F.O.B. (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: David Henry Hwang
- First Published: 1983
- Type of Work: Play
- Genres: Drama, Psychological drama
- Subjects: North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Race, 1980’s, California, West, U.S., Asia or Asians, Ethnic groups, Ethnic relations, Immigration or emigration, Asian Americans, China or Chinese people, Chinese Americans
- Locales: Torrance, CA
The play's title is explained by the character Dale in the first lines: “F-O-B. Fresh Off the Boat. F.O.B.,” which are also the play's closing lines. Dale continues his speech by describing the characteristics of F.O.B.'s, Asian people who are recent immigrants to the United States. He calls them “clumsy, ugly, greasy” and “loud, stupid, four-eyed.” Dale himself is an A.B.C., an “American Born Chinese,” and traditionally the relationship between A.B.C.'s and F.O.B.'s has been anything but pleasant.
The play, which has only three characters, traces the difficulty...
[The entire page is 824 words long]
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