In the novel The American Son by Brian Ascalon Roley, two diverse Asian-American characters emerge; one representing the stereotypical Asian male, Gabe, and the other representing the stereotypical American blend, Tomas. In this paper, I will uncover the truths of Gabe and proving him to be a stereotypical Asian male trying to be a typical American male as well as Tomas as the American son with Mexican-American influences trying to be anything but Asian.
             In past reading assignments, such as M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang, the Asian culture is portrayed weaker (East) than the strong American or European cultures (West). Therefore, a stereotypical view of Asians seems to be weaker. Both Asian men and women are included in this weaker stereotype. The character Gabe in The American Son displays this passive, weaker stereotype through the whole of the novel. He constantly battles with his brother, Tomas' dominant personality as well as battling himself in trying to be The American Son. At the beginning of the novel, Tomas insults Gabe and Gabe does not fight back.
             "Sit down. If the client sees you standing there like that he's gonna think you're my houseboy.
             This is a lie, of course, but my face goes hot, which is what he was after. I do not want to sit after what he has just said, so I stand there for a moment. But I feel foolish, so I walk past him and enter the front door, to see if our mother needs any help inside." (p.18-19)
             In this instance, Gabe takes the negative insult without saying a word in his own defense. This passage shows the reader, from the beginning, the future struggle Gabe will have with Tomas as well as himself.
             I think Gabe's inner struggle is trying to identify himself as an individual. He is constantly living in Tomas's shadow, even if Tomas is not the model son. I think Gabe realizes the more Tomas acts in a negative manner, the more attention he receives. This p...