Caitlynn Mendelssohn

Professor Orta
5/4/20
Women of Chinatown

Steer Toward Rock​ is an American fiction novel written by author Fae Myenne Ng that
brings to light the topics of work, family, and living in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the 1950’s.
Through a feminist critic lense the audience is able to look deeper into how Ng’s female
charecters go against the stereotypical life of a woman in the time period. From Ilin’s job in a
male dominated industry and Joice abandoning her family to Veda pursuing a career in air travel;
they all share in common the fact they didn’t give into the patriarchal ideology for women.
Through the feminist lense and these examples, the audience is also opened up to a prevailing
theme of individualism.
Shortly after Ilin is married to Jack Moon, she trains as his apprentice at a butcher shop
downtown Chinatown. Butchery is an almost all male dominated work area, which means it’s
surprising for a woman to want to do this kind of work. Through hard work and helpful tips Ilin
is successful in her butcher work, “She slammed through to wood. I was pleased; I taught her
well,” (152) Moon said. Illin demonstrates that no matter your gender you’re able to pursue a
career of your desire if you put in the time, and even extra time to compensate for the fact you’re
not a man. This goes against the ideolositic route for women in the 1950’s. Compared to white
women in the suburbs who stayed at home and cleaned, Ilin was doing exactly the opposite and
working, and in an extremely male dominated field. Ilin’s choice to pursue the job also gives the
reader an example of individualism, as she uniquely chose butchering as her job while little to no
other women chose this path. Another example of a woman who goes against the patriarchal
ideals and has a sense of individualism is Jack Moon’s baby mama, Joice Qwan.
Joice Qwan was a mother who wasn’t ready for mothership nor did she really have any
interest in it. According to Moon, “Joice doesn’t want it,’ (86) referring to their child which she
was pregnant with. By openly not wanting her child Joice shows the audience how she isn’t
going along with the stereotypical motherhood path of life. This is Joice’s first punch to the wall
that is patriarchal ideology for women during this era who were supposed to be loving, doting
mothers as their job. While she doesn’t want her baby, Joice looks for other things in life to
fulfill her, which is how she ends up in Petaluma. “Joice found work sexing chickens in
Petaluma, she called from a pay phone but there was so much background noise I didn’t hear
much else… we accepted that Joice wasn’t coming back anytime soon,” (232,233) Moon says.
Joice’s decision to pursue a job instead of motherhood is just another blow to the ideology of the
time period. By choosing not only a unique job of sexing chickens, Joice also picks this job
which is hours away from her home and daughter which shows she’s really doing what she wants
for herself and herself only.. Along with Ilin’s interesting choice of work, Joice also picks a
strange and unique job that highlights the theme of individualism in Ng’s women characters.
While Joice is away for a majority of her daughter’s life, Jack Moon raises his daughter who
turns into an empowered individualistic woman herself.
Veda Qwan was raised by Ilin and Jack Moon while her mother sexed chickens in
Petaluma. After growing up being influenced by Ilin she attended community college and
eventually accepted a job in Boston. “That winter, she left for Boston and her life in the harsher
climates, away from the family fold, changed her,” (296) her father said when talking about her
airport job. Not only was pursuing a higher education not super common yet for women back
then, moving across the entire country for a job opportunity was also somewhat rare. For the
third main woman character in the novel, Ng chooses actions that obviously go against the life
paths for women of that time period. Rather than having Veda follow the stereotypical lifestyle
of: finding a boyfriend, getting married, having children, and being a stay at home mom, she has
her challenge the patriarchal ideology and go to college, while putting her career above her home
life and focusing on work. The audience can also find a sense of individualism in Veda, while
she consults her dad about Boston, she ultimately decides to go and change her life and stays on
the East Coast, not letting anyone tell her how to live her life.
Throughout Fae Ng’s novel ​Steer Toward Rock​ the audience is exposed to many
characters and themes told through different perspectives in the chapters. Looking at the novel
through a feminist cristism lens the reader is able to see how Ng’s female characters go against
the stereotypical path for women in the 1950’s. While the audience is able to look at the book
through a feminist lense, they’re also able to see the revealing theme of invidiualism that’s
expressed throughough each female character’s story. One element of fiction that was prevalent
throughout the novel was point of view. By Ng changing perspectives and viewpoints, it enabled
the readers to see more to the story than if it were to have been told by one narrator the whole
time. ​Steer Towards Rock ​by Fae Ng expresses a theme of individualism and the fight against
stereotypes through a feminist criticism lense while using point of view as an important element
of fiction.