Portrait of a Thief

Irene Chen is a junior studying public policy at Duke. She is Will’s sister, Lily’s roommate at Duke, and Daniel’s unavailable love interest. Others see her as someone who always gets her way and never makes mistakes. Lily tells Will, “This is Irene’s world, […] the rest of us are just living in it” (18). Irene’s reputation stems from her fear of failure. She feels immense pressure to be perfect, to make her family proud and live up to the expectations she perceives as part of her Chinese heritage. She’s spent her whole life learning to be liked, a skill which complements her career plan and informs her interest in global power dynamics. In the novel, Irene’s attraction to women doesn’t define or limit her, but is relevant to the plot.

Irene’s heist archetype is the con artist, because she’s always understood what people want and can “shape the world to her will” (85). The irony of this ability is that she expends all her energy trying to live up to what others want for her, suppressing her own desires. Her relationship with Alex spurs growth as their initial hostility grows. This conflict challenges Irene, forcing her to re-examine her own honesty and what constitutes weakness. Alex accepts her as she is, which helps Irene learn to accept herself.

Irene joins the heist out of loyalty to her brother Will. On a subconscious level, she wishes to prove her loyalty to her Chinese heritage, to navigate Chinese and American geopolitics. Her complex relationship with China develops the theme of Diaspora and Belonging. Irene’s character arc resolves her fear of failure as she lets go of the need to be perfect and embraces vulnerability. Quitting her summer internship at a consulting firm to work for a political campaign shows she’s decided to follow her own dreams.

Daniel Liang was born and raised in Beijing. His family moved to the US 10 years ago, before his mother died. He’s a senior at UCLA, planning to attend medical school and become a surgeon. Daniel has a dragon tattoo that wraps around his torso and reaches above his collarbone, symbolizing his fractured relationship with his father, Yaoxian. In addition to rebelling against his father, he joins the heist out of loyalty to Will and Irene, the latter whom he loves.

Daniel’s heist archetype is the thief. His steady hands “had always known how to break things open, put them back together exactly as they were” (85). His ability to pick locks and knowledge of art thefts come from his father’s work with the FBI’s Art Crimes Team. Their relationship undergoes transformation as Yaoxian prioritizes his son over cementing his career by apprehending the crew.

Daniel’s resentment toward his father ties into his arc. The wounds of losing his mother his homeland have festered and left him unable to move on; to him, Yaoxian’s acceptance of America feels like a betrayal. Daniel clings to the past, claiming his Chinese identity but unable to embrace America and his future in it. The heists force father and son to confront their issues, bringing them closer together and pushing Daniel to focus on the future.

Lily Wu grew up in Galveston, Texas. Her parents left China before she was born and rarely talk about it, leaving Lily with little connection to her Chinese heritage. In addition to being a mechanical engineer in her junior year at Duke, she is a talented street racer. Her thrill-seeking is a form of escape, as she’s running away from Galveston and the void inside her. The heist offers Lily something to run toward as she seeks to understand what China is to her, and what it could be. Overall, the crew provides a sense of belonging she’s never felt before.

Despite China’s absence from Lily’s life, her relationship with her parents still shares commonalities with other immigrant-child relationships. Her parents’ high expectations of her are shaped by their reasons for immigrating. The pressure this puts on her contributes to the theme of The Weight of the American Dream on the Children of Immigrants.

Lily’s heist archetype is the getaway driver. As Will puts it, “When Lily drove, nothing could touch her if she did not want it to” (85). Her skill as a racer symbolizes running away, the early state of her arc. She doesn’t feel a sense of belonging from either China or America, her identity feeling incomplete. Not knowing what to do with this feeling, Lily avoids it, runs away. Her arc ends with her embracing both parts of her identity.