The Year of the Dragon (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Frank Chin
- First Published: 1981
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: A Chinese New Year in the 1970’s
- Setting: San Francisco’s Chinatown
- Principal Characters: Fred Eng, Pa, China Mama, Ma, Sis (Mattie), Ross, Johnny
- Genres: Social realism, Drama
- Subjects: Values, 1970’s, Family or family life, Self-discovery, Race, Prejudices or antipathies, San Francisco, Chinese Americans
- Locales: San Francisco, CA, Chinatown, San Francisco, CA
The Play
Act 1 begins with forty-year-old Fred Eng addressing a tour group in San Francisco’s Chinatown during celebrations for the Chinese New Year. Using a stereotypical Chinese American accent, he identifies himself as Chinatown’s best guide for a tour of the district’s exotic sights. He tells the tourists they make him feel good and he likes them. After his spiel, however, the cursing under his breath reveals his contempt for this work.
In the next scene, Fred’s sister Mattie (called “Sis” by family members) and her white husband, Ross, arrive at the Eng...
[The entire page is 2456 words long]
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