Multiethnic Literatures in the U.S.

Tropic of Orange by Karen Tei Yamashita is a book that is based in dualities. From the first few lines where Rafaela is discussing life versus death, light versus dark and closed versus open spaces, the bipolar nature of this book is hard to ignore. At first glance, these binary comparisons can make the story seem contradictory and confusing especially if one doesn’t recognize the point being made. Although the book is riddled with comparisons, I really want to focus on the duality of hope.

On one hand, Yamashita presents this sense of hopelessness as seen in Arcangel’s trip north, to Los Angeles. As he travels people tell him that he is not big enough or strong enough to make it in the harsh reality of his destination. Even as he repeatedly proves himself to have the will to persevere in the face of adversity, there are still people along the way who tell him that he has no future if he continues on his journey. This sense of the American Dream and the ability to make something out of nothing, is shot down and dismissed as though it is some sort of fairy tale. It’s a really depressing moment in the book because we have all of these characters who are struggling in some part of their lives and yet the one character who shows the most resilience is essentially told that he will never be good enough for anything that he could see in America.

On the other side of the spectrum there is this idea of finding hope in what seems to be a very unfortunate situation. Take, for instance, the homeless population of LA and the freeway fire. Here we have people who are without a semi-permanent place to live and who are just wandering from one area to the next hoping to improve their quality of life, however low it may start out to be. Then, we also have the fire, blocking in a section of cars that their owners believe must be left for ruin. It is in this hell of flame and abandoned property that we find unexpected life. The homeless move into the cars and start up their own neighborhood complete with “street” names and gardens, which are of particular importance in this discussion. By creating these gardens full of fresh fruits and vegetables, Yamashita is conveying the ability of life overcoming the death of another object to create something new, something that represents hope. This hope is what could be described as that “silver lining” or “light at the end of the tunnel” for situations that are less than favorable. I believe it is Yamashita’s way of reminding her readers to set aside pessimism and look for the greener grass.

One might wonder why Yamashita chose to portray both sides of this topic and I believe it is because she wants us to recognize that one phenomenon cannot exist without the other. Without the ability to be hopeless then there is no need for hope at all – a confusing concept to say the least.