Identity Construction Of Second-Generation Female Indian-Americans In Unaccustomed Earth

Jhumpa Lahiri is a prominent contemporary Indian-American short story writer.Her work has been widely acclaimed and won numerous awards.As a descendant of Indian immigrants,Lahiri has experienced the conflict between the two cultures and felt the frustration,confusion,wandering,and pursuit of female immigrants.Therefore,her works focus on the existential status of immigrants and the anxiety of cultural identity.Lahiri’s collection of short stories,Unaccustomed Earth,consists of five short stories and a trilogy-style novella.It depicts the love,friendship,and affection of the second generation of Indian immigrants in this unaccustomed land of the United States.Among them,the short story of the same name “Unaccustomed Earth” and the last one “Hema and Kaushik” focus on the lives of the second generation of female Indian immigrants in the United States.They face a crisis of cultural and gender identity.They are neither fully Indian nor fully American,but in the middle of both groups,experiencing loneliness,wandering,bewilderment and struggle,and making every effort to get out of the crisis.The paper uses Identity theory to explore the identity crisis,identity pursuit,and identity construction of Ruma and Hema,representatives of the second generation of female Indian immigrants,in mainstream American culture and Indian culture.The thesis consists of five chapters.The first chapter introduces the author Jhumpa Lahiri and reviews Unaccustomed Earth and Identity theory.The second chapter explores the identity confusion they face in the United States.On the one hand,they embody a rejection of Indian culture in terms of language,food,clothing,and lifestyle.On the other hand,they show identification with American culture,which is manifested in career pursuit and love choice.The third chapter analyzes their attempts to construct identities.Ruma transforms from collective consciousness to individual consciousness.She pursues interracial marriage.Hema changes from lack of privacy awareness to emphasis.She pursues an independent career.But they still conflict with American culture and cannot fully integrate into American culture.The fourth chapter explores their path of return.They find that they can not completely separate from Indian culture,and they can not fully integrate into American culture.They return to Indian culture,trying to integrate Indian culture and American culture into their bodies,and their identity construction reaches a hybrid.Ruma re-examines family relationships and reflects on Indian culture.She follows in her mother’s footsteps,taking care of her family and children.Hema accepts Indian weddings and Indian culture.However,their return to Indian culture is not simply to follow the path of their mothers,but the result of rational thinking and choice,which reflects the formation of women’s independent consciousness.The fifth chapter is the conclusion.In the context of globalization,Lahiri’s works reflect concerns about the fate of immigrant women,expressing the yearning for freedom and reflection on the value of life and cultural identity.By focusing on the theme of women and identity,this thesis provides some references for future research on Lahiri,as well as new ideas for the research of other writers of Indian origin.