The short play “Trying to find Chinatown” recounts the meeting between a white man named Benjamin who considers himself an American of origin Chinese woman and an Asian man. street musician, Ronnie. The play takes place in the Lower East Side of New York. Benjamin believes he is Chinese-American because he was adopted by a Chinese family at a young age, which influenced his cultural roots. Whereas Ronnie is Asian but knows very little about Asian cultural roots and considers himself Asian only through genetics. As Benjamin makes his journey to explore his Asian roots, he asks Ronnie for directions to an address of Benjamin's fathers' old home in Chinatown. Ronnie is immediately offended by the fact that, just because he is Asian, he knows directions to a place in Chinatown. For Ronnie, this is considered a racial insult. While Benjamin thinks that Ronnie should respect and embrace the culture of his ancestors. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayIn David Henry Hwang's play “Trying to Find Chinatown,” Benjamin's diction reveals a strong-willed character in a way that he doesn't do it. One must not let the opinions of others make him change his mind about what he truly believes to be his cultural identity. Typically, we assume the race of a certain individual based on their appearance, such as skin color, hair type, eye color, etc. As Ronnie says, “If genes don’t determine race, what does?” Ronnie's view on race concerns the genetic genes a person inherits from their parents. In Benjamin's eyes, this is considered a stereotypical view of the race. Even though Benjamin is a white man, he considers himself Chinese-American and believes it doesn't come from genetics. The reader can see this when Benjamin responds to Ronnie: “Well, you can't judge my race based on my genetics alone. » Benjamin says this because his skin color may be white, but inside he feels that his Asian identity has a stronger effect on the person he really is. Benjamin's decisive response is satisfying in that it's not how you look that determines how you present yourself. When Benjamin says, “So what are you?” “Just a human being”? It's like saying you don't have an identity. » When Benjamin makes this statement, he implies that everyone acts in a certain way that defines themselves. In this case, Benjamin uses his Asian traditions to form his identity through which people can recognize him, this is what differentiates him from just being a human. Even when Benjamin was in school, the audience can see this because even though he is white, kids called him “Gook!” Slot! Slanted eyes! This shows how your race is interpreted by how you act or present yourself, but not always by the genes you receive. Even in Ronnie's situation throughout the play, he states that his race is of no importance. That may be true, but after all, his identity is determined by his interest in music. Referring to this, Benjamin's quote at the beginning of the paragraph emphasizes that every human being has a personality that forms your identity and makes you who you are. Does our ethnicity come from where we grow up, like that of our community? Often the race of our community reflects how we define.