LS 5653: Module 5: THE STAR FISHER

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Yep, Laurence. 1991. THE STAR FISHER. Morrow Junior Books: New York. ISBN: 0-688-09365-5

PLOT SUMMARY

The Lee family is looking for new prospects. Papa tells the family he can hear the “dirty shirts calling him” so they move from Ohio to West Virginia. The family is not greeted by many friendly faces or burgeoning opportunity. They are the only Chinese family in the community. Mama, Papa, Joan, Emily, and Bobby Lee are suddenly thrust into a harsh and hurtful situation. Mama and Papa work to establish the laundry business while the three siblings head off to school. Emily and Bobby settle in quickly, but Joan feels alone and alienated from her classmates. The laundry does not have any customers, and the family is running out of money.

The landlord, Miss Lucy, befriends the Lee family and helps them turn their situation around. Miss Lucy is a source of support for Joan and helps Mama bake a pie that garners attention at the church social and causes instant popularity. After the church social, a few students welcome Joan into their circle, and the laundry becomes a busy establishment. The Lee family settles into their new home and become part of the community.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Joan tells her sister the story of the Star Fisher as the two settle in for their first night’s sleep in West Virginia. A young star fisher was tricked and held hostage by a possessive and manipulative man. He forces her to marry him, and the two have a daughter. The star fisher feels alone and isolated in her new home. She does not fit into the community. Eventually she and her daughter trick the man into returning her stolen cloak and she returns her home in the sky. Joan thinks of this story often as her life in West Virginia unfolds. She often compares her own troubles to the situation the star fisher found herself in. In the end, both stories ended with the character, Joan and the star fisher, improving her surroundings and outlook on life. When Joan tells this story to her sister, the readers are left with a feeling of future optimism. Although it takes time to materialize, readers once again feel optimistic as Joan and her family finally begin to fit into their new community.

The plot of the story is well developed and easy to follow. Readers ride the train with Joan and her family to West Virginia and watch the family struggle to realize their American dream. Mr. Yep strings together an amazing series of events that captivates the reader and builds tension and suspense. Readers are left wondering if the Lee family’s situation will improve. Hearts break as narrow minded townspeople do not welcome the new family. The Lees are not new immigrants, but they are treated as if they just “got off the boat.” The climax of the story is the church pie social. With Miss Lucy’s guidance and ingredients, Mama spent many days practicing making pies. She finally creates one that is delectable. The entire community falls in love with the pie and begins to accept the Lee family. After this, Joan is welcomed by a small group of girls at school and the laundry business begins to thrive.

The characters are well developed and interesting. Readers quickly become attached to the Lee family and want to see their plight improve. Physical descriptions of characters are not included, but descriptions of actions and conversations provide insight into characters’ motivations and personalities. For example, at first Joan’s mother is seen as a harsh woman. She is constantly critical of Joan and her siblings. When she sends Joan to the store, Joan believes it is because she does not want the shame of having so little money with which to shop. However, readers learn that Mama’s lack of English skill is the real reason for Joan to go to the market. Mr. Yep does a superb job creating characters that are flawed but are likeable.

Joan is a typical teenager. She is struggling to fit in with her peers and trying to stay attached to her family at the same time. She does not understand why her mother is so critical and why she can’t be like “American parents”. She and her mother engage in many heated arguments as the two struggle to survive and adjust. Joan is not the “dutiful Chinese child” who doesn’t question authority. She has an opinion, and she shares it. The arguments the mother and daughter share are authentic and realistic. Stereotypical attitudes and notions are avoided.

Joan does not understand why the townspeople treat her and her family like a zoo display. She was born in America. She knows about some of her Chinese heritage, but she has never been to China. She knows little about it. The principal and teachers at her new school are condescending and demeaning as Joan attempts to explain what types of content she had been studying. She surprises students and the teacher when she correctly answers an interpretive question about ROMEO AND JULIET. She is an intelligent girl, bound only by the limitations others are setting.

This story is set in 1920s West Virginia. The Lee family lived in Ohio prior to the events in the story. One is given the impression that there where other Chinese people in the community. However, they are not ready for the manner they are treated when they arrive in West Virginia. They are the only Chinese family in town. They are a sideshow to be watched. The townspeople seem unnerved by this new family. They stare on the street and do not interact with the Lees.

Alienation and discrimination are seen many times in THE STAR FISHER. The Lees are greeted to West Virginia by a man who refers to them as “monkeys”. Hateful things are painted on their fence. The principal of the school acts as if Joan just moved to America an hour ago. As Joan answers her questions about previous studies and future plans, the principal answers with a snide “Indeed”. She is not listening to the answers; she has her own notions of Joan before they have even gotten to know each other. This Chinese family is placed in a box by this community and must find a way to escape.

The names of the characters in the book are interesting. One would expect that the Chinese characters would have Chinese names. They do not. Joan, Emily, and Bobby are their names. The students at the school are named Janey, Henrietta, Florie, and Ann. All of these names sound ordinary. There is one character that has an unusual name. Her name is Havana. Joan assumes that Havana is of Cuban descent. However, Havana is not Cuban; her father is simply a fan of Cuban cigars. This reminds readers not to make assumptions based on names. The main characters are first generation immigrants who are devoted to their culture even though they have American sounding names.

The book is written in an interesting style. At the beginning of the story, Mr. Yep includes a note regarding the language of the text. The entire book is in English, so that readers can understand the meaning, but actually a majority of the text is written in Chinese. Mr. Yep informs the reader that the text that is in a standard type is in Chinese, and the italicized words are in English. Most of the conversation and thoughts in this book are in Chinese.

The Author’s Preface also includes the historical background for the storyline of THE STAR FISHER. Readers are made aware of the historical basis for the events in this story. It is not simply a tale of fiction; it has historical undertones and is based on real situations. Placing this information at the beginning of the novel sets the tone for the remainder of the book.

THE STAR FISHER contains several themes. One theme is the importance of family. This theme is prevalent in many types of literature. Young readers need to be reminded of the importance of their families. Families may disagree and yell, but in the end, they are the best support that anyone has. A second theme is one of identity. Readers do not know what life was like for Joan in Ohio, but one is given the impression that things were moving smoothly. No mention of previous problems litters the text. When the family arrives in West Virginia, Joan seems surprised by how people act and how they treat her and her family. She has to search for who she is and how she fits into this new community. Her constant desire for her mother to behave like an American parent mellows by the end of the story. She has accepted who she is and who her parents are and why they act in a certain manner.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Based on tales Yep gleaned from his mother and her family, whose resilience and humor shine through, The Star Fisher offers tantalizing glimpses of interesting characters…”

From PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: “A traditional Chinese myth about the starfisher--half-bird, half-human, confined to the earth but yearning for the stars--weaves through the story, a poetic but insistent metaphor for Joan's own hopes and dreams.”

From KIRKUS REVIEWS: “A likable, thoughtful story about a young woman learning to value her own differences.”

CONNECTIONS

Students will read legends and folktales from Chinese culture then from many different cultures. Students will analyze the needed parts of a folktale or legend. Each student will compose a brief legend or fairytale and will create one illustration to coincide with the tale.

Students will map the journey of the Lee family on a map of the Eastern United States. Students will color and label the journey on the map. The family has other relatives in Pittsburgh. The distances between these places will be labeled and marked. Do these distances seem far by a 2008 standard? What about in 1927? This is before planes and widespread cross-country transportation. Students will need to support his/her opinion.

Joan, Emily, and Bobby begin attending a new school. Emily and Bobby seem to settle into school without much effort. But Joan struggles more. Why do you think that this occurs? Why does Joan have a more difficult finding her place?