Sea Glass by Laurence Yep

First published: 1979

Type of plot:Bildungsroman

Time of work: The early 1970’s

Locale: Concepcion, California

Principal Characters:

• Craig Chin, an overweight Chinese American of middle-school age
• Calvin Craig, Craig’s father, a storekeeper who wants his son to excel in sports
• Jeannie Craig, Craig’s compassionate and loving mother
• Kenyon, a female classmate of Craig
• Uncle Quail, Craig’s great-uncle, a Chinese American who remembers the old days
• Stanley, Craig’s cousin who excels in sports
• Sheila, Craig’s cousin and classmate
• Uncle Tim, and
• Auntie Faye, the parents of Stanley and Sheila
• Ralph Bradley, a friend and classmate of Craig

The Novel

Set in the Chinatown of Concepcion, California, in the early 1970’s, Sea Glass is the story of a second-generation Chinese American boy who is struggling to find his identity as a Chinese, as an American, and—most important—as a person. Pressing against young and overweight Craig Chin are two seemingly overwhelming problems: His father expects him to excel in sports in order to achieve acceptance as an American, and, when the novel opens, Craig is undergoing troubles as the new boy at school. His family has just moved to Concepcion from San Francisco.

The novel is organized into ten chapters of approximately equal length and importance. Each is divided into shorter subchapters to give the work something of an episodic effect and substance. The work has only one narrator, young Craig Chin himself; thus the point of view is entirely that of the adolescent boy as he struggles with his problems and new surroundings. The setting of the novel, in its entirety, is Concepcion, California.

The book opens with Craig trying unsuccessfully to play football with some new acquaintances upon his arrival in the new town. Craig’s father stands on the sidelines to shout instructions to Craig and the other players. Because Calvin Craig had been successful in high school as an athlete, he believes his son can achieve acceptance in American society only by becoming a sports hero at school. Craig is fat and uninterested in football or any other such activity; however, he cannot make his father accept these facts.

In the next chapter, Craig’s father has changed the game from football to basketball, where the same pattern occurs again. Craig cannot play basketball well, no matter how hard he tries; he succeeds only at humiliating himself and his father, who relentlessly claims that enough practice and hard work will make Craig a star player. He claims this even when it is clear to everyone that it cannot possibly be the case.

In the middle sections of the novel, two other main characters are introduced and become central to the action. Craig’s job at the family store is to deliver groceries to older people in the community, one of whom is Calvin’s great-uncle, Uncle Quail. This older Chinese gentleman, who never trusts the “white demons,” lives alone in a small cottage near a cove on the ocean. Through his regular Saturday visits, Craig and Uncle Quail become friends who enjoy swimming together in the ocean in their own secret place. At the same time Craig is befriending Uncle Quail, he strikes up an acquaintance with a classmate named Kenyon, the daughter of two extremely liberal parents. The father is a poet and the mother a political activist. Kenyon and Craig recognize in each other kindred spirits because of their differences from the other children at Dana Middle School: Craig is different because of his Chinese ethnicity; Kenyon is different because of her parents’ liberal lifestyles.

Because of his relationships with Kenyon and Uncle Quail, Craig’s life seems to be getting better. At least he has friends and companions whom he enjoys. Kenyon, however, elicits from Craig the promise to ask Uncle Quail’s permission for her to swim in the cove. Uncle Quail is horrified; he does not want any white people on his property and is offended that Craig would even ask. Yet he gives in to Craig’s pleadings that Kenyon is “different,” and a date is set. Kenyon is unable to keep the appointment, and through a series of misspoken statements, Craig alienates himself from both Uncle Quail and Kenyon. In the middle of these events, Craig loses his ability to maintain feelings of respect for his father in the Chinese fashion, and he violates the social order by screaming at his father the truth—that he is no good at sports, does not like them, and does not want ever to play or pretend to play them again.

Thus Craig has only his mother left for affection and friendship. She counsels him simply to wait patiently for the father, the uncle, and the friend to reconcile. Eventually, Uncle Quail thaws toward Craig, whereupon he visits Craig’s father and, as the elder Chinese gentleman of the community, tells him to let Craig pursue his own interests and activities. Kenyon, too, softens and reestablishes her friendship with the young man. The novel concludes with Uncle Quail, Craig, and Kenyon taking a swim in the secret cove and diving for abalone. Instead, they find “sea glass,” broken pieces of glass that have been smoothed and shaped by many years in the sea. It is clearly a happy ending, as Craig Chin is now at peace with those around him and with himself.

The Characters

Craig Chin, the first-person narrator of the story, tells of events that are important to him as he finds identity and peace. This occurs on several levels, but the most important of these is his relationship with his father. Both father and son love each other in an unquestioned, unconditional way, yet problems occur because of the father’s insistence that Craig become a sports star. At the same time, Craig experiences severe difficulties because of his birth and ethnicity. On the one hand, he is Chinese by looks and blood; on the other, his way of thinking, his central culture, and his own goals in life are distinctly American. Readers learn of these difficulties and their resolutions through the revelations of the main character’s thoughts and actions.

Calvin Craig, Craig’s father, is the most loving and helpful and understanding of all fathers except for one matter: He is unable to accept that his son will never be any kind of successful athlete. His attitude is revealed primarily through his actions. Always on the sidelines encouraging and advising his son in football and basketball, he fails to realize the torment he is working upon the person in the world whom he loves most. For Calvin himself, sports had been the ticket to acceptance in American life.

Uncle Quail is the stereotypical “last generation” from the Old Country. In one section of the story, Uncle Quail tells of the experiences of his own father’s generation as they built the United States’ railroads and performed other such tasks. Then he explains the discrimination against them that occurred once the rails had been laid. He survives as a “Chinaman” gentleman, one who clings to the old ways of life and will not trust the “white demons” again. This works to Craig’s benefit when Uncle Quail visits Craig’s father and plays the part of family sage, essentially instructing the father to leave the boy alone to pursue his own interests.

Kenyon is the female foil and counterpart to Craig. She has problems similar to those experienced by Craig, and both come to realize that these are not because of Craig’s Chinese heritage. Both are outsiders to the society of middle-school children because they do not conform to some unspoken, unknown mold and code of behavior. Kenyon’s character and relation with her own parents give Craig the example and strength to stand up to his father and finally to speak the truth: that he will never be an athlete no matter how long or hard he tries.

Craig’s mother, Jeannie Craig, is in some ways a stereotypical gentle, caring mother figure. She listens, encourages, and directs, and she works to keep peace between father and son as well as to help Craig develop as a young man who is pointed in the right direction in life.

Stanley and Sheila, Craig’s first cousins on his mother’s side, are examples of Chinese Americans who have seemingly made the transformation to being mainstream Americans without difficulty. Stanley is something of the son Calvin wishes he had had, because Stanley does very well in sports. Sheila, because of her quickness and sense of humor, is similarly accepted by the American-born white children at school. In fact, Sheila is so much accepted that she feels free to ridicule Craig for his ethnicity, although both children are entirely of Chinese descent.

Uncle Tim and Auntie Faye similarly appear in contrast to Craig’s own parents. Evidently, they live as Chinese Americans without problem or difficulty, fitting well into the society at large because they do not push their children to overachieve for the sake of social acceptance.

Ralph Bradley is the only new friend other than Kenyon that Craig makes in Concepcion. Ralph represents in many ways that which is best of white Americans in terms of racial tolerance and acceptance of others. Ralph immediately understands why Craig’s father pushes him on the sports field, and he does all he can to help Craig succeed in sports.

Critical Context

Sea Glass was Laurence Yep’s fourth novel to be published in the 1970’s, and all dealt with problems of Chinese American childhood. These novels reveal a particular maturity and sophistication in that they do not simplistically blame white Americans for all the problems experienced by Chinese immigrants. Yep recognizes that the mainstream society may all too often be responsible for problems of racism and discrimination, but he argues that meaningful resolution of such difficulties finally lies within the selves of his characters.

Yep, himself a native-born American, is a product of the American 1960’s. His sensitivity to the social turmoil and upheavals occurring during his own life are present in his work, if not through description of event then at least in attitude and perspective. Yep’s books have won several awards. Child of the Owl (1977) won the Boston Globe-Horn Fiction Award; Dragonwings (1975) won recognition as the American Library Association Notable Children’s Book in 1975 and the Newbery Honor Book in 1976. He has continued to write novels, expanding his domain from ethnic fiction to works of mystery and suspense.

Bibliography

Burns, Mary M. “Sea Glass.” The Horn Book Magazine 55 (October, 1979): 542. The reviewer focuses mostly on conflicts between children and parents but also emphasizes the clash between American and Chinese cultures in the United States. There is some discussion of Yep’s narrative techniques, style, and structure in the novel.

Burnson, Patrick. “In the Studio with Laurence Yep.” Publishers Weekly 241 (May 16, 1994): 25-26. Although Burnson’s article does not mention Sea Glass, it offers an interesting overview of Yep’s life and career.

Dinchak, Marla. “Recommended Laurence Yep.” English Journal 71 (March, 1982): 81-82. Dinchak provides a thorough discussion of Sea Glass as well as three other novels by Yep: Sweetwater (1973), Dragonwings, and Child of the Owl. She makes valid comparisons among the teenage protagonist-narrators of the four works. In so doing, she takes up matters of adolescent conflicts, rebellion against parents, and communicating with others.

Fritz, Jean. “Sea Glass.” The New York Times Book Review, January 20, 1980, p. 30. Fritz’s review focuses mostly upon the problems of Chinese Americans proving themselves as Americans. She explains Yep’s purposes in retelling the story of a father-son conflict, finding the resolution of the plot to be less important than the characters themselves.

Johnson-Feelings, Dianne. Presenting Laurence Yep. New York: Twayne, 1995. Provides biographical information about this Chinese American award-winning author and presents critical essays of his works for young adults. A good overall source for comparing and contrasting Yep’s works.

Kao, Donald. “Sea Glass.” Interracial Books for Children Review 11, no. 6 (1980): 16. Kao discusses the concept of achievement and success as it is understood by young Americans and as revealed in Sea Glass. He sets forth the idea that Craig is a “star” about things in life that are truly important and make sense. He identifies real-life problems and barriers as issues in the novel and discusses how “outsiders” to mainstream society deal with them.

Lenhart, Maria. “Finding the Courage to Be Oneself.” The Christian Science Monitor, October 15, 1979, p. B11. This discussion is primarily concerned with the development of the main characters in the novel. The critic explains the faded dreams of the past (Craig’s father) in the light of his own goals and expectations in life. She also discusses the dialogue of the first-person narrator, finding it credible.

Sutherland, Zena. “Sea Glass.” Bulletin for the Center for Children’s Books 33 (February, 1980): 124. Sutherland gives perhaps the best discussion of Sea Glass as literature. She takes up the matter of the metaphor and symbol of “sea glass” itself, explaining how it relates to Craig. She also comments about changes within the main character.