"And it was the damnedest thing how you could be Indian or Japanese but be just plain invisible" (378). This sentence a few pages in of the section has large significance for the context in this section, "Turtle Island." It can be seen throughout countless novels and recollections, especially in the novels we are reading at UNE. When the guard approaches Stony, Ria, Jack, and Wayne to make sure they are not boating to Alcatraz its as if he is assuring they stay invisible. They all seem to be regular Japanese fishermen to him or rather just minorities that blend together. However, this downfall of being invisible is used to their advantage. Stony plays along with the guards hope that they are just fishing to remain unthreatening and invisible.
The revolutionists in the story, each one's life highlighted in a chapter, deals with this invisibly in their own way. Ria, for example, uses her extensive education and seasoned activism to rally seamstresses with two other college students. What the college students soon learn is that the "Chinese ladies" desired to remain invisible to the world. They all had what they believed was a good job in America and didn't want to make themselves visible tot he world by revolutionizing. Not only is being "just plain invisible" the "damnedest thing" but its a way of life for some immigrants and families of immigrants despite the desires of determined educated Chinese students. Its a harsh reality that Ria faces forcing her to reorganize her thoughts.
I too recognized similar themes in this work. It was interesting to see how the characters in the piece want to continue down an "invisible" path. Before reading this work, I had assumed that all immigrant cultures would really strive/want to be noticed and to not become invisible. I am not sure if this invisibility is something that was made up for the sake of the work, or if there really are immigrant peoples that feel this way. It would be really interesting to see if any work has been done on such topics.
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