52 pages • 1 hour read
Marie G. Lee, Marie Myung-Ok LeeNecessary Roughness
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1996A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Food
Throughout Necessary Roughness, food is used as a motif, cropping up frequently as a representation of culture and a means of connecting people, acting as an antidote to the stress of Navigating Cultural Difference. The Kims always eat dinner as a family, and once Chan joins the football team, he sits with the team at lunch. Mrs. Knutson shares her kitchen with the Kims, which could be a recipe for resentment, but both she and O-Ma jump into the setup with enthusiasm. O-Ma sees it as an opportunity to learn how to cook more American food, an attitude that indicates her open-minded views on cultural hybridity as opposed to Abogee’s more rigid adherence to Korean tradition. Mrs. Knutson, for her part, is excited to collaborate with O-Ma on Korean dishes and makes lunch for the family every morning as well. Food is Mrs. Knutson’s way of getting to know her tenants better, and her inclusion at their dinner table fosters a strong relationship—by the end of the novel, Mrs. Knutson reveals that, over the countless nights they’ve spent at the dinner table, she’s even picked up some Korean.
Food is also used as a humorous way to demonstrate the ridiculousness of stereotypes. Over dinner one evening, Young describes the way her friend Donna’s family made chow-mein (an Americanized Chinese noodle dish) for the first time as she came over for dinner and was shocked when Young didn’t react with familiarity to the unrecognizable dish. She laughs it off, but this story exemplifies that what makes cooking such a special display of culture is the connection between people that it builds. Donna’s family’s attempt at a thoughtful gesture, while well intended, lacks the understanding that Mrs. Knutson has fostered with O-Ma. Chan also shares a story in which Rainey’s dad compares ravioli to wontons in trying to connect with Chan. Again, they mean well, but it demonstrates a lack of understanding of Chan’s experiences. Rainey’s dad views him as Korean, but Chan is Korean American. He loves Chef Boyardee, and the assumption that Rainey’s dad makes puts an unnecessary distance between them.
American Football
American football serves as a symbol of American culture in Necessary Roughness, including its positive and negative aspects. Chan begins the book as a soccer player, an activity that has already caused some tension between him and Abogee, who believes that good Korean kids should not waste their time with sports. In Minnesota, Chan discovers football to fill the hole in his schedule left by soccer, and this tension grows. As the newest member of the team, Chan has to work hard to quickly become a contributing member of the team, and Abogee worries that this dedication will distract him from his studies. Meanwhile, the bonds Chan forges with boys on his team could potentially conflict with Abogee’s family-centric worldview. Abogee’s and Chan’s attitudes toward football largely parallel their attitudes toward American culture itself.
American football is—as its name suggests—a uniquely American sport. In Los Angeles, Chan plays soccer—another form of football with a far more international appeal—but in the midwestern town of Iron River, American football is almost literally the only game in town. The cultural dominance of this sport reflects the cultural and racial homogeneity of the town itself, and Chan has no choice but to adapt if he wants to remain an athlete.
American football encourages young athletes in positive ways through aspects like teamwork and coordination. The focus on physical power can even challenge players in a productive way. For example, Chan finds himself much happier in his daily life when he starts pushing himself with football practice. However, the emphasis on brute force increases the value of big, stereotypically “manly” men like Rom. Team members and Kearny make sexist remarks that inevitably intertwine with Chan’s experiences of the sport itself. Rom’s bullying persona seems bolstered by the fact that he’s a talented lineman—in fact, his value to the team means that he often escapes consequences for his harmful actions. This phenomenon reflects negative aspects of American culture, in which powerful men are not held accountable for the harm they do to others. Both football and American culture as a whole offer similar positive and negative influences. Chan simply chooses to foster the positivity and do his best to ignore the negativity, a valuable lesson learned through the sport that began as a way to pass time in Iron River.
Buddha Statue
The Buddha statue that belongs to the Kim family represents Korean culture and, more generally, spirituality itself. The book begins with the conflict over the statue, which Chan sees as expendable, but Abogee does not. In the beginning, Chan does not care about being spiritual, nor does he take particular pride in his Korean heritage. Abogee’s expectations make Chan feel like a disappointment, which pushes him even farther from his Korean heritage. Abogee, on the other hand, tries to cling to his roots. Despite his practice of Christianity, he holds onto the Buddha Statue as a representation of Korean traditions that predate the arrival of Christianity.
After the Kims move to Iron River, Chan sees the Buddha in his father’s room, nearly covered in legal papers. Abogee has been so overwhelmed with work getting the Froggy’s Express up and running that he has set aside the luxury of a spiritual or religious practice in favor of dedicating his attention to the practical problems ahead of him, specifically financial problems. Still, the statue occupies a prominent place in O-Ma and Abogee’s room. Its presence shows that their roots are always with them, no matter what’s happening on the surface.
As Chan’s own life in Minnesota progresses, the Buddha statue does not reappear in the narrative for a long time. The next time he sees the statue, Young has passed away, and Chan has stumbled upon Abogee’s private moment. Abogee honors an old Korean tradition with the statue in front of him, reconciling his Christian beliefs with traditions he still has faith in. Abogee returns to the statue at his most difficult time. When faced with a nearly impossible event to process, he returns to his roots and takes comfort wherever he can.
