Many of the theories and ideas of modern sociology are intertwined in the incredibly intriguing lives and stories of the characters in The Tattoo. The novel is a commentary on the impact of anger and racism, cultural assimilation and influences of family and friends on an individual, and is written in a way that not only invokes thought, but keeps the reader interested with every turn of the page. The story takes place in Hawaii, and gives a lot of insight into the local culture there.
The story and characters in the book are both intense and fascinating. The story is written as told by Ken, a Japanese man who lives in Hawaii with his family. The detail in which he tells his life story truly gives the reader an insight into his thoughts and feelings about everything, from his family and culture, to other races and the assimilation he has witnessed and undergone as a Japanese man growing up in Hawaii. There are very clear themes such as interactionist theory and symbolic interaction, as well as social identity theory throughout the novel. Ken in himself is quite an interesting study on culture and ethnicity. He is Japanese. His mother was a well educated Japanese woman who spoke English without even an accent (“stone white” as Ken refers to it [p. 24]). His father, on the other hand, is a Japanese man who grew up on the island of Oahu. He speaks the local “pidgin” language of Hawaii, and is generally quite angry and intimidating. Although the family is Japanese, they have become assimilated to the Hawaiian culture in many ways, especially Ken and his father, as they both grew up there and have adopted the local language and many of the local customs. At the same time, there are also many areas of their lives in which they hold onto the Japanese culture, and they take immense pride in their Japanese heritage. When discussing the interactionist theory, as well as the symbolic interaction among Ken and others in his society, the assimilation into the Hawaiian culture becomes especially prevalent. As stated in our text, this theory “examines….interaction patterns in everyday life (e.g. …individual use of commonly used terms)...” and that symbols are “-our spoken language, expressions….” (Parrillo 12). Ken clearly interacts with the other “locals” of the island as a local himself, especially in adapting the pidgin dialect. These symbols, the interactions with those around him, and Ken’s experiences growing up on the island, are all factors that have helped him to develop his own social construction of reality.
On a different note, racism is extremely rampant in the book, from the perspectives of all of the characters. There is racism among Ken’s peers, within his family, and in the prison that he now finds himself in. What I found to be especially interesting about this was the clear indication of how racism is taught and passed down from generation to generation. In the story, it begins with Ken’s grandfather and is passed through his father, and eventually to him. As Cal, Ken’s cellmate in prison thinks, after listening to much of Ken’s story, “I’d been a student of hate, too (pg. 36).” This really explains one of the reasons that hate and racism remain among people, despite the increase in intermingling between the races.
There are many aspects to Ken’s life that I can relate to, either directly or indirectly. Of course, I have seen many instances of racism in my life, as well as have been the recipient of “reverse racism,” as it is called. More importantly though, I have felt what it is like live in a place with a completely different culture than my own. As we are a military family, there is no end to the many different places that I am moved to, and must assimilate to, at least somewhat. Of these, the most foreign culture to me was the past three years, when my husband and I were stationed in Germany. Although I was not of a different race, it was still a culture shock to me. It is true that, in many ways, Germany and Europe are “Americanized,” however, overall, their culture, including their ideas and values, as well as their symbolic interactions, remain vastly different than that of Americans. I spent much of my time there, learning about, through both experience and observation, the various differences and values of their culture. One very small example of this was breaking the habit of giving the “ok” symbol to servers when eating at a restaurant (your index and thumb together in a circle, with your fingers up). Although this is a socially acceptable and nice gesture in America, it is quite offensive to the Europeans. Another example of a cultural symbol is the Europeans ability to distinguish an American when they are counting with their hands (in Europe, they count one on their thumbs and two on their index finger). All of these differences in culture were something that I was constantly learning, and often adapting to, throughout my time in Germany. It was definitely a lesson on culture, interaction and assimilation; much as the story Ken tells in the Tattoo teaches these same values.
Works Cited
McKinney, Chris. The Tattoo. Honolulu: Mutual, 1999. Print.
Parrillo, Vincent N. Understanding Race and Ethnic Relations. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2008. Print.
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