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I'm seeking some advice on a couple of issues regarding my WIP.
It's YA dystopian / speculative fiction, set in a slightly alternative 1920s America.
As it's 1920s America, there is a Chinese community in the city where my MC lives. When a city is hit by an infectious disease (somewhat like the Spanish flu epidemic), some people blame the Chinese immigrants.
My MC, a white teenage girl, shares the racist attitudes of those around her and suspects that Chinese immigrants may be responsible for the disease outbreak.
When she's imprisoned in a cell with a young Chinese-American woman who appears to have the disease, the MC panics, assumes that she is going to contract the disease
from her, is disgusted by the woman's physical appearance as a result of the disease, and finally gets into a verbal and physical fight with the woman.
They eventually come to terms with each other. The MC is able to escape, but the woman is left behind.
(In case you're wondering why I made this character Chinese-American, it was just one of those things - my MC was pushed into a cell, and I realised that her fellow inmate was Chinese.)
I'm concerned about a couple of points.
Firstly, portraying the racist attitudes that seem appropriate to the period sensitively.
I think that there's no way that my MC wouldn't have shared the racist attitudes of those around her, and I think I ought to represent those. The novel is written in the close 3rd person, so it's describing the Chinese woman in terms of how the MC first sees her - which is as strange, terrifying and ugly. I've been reading historical documents about Chinese immigrants from the period, and have used those (considerably toned down) to inform the racism displayed. But I don't want to take it to a point where the reader thinks that because the MC is initially swayed by the racist arguments, that this is the viewpoint of the novel.
Secondly, I'm concerned about not making the Chinese-American woman a stereotype. (She's only in 6 chapters, but plays a pivotal role in the plot.)
Although I have a mental backstory for her, what we see in the novel is fairly limited (because they're locked in a cell all that time). She lives in the Chinese district and works in her family's laundry business. In the cell, she refers to herself by her English name, Lily. She knows a bit of Wing Chun, enough to take the MC on in a fight despite being physically smaller. She's pragmatic, argumentative, determined and quick-witted.
What do people think? Are there actions I could or should take before asking for Beta readers with appropriate expertise?
Thanks!
It's YA dystopian / speculative fiction, set in a slightly alternative 1920s America.
As it's 1920s America, there is a Chinese community in the city where my MC lives. When a city is hit by an infectious disease (somewhat like the Spanish flu epidemic), some people blame the Chinese immigrants.
My MC, a white teenage girl, shares the racist attitudes of those around her and suspects that Chinese immigrants may be responsible for the disease outbreak.
When she's imprisoned in a cell with a young Chinese-American woman who appears to have the disease, the MC panics, assumes that she is going to contract the disease
from her, is disgusted by the woman's physical appearance as a result of the disease, and finally gets into a verbal and physical fight with the woman.
They eventually come to terms with each other. The MC is able to escape, but the woman is left behind.
(In case you're wondering why I made this character Chinese-American, it was just one of those things - my MC was pushed into a cell, and I realised that her fellow inmate was Chinese.)
I'm concerned about a couple of points.
Firstly, portraying the racist attitudes that seem appropriate to the period sensitively.
I think that there's no way that my MC wouldn't have shared the racist attitudes of those around her, and I think I ought to represent those. The novel is written in the close 3rd person, so it's describing the Chinese woman in terms of how the MC first sees her - which is as strange, terrifying and ugly. I've been reading historical documents about Chinese immigrants from the period, and have used those (considerably toned down) to inform the racism displayed. But I don't want to take it to a point where the reader thinks that because the MC is initially swayed by the racist arguments, that this is the viewpoint of the novel.
Secondly, I'm concerned about not making the Chinese-American woman a stereotype. (She's only in 6 chapters, but plays a pivotal role in the plot.)
Although I have a mental backstory for her, what we see in the novel is fairly limited (because they're locked in a cell all that time). She lives in the Chinese district and works in her family's laundry business. In the cell, she refers to herself by her English name, Lily. She knows a bit of Wing Chun, enough to take the MC on in a fight despite being physically smaller. She's pragmatic, argumentative, determined and quick-witted.
What do people think? Are there actions I could or should take before asking for Beta readers with appropriate expertise?
Thanks!