Claire Character Analysis

Carver and Michiko’s daughter in “The Americans.” As the daughter of an African-American man and a Japanese woman, growing up Claire never felt at home in America, as peers and strangers alike would ask about her ethnicity. Claire now lives in Vietnam and teaches English, and says she feels much more at home there, much to Carver’s dismay. Carver views Claire’s actions as simply a rebellion against him and his American culture, as she never agreed with his involvement in the war and he feels that her choice to move to Vietnam is similar to other rebellious decisions that she’s made that he considers stupid. Claire provides a different kind of example of a young character that rebels against the culture of her family—in contrast to several of the Vietnamese characters who rebel against their Vietnamese culture in favor of American culture.