"Chin"

Paper Summary:

This essay examines Jen Gish's short story, "Chin" which focuses on the interaction between the traditional Chinese community, and the larger American culture. Gish, an influential 20th-century American writer, effectively uses a variety of narrative techniques in "Chin." First, a brief biography of Jen Gish is given, and her importance and specific contributions to 20th century American literature is outlined. The use of narration in literature is briefly discussed, and then the specific narrative techniques used by Gish is examined in detail.

From the Paper:

"In Chin, the point of view is in the third person. Gish uses words like "he" and "they" to tell the story. This interesting, third person, use of the narrator's perspective has important limitations, as well as distinct and interesting advantages. By using the next-door neighbor as the narrator, Gish limits the detail that we receive about Chin. We can only infer what Chin feels, based on what the narrator tell us about Chin's reactions. We do not have access to Chin's feelings. Chin scales walls, and passively suffers his father's abuse, but we cannot tell if his calm exterior truly reflects his feelings, or it masks a tortured and upset soul. "

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