Redefining ‘Yellow’: Questioning the Asian American Identity in David Henry Hwang’s Yellow Face

Abstract

In this paper, I examine the various representations of Asian Americans in David Henry Hwang’s Yellow Face and track the myriad of social roles that his two main characters, DHH and Marcus, cannot play, want to play, have to play, and/or are invited to play. I address how DHH struggles with his definition of what it means to be Asian American. By juxtaposing DHH and Marcus, the play serves as a prime example of what David Palumbo-Liu describes as “rescripting the imaginary,” or the attempt of Asian American and other writers to “invent within their discursive spaces images of Asian America that both delineate the boundaries of Asian America and envision particular modes of crossing them.” Through this role shifting and juxtaposition of the two main characters, Hwang simultaneously acknowledges the delineation of certain boundaries while also proposing potential opportunities for crossing those boundaries. Ultimately, I argue that Yellow Face calls for an understanding of the Asian American identity as changeable dynamic, and provides a potential strategy for its renegotiation.