund Lee, a full-time student but also works full time to support his family. Edmund is very intelligent and one of Chen’s brightest students. Later, there is a student-run protest against the administration of the school.

Memorable Quotes:
“Could have given her his dad’s entire library plus his paintings, burn it all up to heaven” (7).
“Got to see Chen to find the real keys to get back in” (13).
“Suddenly he sees himself multiplied, monkey orphans let loose, raising havoc” (17).

Interpretation:
Paul’s passivity during the funeral proceedings show that he is not sure how to approach his father’s death. As an Asian American, he doesn’t seem to fully understand the meaning of the proceedings and their symbolism, and it is taken care of by his aunt. He gradually comes to the realization that he can learn from Chen, and attends his classes, not knowing what he will find. During the protests, he almost actively participates, but is restrained by Chen. He sees that the students protesting around him are just like him, and that this is an environment where he can discover more about who he is.

Questions:
1. What are your feelings towards Paul?
2. Can you relate to him, or is it difficult?

Chapter 2. Language in Reaction
Summary:
Chen was fired from the university, but continued to teach in a café. He taught about the teachings of Mao and how Mao believed that there two types of armies needed for social liberation: a military, and also a cultural army armed with the pen. Later, there is Japanese American Citizen’s League meeting, during which Edmund works the banquet and Paul is protesting outside. The acting president speaks during the meeting and expresses his belief that the elder generation of Japanese must communicate all the hardships they have experienced so that the younger generation can continue the tradition.

Memorable Quotes:
“He really believed in the cultural army, in liberation by means of the pen” (25).
“The winning civilization will be the one that keeps its history going” (34).

Interpretation:
Chen shows how much faith he has in writing as a form of expression. Paul and Edmund are still learning about their roles in the Asian American community.

Questions:
1. Why does Yamashita attribute such significance to the act of writing?

Chapter 3. Analects
Summary:
Professor Chen applied for his sabbatical and travels to France, while Paul and Edmund remain stateside to take care of Chen’s finances and his properties. Paul and Edmund continue to immerse themselves in their environment. Edmund proactively researches about and contributes to the Asian American community through his writing. Edmund receives funding for a Chinatown Youth Service Center, which is established to better the community through employment support. When rejected by the Holiday Inn hotel for positions for Asian Americans on the staff, Edmund creates the group Chinese for Affirmative Action to protest. Paul continues to write and read poetry that demonstrates his struggle with his identity. Chen returns from France to find that the protest/strike agreements were never enacted, and that students and faculty were punished for their dissent.

Memorable Quotes:
“On which side of the bay does the father live? On which side of the bay does the worthy son?” (45-46)

Interpretation:
Paul and Edmund continue to grow and become active voices in the community, even without the help of Professor Chen. They are gradually being groomed to carry on the work Chen has done throughout his life.

Questions:
1. Do Paul and Edmund struggle with the same issues? How are their issues different?

Chapter 4. My Special Island
Summary:
There are protests over the islands called the Tiao Yu Tai Islands. These islands have belonged to the Chinese and have been populated by Chinese fishermen through much of China’s history, but through an agreement between the US and Japan, the US have relinquished control of the islands to Japan without the consent or consultation of China or the residents of the island. The Tiao Yu Tai islands are also known to have significant oil reserves. There is a show of solidarity in support of the Chinese interests in those islands, and against the Japanese and American “imperialists.”

Memorable Quotes:
“This isn’t about supporting one government or another...this is about the sovereignty of the Chinese people...” (57).

Interpretation:
Paul and Edmund’s journey towards discovering more about their heritage materializes during this conflict, and they see what it means to take a stand for their people, even if they have lost touch with that part of their background.

Questions:
1. What is the significance to Paul saying “I cried, and I’m not really Chinese?”

Chapter 5. We
Summary:
Chen and Paul meet on a ferry to Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the Pacific, where many Asian immigrants were detained for long periods of time. Paul and Chen make plans to publicize and publish material from Angel Island.

Memorable Quotes:
“Leaving behind my writing brush and removing my sword, I came to America” (62).

Interpretation:
Chen and Paul’s collegiality is shown. They continue to work together to put Asian American struggles, past and present, on the map for others to see.

Questions:
1. Who is the “we” that is constantly referred to?

Chapter 6. Tofu Tigers
Summary:
Chen and Edmund travel to China as returning overseas citizens, to experience all that has changed since they’ve since they were last there. They are greeted by representatives of the Chinese Communist Party and are shown perspectives of a socialist society. They visit the village of Tachai, and Chen reconnects with his old professor, who no longer participates in writing or the activism he used to, to the disappointment of Chen. Edmund gets himself into trouble with the local authorities when a friend starts taking pictures.

Memorable Quotes:
“I applied [to college], but it’s my country’s wish that I work here” (67).

Interpretation:
Both Chen and Edmund discover that their homeland was nothing like how it was when they left. The people are different (Chen’s old professor) and the customs have changed (that led to Edmunds encounter with local authorities). They no longer feel as strong of a bond to their homeland, and it is apparent their special niche is in the Asian American community in America.

Questions:
1. Are the realizations Chen and Edmund come to positive ones?

Chapter 7. Chinatown Verité
Summary:
The writing style of this section is in the form of a script of a film. The section details the hardships Asian Americans must endure, such as the dissociation of identity, and employment and living conditions. Edmund is mortally wounded during apparent gang activity.

Memorable Quotes:
“Chinese are greatest actors. We play double roles. We got our real names and then we got our paper names” (83).

Interpretation:
The structure of this section is appropriate because Yamashita wants to portray the “acting” of the Chinatown residents. This is one of the most concrete passages of the novella and clearly and coldly presents life as it was.

Questions:
1. Why was the death of Edmund included in the novella? What does it represent?

Chapter 8. This Moment
Summary:
Paul, Chen, and Judy, who is a friend of Edmund’s, support each other in the aftermath of Edmund’s death. Paul turned to writing and invested himself more in the Poetry Boys Club that he was a part of, while Chen became disillusioned with the loss of his closest and brightest pupil. Chen functioned poorly and stopped writing, and became involved in a traffic accident. Chen resumed Edmund’s work, and it was clear that he and Edmund had a special connection that transcended their generational gap. Paul knew that they were the closer of the three of them and he was the odd one out. He later found out Chen had a relationship with his mother before introducing her to Paul’s father.

Memorable Quotes:
“Of this new generation, only Edmund had read Chen’s poetry and knew its flavor and value, but Edmund was no longer” (100).

Interpretation:
Chen is dealing with what he believed the loss of value/appraisal for his work, with Edmund’s death. Without Edmund, he felt the younger generation i.e. Paul could not fully understand what it was that he, the older generation, have experienced and accomplished.

Questions:
1. How was Paul and Chen affected differently with Edmund’s passing?

Chapter 9. Authentic Chinese Food
Summary:
There is a Chinese story about two lovers that were only intimate twice a year, and after these passionate encounters, they would cook for each other and create extravagant cuisines. Chen and Jack discuss specific dishes for their cookbook.

Memorable Quotes:
“Taste travels to you from eight centuries” (109).

Interpretation:
The cookbook represents a link to the past for Chen, and the past is consuming him and his thoughts and priorities.

Questions:
1. What are Yamashita’s intentions in introducing this section on food?

Chapter 10. All the Things You Are
Summary:
Paul and Chen reconcile and reconnect, under pressing conditions because Chen’s house is condemned during a storm and he is forced to relocate. Chen reassures Paul that he is not his father. They escape the storm together with what belongings they could take.

Memorable Quotes:
“I don’t need my stuff. I haven’t needed it all year” (111).

Interpretation:
They take their unfinished manuscripts, and will likely resume the writing that has always kept them close.

Questions:
1. Is this a satisfactory ending? What does Yamashita want you to think will happen?

Edited by Ji-Sun Ham