The Identity Seeker in American Knees

The Identity Seeker in American Knees

American Knees is a contemporary story about race and ethnicity within relationship. It is a completely different generation and features another Chinese-American hero, Raymond Ding, who looks for a mate who can help him to retain his Chinese identity.

Raymond Ding, the intelligent protagonist of American knees, is the assistant director of minority affairs. He tries to do the traditional Chinese American family thing but fails partly because he is unfaithful. Divorce with his Chinese American wife, Darleen, is a major failing for Raymond in his Chinese American community. And his problems don’t end there. When he meets beautiful, half-Chinese Aurora Crane, he soon learns that it is impossible to avoid danger of romance without considering the questions of race, culture, and identity which he thought is out-of-date. Throughout the novel, Raymond struggles to search for his true identity. Raymond is lonely and longs for home. Home is not just the dwelling place, but also carries belonging and origins. After divorce with his Chinese American wife, Darleen, Raymond seemly questions his Chinese identity. Issues surrounding ethnic identity are not simple. With the enormous influence of the outside multicultural world, Raymond feels more like a spectator than a participant in his own community. He is at a loss for his identity. He loses his sense of belonging and longs for home. In the process of the wanderings he engages in, Raymond wishes to

discover or recover his self-definition. So the search for place and desire for home is also the search for identity.

The strategic ending indicates that Raymond finds a psychological belonging by reconciliation with his Chinese American father and half Asian American girlfriend. Raymond who grows up trying to distance himself from his original cultures has taken renewed interest in his Chinese legacy.