On The Bildungsroman In Kingston's Works

By using Bildungsroman theory, this thesis explores the cultural strategy Kingston applies to illustrate the process of development of those Chinese Americans. The term "Bildungsroman", originally from German, refers to "novel of education" or "novel of formation" in English. A Bildungsroman is a novel which traces the spiritual, moral, psychological, or social development and growth of the main character from (usually) childhood to maturity. As a female Chinese American writer, especially in her growing-up process, Maxine Hong Kingston often questions traditional thought, and in particular, the role of women in Chinese society. Through her questioning, she plays a powerful role in bridging the gaps between the Chinese and American values.In Chapter Two of this thesis, Kingston's bildung will be illustrated in four aspects, and state that she achieves her development from confusion to acceptance, then to transcendence and finally to self- deliverance. Her growth process can be described as "an apprenticeship to life" and a "search for meaningful existence within society." Chinese Americans have some form of loss or discontent which jar them at an early stage away from the home or family setting and spur them on to their journey. Eventually, the spirit and values of the social order become manifested in the protagonist, who is then accommodated into society.In Chapter Three, this thesis focuses on the techniques— mostly story-telling by her mother and by Kingston herself — that Maxine uses to express her bildung. She deliberately mixes the stories from her mother with her own feelings , legends with fantasy, American life with Chinese culture, history with reality, the heard stories with the truth to create her own ways to express herself as a Chinese American who is always voiceless in the conflict of Chinese traditional culture and American main-stream culture. By this special means, Kingston realizes her own cultural integration and builds her special cultural identity which is both Chinese and American.