A Study Of Minority Identity In John Updike’s Works

John Updike is one of the most important American writers in the 20 th century,He shows the historical changes of contemporary American society With delicate strokes,focusing on the daily life and spiritual world of the American middle class.There are a lot of studies on the three themes of religion,sex and America in Updike’s works,as well as the major class--the middle class,but the race in Updike’s works has been ignored.Updike created The Coup,Brazil and Terrorist with ethnic minorities as the protagonists.This paper focuses on these three novels,analyzes the identity crisis and identity choice of ethnic minority protagonists,and understand the internal reasons for their tragic ending.The author believes that both internal and external crises and single identity choices lead to their failure to complete the identity.Through color replacement,Updike overturns racial politics,constructs the blueprint of racial harmonious coexistence,and makes a beneficial attempt to solve the problem of ethnic identity.In addition,the author thinks that post-colonial theorist Homi K.Bhabha’s "third space" may provides a possible solution to the problem of ethnic minority identity.This paper consists of an introduction,four chapters and a conclusion.The introduction introduces Updike’s life and creation,sorts out the research situation of Updike himself and his works at home and abroad,points out the shortcomings of the research on ethnic minorities in Updike’s works,and briefly explains the research significance,designs and methods of this paper.The first chapter mainly discusses the social identity crisis faced by ethnic minorities in Updike’s works,which is divided into two parts: "the other" in the "white" world and "the other" in the "colored" world.Minorities are ostracized by both worlds and become drifters with nowhere to go.The second chapter mainly analyzes the duality of identity of ethnic minorities caused by the influence of two cultures,and points out the contradiction of identity of ethnic minorities from three aspects: religious belief,sexual relations and language.The third chapter mainly discusses the choices made by ethnic minorities in order to confirm their single identity.The desire for a single identity follows the ethnic minorities throughout their life,which is the internal cause of their unhappy life.The fourth chapter mainly discusses the ways to solve the problem of ethnic minority identity and explores Updike’s efforts in literary creation.First of all,Updike aims to break the external racist prejudice and deconstruct the color politics through the racial experiment of color exchange.Secondly,through the female characters’ tolerance and identification to the male in the relationship,the harmony blueprint of different races is drawn.On this basis,the author believes that ethnic minorities should accept their mixed identities and find peace in the "third space".The conclusion reiterates the main problem of this paper--the minority identity crisis and its’ solutions,and points out that Updike is a writer with a global perspective.His vision is not limited to the United States and the middle class,but also reflects on the plight of minority vulnerable groups.