Multiethnic Literatures in the U.S.

In Chang-Rae Lee’s Aloft, Lee’s narrator is a wealthy, upper-class white man. This seems to break away from other ethnic writers because Lee writes from the perspective of a race that is not his own. Why does Lee do this? When Lee’s narrator is introduced to the readers, he is flying in a plane. There seems to be a parallel in Lee’s white narrator, Jerry, flying a plane and appearing to float away into the clouds. Perhaps Lee writes as a white narrator to show how Asian Americans have assimilated to white culture. Throughout the first portion of the novel, Lee examines several of the narrator’s family and romantic relationships and often times incorporated the diversity of the people in Jerry’s life. The novel does not evolve around ethnic or racial issues, but in subtle ways, the reader sees that Jerry makes comments on his level of acceptance and always seems to notice the differences in ethnicities. It appears that Lee feels there is a definite and unrealized separation between races and ethnicities.

Especially when discussing his relationships with his family, Jerry notes the differences in ethnicity. When he attends his daughter’s dinner party, Jerry comments on the multiracial identities of his children and family. Although Jerry seems to state the ethnicities of his family matter-of-factly, the fact that Jerry notices it at all seems to create an even greater emphasis. Why mention this at all? Maybe Jerry is like many Americans in feeling that merely noticing differences and stating that you accept those differences makes you a better person who is culturally well-rounded. However, even just noting differences appears to have the opposite effect.

Another example of Jerry’s false type of acceptance is the way in which he describes his romantic interests. Jerry seems to characterize both Rita and his first wife by their cultures. Jerry mentions that his first wife was Korean and his long-term girlfriend, Rita, is Hispanic. In the novel, Jerry seems very aware of the fact that he becomes involved in multiracial relationships. Especially when he meets Rita, the reader sees that Jerry is conscious of how other people view his relationships with women of different ethnic backgrounds. He becomes conscious of the other people viewing his interactions with Rita on the boat and then discusses how she becomes his nanny. This appears to be unimportant information. However, it appears to bother Jerry especially because Rita is Puerto Rican and he is white. In the novel, Jerry seems fascinated by women of other cultures. He seems to feel that he is a better person for accepting these women as his romantic interests.

In the beginning of the novel, Jerry is introduced as he is flying a plane. It seems that Lee is trying to comment on the fact that Jerry’s “whiteness” is floating away into invisibility. This is even more relevant since Lee, an Asian-American, is writing with a white narrator. Perhaps, Lee is criticizing assimilation in this instance. Why would Lee write with a white narrator when he knew that he would be questioned about it? It seems he wanted to make a statement that White seems to only want minorities stepping on their territory when it is beneficial to them. In other instances, it is either looked down upon or questioned. This also goes back to the fact that Asian-Americans were assimilated into American or White culture for economic benefit. I could be wrong, but I think this is the statement that Lee is trying to make in the novel’s use of a white narrator. He again seems to be criticizing false acceptance. Also, Lee may be making a statement about how white culture seems to be disappearing from the American majority when he uses the plane scene at the beginning of the novel.

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