Whos Irish

In Gish Shen’s short story, “Who’s Irish?”, the author uses characterization to show how the narrator of the story, a hardworking and traditional Chinese grandmother, encounters many troubles due to her strong Chinese traditions that are incompatible with American traditions. It is traditional in Chinese culture to be hardworking and motivated. The grandmother in this short story overcame an unbelievably difficult obstacle: “When I came to this country, I have no money and do not speak English. But my husband and I own our restaurant before he die. Free and clear, no mortgage (Shen, 105).” She never gave up despite the fact that she was forced to move to a foreign country, with no money or sense of communication with Americans. Because of her persistence, she is successful in making a living regardless of the barrier between Chinese and American culture. The grandmother is a very traditional Chinese woman. She is unable to adjust to her Irish-American son-in-law, John, because of the differences in culture. She sees John as being incredibly lazy and unmotivated because he is unemployed and also says he cannot take care of his daughter, “Because he is a man (Shen,105).” She is disgusted and not accustomed to the lack of motivation from a man. In addition, the grandmother’s granddaughter, Sophie, is unlike any child she has ever encountered in China. Sophie is extremely disrespectful and as the grandmother would say, “Sophie is wild, Sophie is not like my daughter Natalie, or like me (Shen, 105).” Sophie is a young child who is uncooperative and misbehaves constantly. The grandmother is in shock from the disrespect she receives from Sophie. In Chinese culture, it is tradition to spank your kids if they misbehave. When the grandmother suggests spanking Sophie to her daughter, her daughter says, “Oh no!” because, “In America, parents are not supposed to spank the child (Shen,107).” The grandmother went against the demands of her daughter to not spank Sophie, and the next time Sophie misbehaved, she was spanked. When Sophie told her mother that her grandmother has been spanking her, the grandmother was kicked out of the house. Chinese tradition is broken once again because it is said that, “In China, daughter take care of mother (Shen, 105).” In conclusion, the grandmother’s personality and traditional views made it impossible to adjust to American culture. The Chinese traditions make up a big part of the grandmother’s personality traits, and they are reflected throughout the short story.