Prejudice and Privilege

The author uses the protagonist Clodagh’s interpersonal relationships as the narrative soil for his thematic explorations concerning prejudice and privilege. As an Irish immigrant to the United States, Clodagh initially finds herself at odds with American and particularly New York culture and life. In spite of her struggles to assimilate to the country she eventually comes to call home, Clodagh fails to extend grace, empathy, and understanding to those with similar experiences. This is particularly the case of Clodagh’s prejudicial regard for the Wangs: the family who owns and operates the laundromat she and her family have frequented for “about ten years” (34). Although Clodagh admits to never having “asked them their names,” she asserts that she “came to know the family well enough” (34). She believes that merely observing Mr. and Mrs. Wang’s relationship and their son James’s behavior when she...