Brian Ascalon Roley's American Son: Utopian Dream of Model Minority and the Violent Reality

브라이언 롤리의 『미국인 아들』: 모범적 소수민에 대한 유토피아적 환상과 폭력적 현실

Brian Ascalon Roley's American Son, one of the outstanding Filipino American novels after the LA riots, critically deals with a racial issue of his community which has been intermingled with the myth of model minority. Gabe and Thomas, considered as obedient Filipino younger immigrants, are asked to achieve the American dream as a way to place themselves at the center of the mainstream white society. However, they recognize that they cannot be accepted as a suitable subject for the invincible racism deeply rooted in the society. While Tomas refuses to become a model minority by identifying himself with the Mexican, Gabe is expected to become an idealistic subject of model minority by his mother since he complies with the rules of the mainstream society. However, he accepts his brother's violent way of life in that violence is necessary to protect his family from the racial discrimination in America. Though he is his mother's hope for model minority, he recognizes the only condition to achieve her expectation is the American society where there is no racism at all. However, by taking the case of Gabe and Thomas, Roley suggests that the younger generation of Filipino American immigrants have no choice but to accept violence to survive in the American society because racism always threatens their life.