“She had heard things about China from her white teachers and white schoolmates. She had a general idea of how a China-man looked….she would learn more if she could have a chance to see a Chinaman herself, with her own eyes…and to feel one with her own hands. That would be something original.”
The way the author sets up the first sentence, illustrates the distinction that China is separate from Pearl. Even though, Pearl knows she has ties to China, it is something far and distant in this excerpt and in Pearl’s mind. Also in this sentence we see, Pearl being separated from her white schoolmates as well. So she is far from China and also distant from her schoolmates and teachers.
Knowing the general idea, of what a “China-man” looks from education and conversation done by white teachers and peers, has to be questioned. It is also ironic for the author to conclude that Pearl, has a general understanding of what a China-man looks like, when Pearl is half Chinese herself. What does this say about, race and physicality of it. What makes one a “china-man.” What makes someone “authentic.”
Again, there is a question of “realness,” in this passage. There is a use of repetition when speaking about Pearl’s ability to feel with her own body. This may be used to signify, Pearls own Chinese identity, her feeling within her own-self/body. Her body encompasses an experience and her lineage once belonging to China. The irony is that her own hand and her own eyes embody a “china-man.” Pearl is as original as it gets and she doesn’t see that. Is it because she’s mixed? Is it because of her home being America and not China. This passage raises a lot of important questions through irony, diction and sarcasm.