Abstract:
These six stories represent a child's search for identity. The first story,
"Road Map," is intended to be independent from the other pieces in this collection,
but has been included because it is clearly set in the same place and explores many
of the same themes of the other pieces. Specifically, the remaining five stories are
part of a fictionalized memoir, detailing the life of Daniel, a mixed-race child
growing up in a small Minnesota town. Children normally construct their identities
based on three major factors: race, community, and family. With a Chinese-American mother and a (lapsed) Jewish father, however, Daniel does not fit into
any pre-defined racial or ethnic categories. This point is brought home to him by
the surrounding community (largely white and Christian), which treats him as an
outsider. Daniel thus turns to his parents for direction, but as radical graduate
students of the 1970s, they are uncomfortable serving as standard role models.
These stories, while standing independently, also work together to document
Daniel's efforts to "orient" himself in the absence of clear guidelines.
