As racism has grown a tremendous amount throughout the centuries and is still floating around in the air as of this day, Wayson Choy’s “I’m a Banana and Proud of It” and Drew Hayden Taylor’s “Pretty Like a White Boy” both address how racism has affected their lives and the issues of racism.
Although Choy and Taylor’s are respected throughout both of their stories, their expectations on how people reacted to their race differ from one another. In Wayson Choy’s short story, he explains the reason why he is called a “Banana”. He begins by expressing his passion and love for the North American citizenship and mentions how the term “Banana” refers to as being “yellow on the outside and white inside” (365). Later throughout the short story, Choy points out how other cultures have their own nicknames, “After all, in Canada and the United States, native Indians are “apples” (red outside, white inside); blacks are “Oreo cookies” (black and white); and Chinese are “bananas.” (365). Choy reveals the experiences that were painful for him and his parents as they arrived in North America giving them the name “Banana”. He points out how “Banana” is not a racist term, which shows that it does not have as much power and shows how it really relates deep through his roots.
His family has suffered many racial comments as North Americans went on throughout their day and were heartbroken because they were not able to apply for citizenship because of the “Chinese Exclusion Laws”, but after the war ended, the Chinese had gained the right to be a North American citizen. Coming near the end of the story as Choy grew older, he began to do some research from his past to realize only that, “There were no borders. “After all,” they affirmed, “Daaih ga tohng yahn…
. We are all Chinese! ” (365). Choy finally claims that he will never forget his Chinese roots and points out how brainwashed the people are in the North American lifestyle.
