''Donald Duk'' is a

coming-of-age novel In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is imp ...

written by

Frank Chin Frank Chin (born February 25, 1940) is an American author and playwright. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Asian-American theatre. Life and career Frank Chin was born in Berkeley, California on February 25, 1940; until the age of s ...

, first published in February 1991. It is about an eleven-year-old boy turning twelve, completing a cycle of the

Chinese zodiac The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the lunar calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain ...

, in San Francisco, and his struggles juggling cultures and growing into his name.

Setting

The novel, written in 1991, is set in then present-day

Chinatown, San Francisco The Chinatown centered on Grant Avenue and Stockton Street (San Francisco), Stockton Street in San Francisco, California, () is the oldest Chinatown in North America and one of the largest Han Chinese, Chinese ethnic enclave, enclaves outside As ...

, though it makes reference to many other historical periods.

Plot elements

Donald Duk is an eleven-year-old Chinese-American, preparing to celebrate both his twelfth birthday and

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...

. He is the son of a Chinese chef named King Duk, and a Chinese mother named Daisy Duk. Donald has two older twin sisters named Penelope and Venus Duk. From the start of the book we are told how embarrassed Donald is of his name and of being introduced with his family. The story begins with Donald comparing himself to

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

. Donald believes he dances as well as Fred and throughout the novel considers himself the real "Chinese Fred Astaire" (91). Donald immerses himself in old black-and-white movies, and especially admires Fred Astaire and

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

films. He envies the way "everyone" adores Fred when he dances. Donald wishes he could "live the late-night life in old black-and-white movies and talk with his feet like

, and smile Fred Astaire's sweet lemonade smile" (1). King Duk fears Donald sees the world too much in black-and-white, wanting to become as American as possible. Donald is ashamed of the way his family rejects American culture and that even when they watch television "they make everybody on the TV look Chinese!" (91). Donald does not want to be like them; he considers himself American because he was born in America. Donald's father tells him, "I think Donald Duk may be the very last American-born Chinese-American boy to believe you have to give up being

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

to be an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

" (42). Having to put up with harassment due to his uncomfortable name, Donald also listens to his father's advice on standing up to bullies. As Donald and his family welcome the

, Donald's best friend, Arnold Azalea, stays over at Donald's home in

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

in order to observe Chinese culture and celebrate the new year. On the first day of the New Year, Donald's family begins to talk about

Chinese immigrants Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...

working on the

Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by Pacific Railroad Acts, U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in N ...

end of the

Transcontinental Railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...

. Donald begins to have dreams of being a

lion dance F Lion dance () is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good luck and fortune. The lion dance is usually performed during the Chinese New ...

r, urging the Chinese gandy dancing railroad men on in a race to

Promontory Summit Promontory is an area of high ground in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, 32 mi (51 km) west of Brigham City and 66 mi (106 km) northwest of Salt Lake City. Rising to an elevation of 4,902 feet (1,494 m) above sea ...

. As these dreams progress, he is inspired to read up on the work the Chinese immigrants put into this track-laying and finds that the photos in the history books of Promontory Summit only show white workers: the role of Chinese labor had disappeared from history. Suddenly Donald finds himself claiming that white people are racists. King reminds his son that not all white people are racist and that up to that point, Donald had been the one acting ashamed of his cultural identity. Hallucinatory dreams are interwoven with trips to the Chinese apothecary with his father and with tales of illicit firecracker dealers from the neighborhood gang. Subplots include Donald stealing and destroying one of the model airplanes his family has been making for the festival; Donald and Arnold getting in trouble with the police for blowing up fireworks in traffic; Donald's annoyance at the UC Berkeley idealism of his schoolteacher concerning Chinese Americans; and Donald's discomfort at learning that a Vietnam veteran in his neighborhood has been incorrectly arrested for a murder that happened while he had been with Donald.

Characters

Donald Duk is a

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...

boy turning twelve who lives with his family in

. "Donald Duk hates his name. He is not a duck. He is not a cartoon character" (1). Donald wishes he was

and aspires to be like him. He loves

tap dancing Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...

and sometimes daydreams he is talking with Astaire. Donald is ashamed of being Chinese and wishes he was only

. He finds his culture stupid, boring and embarrassing. The story covers his search for identity and his path to accepting his culture. Arnold Azalea is Donald's best friend and attends the same school as Donald. He is white and is very fascinated by Donald's culture. He stays with Donald for a couple weeks so he can spend

with Donald and his family. He can't understand why Donald hates his culture and Chinese people so much. At one point, he and Donald get into a fight over Arnold's interest in the Chinese. It is also implied that he sometimes shares Donald's dreams about the railroad workers. King Duk is Donald's father. King owns a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, of which he is the chef. He is recognized by his community as having the most authentic Chinese food. King is also the one who provides Donald with tough love rather than pity when Donald complains of the bullies in the neighborhood. King's response is, "You walk like a sad softie...you look like you want everyone to beat you up" (3). He is direct with Donald and refuses to allow him to linger in self-pity but rather provides him with insight to allow him to accept his heritage. King had assimilationist parents and learned about his Chinese heritage only after he ran away from home and studied Chinese opera overseas. Daisy Duk is Donald's mother. She is the reasonable one in the family. Daisy keeps the balance within the family when Donald upsets his father with anti-Chinese remarks. Penelope Duk is Donald's older sister. Penny has a twin sister named Venus. She is eccentric and likes to make pop culture references often when the mood is sour and in order to lighten it. Venus Duk is Donald's other older sister. She is Penny's twin and with Penny, she discusses pop culture and both provide the book with a sense of humorous relief. Uncle Donald Duk is Donald's uncle, a

Chinese opera Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...

performer touring with his troupe. He provides a lighter tone when issues arise between Donald and his father. He provides Donald with insight into his heritage and helps him understand the accomplishments of his race in America. He is also especially the one to tell Donald of the work Chinese immigrants put into building the

. Larry Louie is Donald's dance instructor. He is also known as "The Chinese

." He keeps himself looking very thin in order to physically resemble Astaire. Larry Louie enjoys

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...

but he also enjoys

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

and because of this, Donald feels he is the true "Chinese Fred Astaire." Donald doesn't think that Astaire enjoyed flamenco and therefore Larry Louie shouldn't either. The Frog Twins are local residents who used to be Hollywood actresses. Late in the novel, they have a conversation that illustrates some of the difficulties of being an Asian or Asian-American actress at the time. American Cong is a

Vietnam veteran A Vietnam veteran is a person who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States Armed Forces, and oth ...

that Donald meets early in the novel. He is Chinese American, but talks about himself as white, since he grew up in Iowa. He is arrested for murder, but Donald's testimony that they were together at the time of the murder (coupled with corroboration from the Frog Twins) gets him released.

Major themes

;Concept of Identity: This story deals with the issue of cultural identity. Donald Duk is ashamed of being

and ridicules a lot of things about his culture in the beginning of the novel. As the novel progresses, however, he begins to accept who he is and embrace his culture. Named for a Disney character—also the subject of a widely circulated Marxist essay first printed in Chile in 1971 (''

How to Read Donald Duck ''How to Read Donald Duck'' ( es, Para leer al Pato Donald) is a 1971 book-length essay by Ariel Dorfman and Armand Mattelart that critiques Disney comics from a Marxist point of view as capitalist propaganda for American corporate and cultural i ...

'')—the novel explores the manner in which culture is woven into the individual. ;Concept of Racism: This novel also deals with the issues with racism. As Donald Duk accepts his culture more and more, he begins to see the racism around him more and more. He sees the racism in school with the way his teacher, Mr. Meanwright, portrays Asians as passive and noncompetitive. He sees it in the country's history, which doesn't acknowledge the help of Chinese workers to build the

. He also sees it in himself. "What's wrong with racists, anyway?" Mom asks. "We have been living with them for over a hundred years now, and we get along with them fine." (p. 150) As time moves on this consciousness of racism allows him to appreciate the famous figures who tried to change this view and he learns to be proud of who he is.

Literary significance and reception

''Donald Duk'' is recognized by many critics as "a small masterpiece" (novelist

Tom Robbins Thomas Eugene Robbins (born July 22, 1932) is a best-selling and prolific American novelist. His most notable works are "seriocomedies" (also known as "comedy drama"), such as ''Even Cowgirls Get the Blues''. Tom Robbins has lived in La Conner, ...

, back cover of book). ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' described the novel as a "wonderfully zany coming-of-age journey that deals with the interpenetration of Chinese myth and American popular culture". ''Donald Duk'' has also become required reading at many schools, "having sold 45,000 copies, many through college course adoptions". ''Donald Duk'' has been the subject of several scholarly works by academics, and remains one of Chin's more popular and studied works.

Allusions and references

Allusions to history

The novel mentions the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

and sets the "legendary

Kwan Kung Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on m ...

as foreman of the Chinese laborers building the

" in the 1860s. The book deals with the issue that these Chinese laborers didn't get the credit they deserved for building the railroad. Although

, a famous general of the late

Eastern Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

and

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

era of China, died centuries before the railroad was built, the building of the railroad by Chinese workers did take place. It also references the lives and treatment of Chinese Americans who lived in

during the mid/late 20th century. This book altogether deals with "racist U.S. exclusion laws, the nineteenth century exploitation of Chinese laborers, the distortion of classic Chinese philosophy and literature, the erasure of Chinese-American history, ndthe emasculating stereotypes of Chinese in the American media".

Allusions to other works

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Historical figures

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* Jack and Dan Casement *

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Thomas C. Durant Thomas Clark Durant (February 6, 1820 – October 5, 1885) was an American physician, businessman, and financier. He was vice-president of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in 1869 when it met with the Central Pacific railroad at Promontory Sum ...

* Mark Hopkins *

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Literature and publications

* ''

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'' * ''

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'' * ''

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'' (32) * ''

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'' (127) * ''

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'' (127) * ''

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'' (135)

Film and TV shows

* ''

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'' (126) * ''

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'' (69) * '' Ironside'' (51) * ''

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'' (44) *

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Literary characters

* Lee Kuey * Ten Feet of Steel * Song Goong * Doong the tattooed wrestler * Ngawk Fay *

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and

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

(113) *

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

(171) *

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* The Candlewick Fairy—Chinese legend

Music

* "To All the Girls I Loved" performed by

(59)

Awards and nominations

Donald Duk earned Chin a 1992

Lannan Literary Award The Lannan Literary Awards are a series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional ...

for fiction, as well as a selection as one of the Best Books for Young Adults by the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

. Chin was the first Asian American to receive recognition from the Lannan Foundation.

Publication history

1991, United States; Coffee House Press ; Pub date Feb 1991; Paperback/Second Edition

Footnotes

References

As of March 2008, there were 14 published articles on the novel listed at the MLA database: #The Deployment of

Chinese Classics Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian ...

by Frank Chin and

Maxine Hong Kingston Maxine Hong Kingston (; born Maxine Ting Ting Hong;Huntley, E. D. (2001). ''Maxine Hong Kingston: A Critical Companion'', p. 1. October 27, 1940) is an American novelist. She is a Professor Emerita at the University of California, Berkeley, wher ...

By: King-Kok Cheung. IN: Wang, ''Querying the Genealogy: Comparative and Transnational Studies in Chinese American Literature.'' Shanghai, China: Shanghai yi wen chu ban she; 2006. pp. 217–30 #Hua Mei wen hua de chuan cheng yu bian yi-Tou shi Hua yi Meiguo nan zuo jia bi xia de "fu yu zi" mu ti By: Ruoqian Pu. IN: Wang, ''Querying the Genealogy: Comparative and Transnational Studies in Chinese American Literature''. Shanghai, China: Shanghai yi wen chu ban she; 2006. pp. 450–64 #Dreaming as Cultural Work in ''Donald Duk'' and ''

Dreaming in Cuban ''Dreaming in Cuban'' is the first novel written by author Cristina García, and was a finalist for the National Book Award. This novel moves between Cuba and the United States featuring three generations of a single family. The novel focuses p ...

'' By: Suzanne Leonard; ''MELUS: The Journal of the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States'', 2004 Summer; 29 (2): 181–203. #English as a

Postcolonial Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...

Tool By: Eugene Chen Eoyang; ''English Today: The International Review of the English Language'', 2003 Oct; 19 (4 6: 23–29. #"Adding On", Not "Giving Up": Ceremonies of Self in Frank Chin's ''Donald Duk'' By: Gordon O. Taylor. IN: Davis and Ludwig, ''Asian American Literature in the International Context: Readings on Fiction, Poetry, and Performance''. Hamburg, Germany: Lit; 2002. pp. 57–66 #Authentic Reproductions: The Making and Re-Making of More Asian Americans in ''Donald Duk,'' ''

Bone A bone is a Stiffness, rigid Organ (biology), organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red blood cell, red and white blood cells, store minerals, provid ...

'', and ''

Native Speaker Native Speaker may refer to: * ''Native Speaker'' (novel), a 1995 novel by Chang-Rae Lee * ''Native Speaker'' (album), a 2011 album by Canadian band Braids * Native speaker Native Speaker may refer to: * ''Native Speaker'' (novel), a 1995 nov ...

'' By: Vivian Fumiko Chin; Dissertation, U of California, Berkeley, 2001. #"To Eat the Flesh of His Dead Mother": Hunger, Masculinity, and Nationalism in Frank Chin's ''Donald Duk'' By: Eileen Chia-Ching Fung. IN: Counihan, ''Food in the USA: A Reader''. New York, NY: Routledge; 2002. pp. 263–76 ALSO IN: ''Lit: Literature Interpretation Theory'', 1999 Dec; 10 (3): 255–74. #"The Dragon Is a Lantern": Frank Chin's Counter-

Hegemonic Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over other city-states. ...

''Donald Duk'' By: David Goldstein-Shirley; ''49th Parallel: An Interdisciplinary Journal of North American Studies'', 2000 Autumn; 6: (no pagination). #The Remasculinization of Chinese America: Race, Violence, and the Novel By: Viet Thanh Nguyen; ''American Literary History'', 2000 Spring-Summer; 12 (1-2): 130–57. #The Lessons of ''Donald Duk'' By: Susan B. Richardson; ''MELUS'', 1999 Winter; 24 (4): 57–76. #Some Other Country's History By: Carole Scott; ''Papers: Explorations into Children's Literature'', 1999 Aug; 9 (2): 21–30. #How to Do Things with Things (A Toy Story) By: Bill Brown; ''Critical Inquiry'', 1998 Summer; 24 (4): 935–64. #Past and Repast: Food as

Historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...

Fae Myenne Ng Fae Myenne Ng (born December 2, 1956 in San Francisco) is an American novelist, and short story writer. She is a first-generation Chinese American author whose debut novel ''Bone'' told the story of three Chinese American daughters growing up in ...

's ''Bone'' and Frank Chin's ''Donald Duk'' By: Nicole Waller; ''Amerikastudien/American Studies'', 1996; 40 (3): 485–502. #Affirmations: Speaking the Self into Being By: Manini Samarth; ''Parnassus: Poetry in Review'', 1992; 17 (1): 88-101. # Seiwoong Oh: ''Encyclopedia of Asian-American Literature.'' Series: Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Literature. Facts on File, 2007

External links

*{{youtube , id=zuShyQznHjw , title=Artists on the Cutting Edge: Frank Chin (reading the first chapter from ''Donald Duk'', 1999) 1991 American novels American young adult novels Chinese-American novels Works by Frank Chin Novels set in San Francisco Chinatown, San Francisco in fiction Works based on Water Margin Works based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms Cultural depictions of Yue Fei Cultural depictions of Fred Astaire American bildungsromans