Pity Party

I’ve noticed a pattern in pride surrounding home life and reputation amongst “the locals” in Hawaii. There are instances of it in both Saturday Night At The Pahala Theatre and All I Asking For Is My Body. It seems to me that there is more of an anxiety associated with keeping up appearances amongst the Japanese/Filipino locals in Hawaii. In Pahala Theatre When Lucy is spending a lot of time at Bernie’s shop after they bond over her pet goat, Lucy’s mother becomes angry and says, “Tell that old man I like you home by 5:00 or I calling the cops. Who he think him, your fadda? We no need his pity.”(Yamanaka 106) I recalled this scene while I was reading All I asking for is my body and the way that Kiyoshi’s parents speak of him spending time and eating dinner at Makot’s house. His mother tells him “don’t you see kiyoshi, you will bring shame to your father and me if you go there to eat. People will say, ‘Ah, look at the Oyama’s number two boy. He’s a hoitobo and chorimbo!.” (Murayama 2) It’s clear in the passages from both stories that these non-indigenous Hawaiian’s living in Hawaii care a lot about how they’re perceived by the public eye. Both of these cases happen to be Japanese families but I’m guessing that it’s prevalent in the Chinese and Filipino settler communities as well. Where do you think the extreme worry over public perception comes from amongst the settler communities? Do you think that it’s because they are a very proud people and just because they are living outside of their native land that’s not going to change. Or, do you think it has to do with the fact that their people were brought to the island by rich white men to work the plantations so they feel very self-conscience about their place within the economy of Hawaii and are much too proud to beg or look for handouts from anyone else?