Three Techniques from Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong
Usage of Humor: A technique Hong uses to push the message of her writing through is humor in an ironic way to identify the emphasis of truths in a joking tone. Despite her usage of humor to entertain readers, she has once mentioned that using “humor was a form of survival since it created a necessary psychic distinction from slavery.” Often when the discussion of race is written about, people are most often expecting it in a bland, dense format—like a textbook. However, Hong’s use of humor pushes those expectations and expands the different forms we can discuss race without it being bound to our writing identity as well.
Various Text Breaks: Hong sections off texts within each chapter with a dash, a visible indicator, that the writing is switching to something different yet still holds relevance to the whole chapter itself. This creates a more flexible, open-ended interpretation of her message, as it prevents the whole message from being spoon-fed to us on how they connect. Rather, the piecing of them together naturally unfolds for the reader.
Narration/Storytelling: Hong narrates her own life experience as if it is a fictional story. She utilizes many dialogues from interactions in her past experiences that have shaped or influenced her life, serving toward her bigger message throughout each chapter. Her usage of storytelling compels the reader more emotionally and engages the reader to read complex topics such as race.
