Characters

The most important character in the short story “Everyone Talked Loudly in Chinatown” by Anne Jew is Lin, the teenage narrator. However, her parents and grandmother as well as her boyfriend Todd also have some importance to the plot, so we will also briefly discuss them.

Lin

Lin is the narrator and the protagonist of the short story.

Outer characterisation

Her outer characterisation reveals that she is living in Canada with her Chinese family, her grandmother emigrating there. The grandmother depicted Lin when she was a child as not looking Chinese:

"Look at that high nose. She doesn't look Chinese."
"She is such a shy cute girl."

At the time of the narration, Lin is already a teenager, and she has started dating a white boy, named Todd.

Inner characterisation

Lin’s inner characterisation is constructed through her interactions with her family and Todd, but also through the way she relates to these people in her life.

From her interactions with Todd, we can infer that Lin is either disinterested in what Todd says, or has remained as shy as when she was a child: “I try hard to stay interested in what he says and ask him questions, but mostly I end up nodding my head and saying, 'Uh huh, uh huh.' He doesn't seem to mind my quietness though.”

Furthermore, she is very physically attracted by Todd, although they do not seem to share the same tastes and interests: “My whole body feels like it's melting to the ground, and I'm always surprised to see that it hasn't.”

To please him, she even changes her behaviour at the movies, eating less and acting more politely: “I usually gorge myself on popcorn, but I feel compelled to eat one kernel at a time.”

After they kiss for the first time, Lin declares herself in love with the boy and forgets all about her family, letting him take her all the way home: “...