An Analysis Of The Disillusionment Of The American Dream In Jen's Typical American From The Perspective Of Said's Theory Of Orientalism

Chinese American literature plays an important role in American literature, which is seen as an important tool to understand the essence of Chinese civilization. Gish Jen is one of the most important and famous writers in Chinese American literature. Jen's experience as a Chinese American writer is quite different from others because she is less influenced by Chinese communities and traditions. As we know, in such a "melting pot," every culture, religion and language should be respected. Each ethnic group should be regarded as a part of this society; meanwhile, each group can still keep its unique and individual characteristics of its own culture.Typical American,Jen's debut novel, tells the bitter struggle of three Chinese intellectuals arriving in America in the 1940s to pursue their American dreams. Ralph migrates from China to America to pursue a doctorate; Theresa and her friend Helen seek shelter from domestic chaos. In this way the Changs become diasporans living outside their homeland. As soon as it was published, the novel was well received by the mainstream American culture.This thesis is comprised of five parts. The first part is about the introduction to the author and her works, the American dream, the theory of Orientalism and thesis statement. The second part will be a general survey of three main characters' American dream. The third part is the focus of my thesis; in this part, based on the Said' theory of Orientalism, I demonstrate the roots of disillusionment of American dream in Typical American. In addition, there lie contradictions between Chinese Confucianism and American individualism. Thus Chinese Americans as the "Other" in white-culture-oriented society cannot realize their dreams for material success and individual freedom. Furthermore, it presents the falsity of the authenticity of Americanness, and the Changs revalue the Chineseness. If they want to survive in American mainstream culture, they must learn to adjust themselves and absorb the best parts of two kinds of culture. The fourth part will show the author's reflections on American dream of Chinese Americans. The last part is the summary of the whole thesis, which puts emphasis on Jen's idea that it is more impossible for Chinese Americans than white Americans to achieve their dreams in white-culture-oriented society. To survive and succeed, they had better be aware of their ethnic cultural roots in their process of being Americanized; those who ignore one culture or the other are doomed.Through careful research, we get to know that Chinese immigrants suffer both mentally and physically in American mainstream society. To survive and succeed, they should remember their own cultural characteristics and follow them; meanwhile, they have to learn to absorb the virtues of western cultures.