Gender Roles in Two Plays

Paper Summary:

This paper explains how the issue of gender and gender roles have been a major theme in Western literature for some time and how it takes on a somewhat different tinge in Asian-American theater, no doubt because of the gender differences that exist in the East as opposed to the West. It shows how in Asian-American theater, gender differences are often depicted in generational terms, with a sharp contrast developed between those who have immigrated here from the East and those who were born here, or between those who can adapt and those who cannot. This paper contrasts "Tea" by Velina Hasu Houston, a drama, with "S.A.M. I Am" by Garrett Omata, a comedy, and shows how the plays treat the same issues in different ways.

From the Paper:

"Houston develops her story with four women, Japanese wives of American military personnel. They are living on a base near Junction City, Kansas, far from their Japanese roots. Their lives are difficult because of long periods of separation from their husbands and harsh living conditions, and in addition, they experience a degree of social alienation and homesickness as well as cultural shock. Some develop feelings of anger at their situation and resentment at having had to give up their own culture and adapt to another. Himiko is the central character and the woman who is not able to make the transition successfully, leading to the murder of her husband and her own suicide. This takes place before the play begins so that she is talked about even as her spirit appears to comment on the proceedings:.."

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