Where Is The Native Place In The Dusk: The Changes Of Chinese American Image In Literature And Maxine Hong Kingston's Try

For long, Chinese Americans have been looking for their position, identity and property in the multicultural society, because they believe they are Americans in the first place, and Chinese in the second place, why shouldn't they have their identity in America since immigrants of other origins could have one?The process of how to establish a positive image of Chinese American is well manifested in the literary works. However, early white writers and Chinese writers tended to stereotype Chinese Americans as either obedient or wicked. Later works dissimilated (including description of the second sex and neutralism) the image of Chinese Americans. These works all depicted Chinese Americans from an oriental perspective.It was not until the 1960s when some American minorities began to rise and when the multicultural society was coming into being, the Chinese American writers began to break the silence, join the choir of multiculture and voice for the themselves. Maxine Hong Kingston is one of the most prominent writers among them. From a female writer's perspective, in her works The Women Warrior and China Men,she slashed the sexism and racism. By rewriting Chinese mythology, she overthrew the original image of Chinese Americans and at the same time successfully established the position of Chinese American writers in the history of American Literature.