From the Novel clay walls novel
The division of Korea in the middle of twentieth century made Haesu to shift to the United States. While in this country, she faced discrimination in various ways. For instance, she was forced to abandon her native country against her will, and was also not given the opportunity to attain better living standards (Jun 56). Due to her status of being an immigrant in this country, she was not permitted to seek a source of income, a situation which made her to live in poverty together with her family. After migrating to America, Haesu, together with her husband Chun, experienced difficult period to adjust to a country where discrimination based on gender and race was prevalent. For Haesu, adjustment, however, did not mean she wanted to abandon her Korean identity and as a member of the yangban class.
While at the United States
Haesu faced economic discrimination because getting finances to meet her expenses was a big problem (Ronyoung 98). While in her native country, she belonged to the upper class and therefore being kept on low class in this country was very challenging to her. Being denied the opportunity to work or run a business made her family to experience problems because her husband did not have a stable source of finances. Being discriminated based on social class in the United States was ironical because according to the novel, she belonged to the upper class group in Korea.
Due to racial discrimination
Haesu experienced various challenges in getting opportunities that would give her better life with her family. For instance, the novel states that she realized problems in undertaking some of the simple tasks such as finding housing. Discrimination based on race was so immense to the level of utilizing another person to attain some of the things she required (Sharon 105). For example, the novel explains how she had to use her white friend to buy a house on her behalf because the law did not permit "Orientals" to possess a real estate. Discrimination based on skin color is also shown by the incidence where her family lost their lucrative business contract as a result of graft and Prejudice.
She also experienced social discrimination
because the natives thought she belonged to the minority group and therefore did not deserve to have any close relationships with them (Zigerell 549). Living with people who saw her as inferior to them was challenging because she needed friends to socialize with, share experiences, and seek for opinions. The situation of facing ignorance in this country shows that her Korean social status carried no value in the eyes of the white Americans.
Haesu also faced gender based discrimination
Being a foreign woman, there were some things that she was not required to do (Ronyoung 52). For example, she could not take the jobs that were believed to belong to men or make use of some of the opportunities that could make her live a good life. Her role was mainly to take care of the family and complete domestic chores. This aspect made her to experience challenges because while her native upbringing required her to be submissive and obedient wife, it also allowed her to feel superior, and this superiority would only be attained by having her gender respected and being allowed to earn a living.
Work Cited
Jun, Helen. Heran . Race for Citizenship: Black Orientalism and Asian Uplift from Pre-Emancipation to Neoliberal America. New York: New York University Press, 2011.
Ronyoung Kim. Clay walls. New York: permanent press, 1986.
Sharon, Yecies. Sexual Orientation, Discrimination, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Chicago Journal of International Law, Vol. 11, No. 2, 2011, PP. 98-158.
Zigerell, L. Black and White Discrimination in the United States: Evidence from an archive of Survey experiment Studies. Research and Politics. Vol. 5, No. 1, 2018, PP. 547-652.
