Characters Of Who's Irish

567 Words3 Pages
Characters of “Who’s Irish?” In her interview on Connect Literature, Gish Jen asserts that her secondary characters are often “round,” which is not necessarily typical of secondary characters. This paper will explore the ways in which Jen constructs complexity in the secondary or minor characters in her short story “Who’s Irish?” The characters: Sophie, John, Nattie, and Bess are the well-rounded secondary characters. Their physical traits and personality traits are described more than usual for a secondary character. The story “Who’s Irish?” is about cultural differences as well as family relationships. The narrator is a Chinese immigrant of about sixty-eight years. Her daughter is Natalie, who is the mother of Sophie and the wife of John. Bess is John’s mother and the friend of the narrator. Sophie is the most round character because Jen seems to be focused on her development throughout the story. Gish Jen seems to describe Sophie in a way that makes it appear that the Grandmother is actually helping with the raising of the child. However, John and Natalie do not approve of her methods. The Grandmother describes the child as “wild” and “not Chinese” (Jen 105). It is unorthodox that a secondary character is so “round.” Sophie is physically described as mostly Chinese except for her brown skin which seemed to be odd due to the fact that it is nowhere between John and Natalie’s (Jen 106). Gish Jen takes a great deal of time to describe John and Natalie Shea’s family dynamic. They are described as a typical American family. The Shea’s do not approve of spanking or any type of punishment besides verbal talking. The Grandmother describes Natalie as “fierce” like her (Jen 105). John is a static character for the most part because he does not change throughout the story. He gets a job but then loses it. Therefore he keeps the stigma of an unemployed “bum” for

More about Characters Of Who's Irish

Open Document