Characters

The main character of the short story “Who’s Irish?” by Gish Jen is the narrator. The narrator is a 68-year-old Chinese woman who lives in the US with her daughter’s family. Natalie, the narrator’s daughter, is another important character. She is married to John Shea, an Irish man, and has a three-year-old daughter named Sophie.

The story mainly focuses on the conflict between the narrator and Natalie, which is caused by their different approaches to educating Sophie. The story introduces some other characters as well, such as John’s brothers and his mother, Bess. 

You can read a full characterization of the narrator and Natalie in the following pages.