The Reconstruction Of Chineseness In David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly, Golden Child And Trying To Find The Chinatown

David Henry Hwang is the prominent contemporary American playwright who has inspired the prosperity of Chinese American drama history. Although many researchers focused on the postcolonial studies of him and his works, the study of his Chinese American Chineseness is still rare in Chinese Mainland. Thus, this thesis will illustrate the reconstruction of Chinese American Chineseness based on the analysis of Hwang's M. Butterfly, Golden Child and Trying to Find the Chinatown. Besides the literature review of the former researches and studies of David Henry Hwang in the first chapter, this thesis is theoretically based on the diasporic and Chinese American Chineseness studies. Then, chapter three of this thesis presents the Chinese American Chineseness reconstruction through the belligerence and individualism in his M. Butterfly. The three antitheses illustrated respectively demonstrate the constant belligerence and developing individualism of Chinese American diaspora. After that, chapter four addresses the dual ambiguity and the reposition of Chinese American Chineseness in David Henry Hwang's Golden Child. After the elucidation of the ideology conflicts between Christian doctrines and Confucian regulations, the ambivalent ambiguity and social reposition of Chinese American diaspora emerged clearly. Moreover, Chapter five explains the mobility of Chineseness in Hwang's Trying to Find the Chinatown. Based on the profound definition of Chinatown and the shifting identity of heroes, the mobility of Chinese American diaspora has been gradually exemplified. Accordingly, the conclusion of this thesis attempts to present the reconstruction of Chinese American Chineseness by David Henry Hwang which focuses on the international integration filled with diasporic complexes and ideologies. The reconstruction of Chinese American Chineseness in David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly, Golden Child and Trying to Find the Chinatown is a postcolonial cultural study of Chinese American diaspora and will benefit the further study of American Diasporas in the globalization. The expression of Chinese American Chineseness in Hwang's plays could not only enlighten the change of former Chineseness orientations, but also to assist further development of Chinese American plays and the position of diasporic literature.