Issues of Identity in Catfish and Mandala
In Catfish and Mandala, the concept of identity takes on many dimensions, and the way Pham explores, struggles with, and comes to a resolution about his identity is the impetus for students to explore their own identities. As an ethnic American confused by his otherness and his place in America, Pham feels compelled to seek out his identity by returning “home,” to Vietnam. But while in Vietnam, Pham quickly realizes that his status as a viet kieu, a person born in Vietnam who returns to visit, makes him an other in his homeland, the place of his birth. “I tell them I’m Vietnamese-American. They shriek, ‘Viet-kieu!’. It sounds like a disease.”16 For many students of color, Pham’s experiences are relevant to their own experiences. Mexican-American or Filipino-American students living in the United States, often born and raised in America, are usually identified, and identify themselves, as simply Mexican or Filipino; this societal and self-designation emphasizes their ethnicity and reinforces their otherness, but ironically when these students return to visit their ethnic homeland they are not seen as real Mexicans or Filipino; their position is something else, a cultural hybrid. So, like Pham confronting his viet kieu status in Vietnam, they find themselves straddling two worlds, but not fully accepted in either one, others in both their ethnic homeland, and in America.
In Pham’s memoir the theme of identity is not limited to the ethnic or racial identity; sexual or gender identity is also explored in the memoir through his depiction of his sister Chi/Minh, who is transgender. Chi’s gender identity and Vietnamese heritage result in a dual otherness; she is ostracized in her own community for being transgender, while at the same time she is marginalized as a Vietnamese immigrant in American society. Being the oldest of Pham’s siblings and having spent the longest time being raised in Vietnam, Chi has an identity rooted firmly in Vietnamese culture, while the younger siblings have assimilated American values and customs more readily. Chi’s inability to assimilate in America while being pulled away from the country that she identifies with leaves her rootless, without the ability to establish an identity in either place. Early in the memoir, the readers are informed that Chi has committed suicide, compelling one character to tell Pham, “Your sister died because she became too American.”17 Throughout his journey Pham is haunted by Chi’s death. For students, Chi’s inability to assimilate, her struggles with gender identity, and her ultimate suicide are all compelling topics for discussion. While discussing identity, many students may be going through these issues themselves.18
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