The story �Leaves From The Mental Portfolio of a Eurasian,� applies to the theory of double-consciousness. In this story, Eaton constantly perceives herself through the eyes of others. It is usually helpful to see ourselves through other�s eyes because this allows us to correct our shortcomings and be aware of what things we are doing similar to those who we judge so that we can change them. At the same time, we can figure out what it is that we still need to do in order to accomplish what the ones we admire have already accomplished. So this places us in the situation in which we learn through others how to get to a point, and what roads we should not take in order to travel a better road. Nonetheless, it is very dangerous to do it when we do not have a sense of who we really are, and what we really value. It is dangerous because there are always prejudice and negative people who will judge us and even try to detour us on our journeys, yet if we are willing to embrace our worthiness as Eaton does in this story, we do not only surpass the boundaries or prejudice, but also grow as individuals. That is exactly what Eaton does, she surpasses people�s prejudices which had made her believe that she belonged to a lower race, yet as she is conscious or those prejudices, she realizes that there is something great about her race, and Eaton does not only accepts her ethnicity, but feels proud for being different from the others.

David Henry Hwang�s M. Butterfly is a wonderfully biting play. Full of irony and wit, if one pays attention, an intelligent commentary on Asian-American stereotypes and racism comes to the fore.

The play starts with Monsieur René Gallimard, an antisocial, racist French diplomat in Vietnam who meets Song Liling, a Chinese Opera singer. Song excites Gallimard, and parallel to the opera Madame Butterfly, they fall in to that inescapable love that just seems to thrive in east-west relationships.

Unfortunately, a few problems arise: Song is actually a man, as well as a Chinese spy. This fact somehow escapes Gallimard throughout their 17 year relationship, and he ends up in jail, after being taken to court as a traitor to his country. This is where the tale is told to the audience from, and Gallimard�s commentary from his cell is a nice look into his mind.

Madame Butterfly is a theme throughout the play, and Hwang does an excellent job summarizing it for use as a foil throughout his play. Gallimard desperately wants to be like Captain Pinkerton, but he could hardly be further from the burly western stereotype. Instead, Pinkerton is more embodied by Renee, a woman he meets at a party and has an affair with. Because of Gallimard�s discomfort with the strong-willed and very sexual Renee, their relationship does not last, and Gallimard returns to Song, his Butterfly.

Gallimard applies his experience with Song to the politics at work: �The orientals simply want to be associated with whoever shows the most strength and power�There�s a natural affinity between the west and the orient�Orientals will always submit to a greater force� (37). Of course, because his experience with the ladies has been set off course by Song�s acting, France is unaware of the approaching Vietnam war.

However wrong he is, Gallimard longs for his ideal, stereotypical Butterfly. His affair is followed by the degradation of his marriage, ending in a divorce brought about by his obsession with his Butterfly. �I hate incense,� says Helga, his wife, about the incense he burns for Song.

The most interesting part of the story is the courtroom scene, where, to prove to Gallimard that he is a man, Song disrobes in front of him. Instead of the emotional train wreck we expect, Gallimard is unfazed, and seems to take charge of his emotions instantly.

That �All he loved was the lie� (66) gives him the upper hand, showing that there was nothing special about Song; Gallimard really loved his �Butterfly.� Even though he is �free� the moment Song strips in front of him, up to that point Gallimard is still entranced with him as Butterfly, despite Song�s now normal clothing and open masculinity in the courtroom. He begs him not to strip even though when Song does, it is more to Gallimard�s benefit.

Song actually loses �Butterfly� because the concept of her belonged more to Gallimard than to Song. By exposing the lie, Song does not destroy Butterfly � instead, he frees her to exist only in Gallimard�s mind, or perhaps as Gallimard. At the final scene of the play, Gallimard, in his cell, puts on Butterfly�s clothing and makeup, and commits seppuku (ritual Japanese suicide). Does this mean that he was driven to madness by his pursuit of �Butterfly,� or does it represent a more abstract idea?  Perhaps Gallimard has given up his obsession with Butterfly, and killed her. Or maybe Song succeeded in killing her when he disrobed. This very abstract scene is open to a lot of interpretation, as is much of the rest of the story.

I believe M. Butterfly shows strong anti-racist sentiment. Gallimard is laughed at throughout the play for his naiveté, and for his unquestioning belief in the stereotype of Asian women that Song portrays. Ironically, the only real Asian woman in the play is a strong, aggressive communist who resents Song for his disrespect for her. There are many other subtle clues, so when you read this play, pay attention to them.