Typical Gish Jen: Reconstrucing The Notion Of American Culture

Though her first novel was just published in 1991, Gish Jen has already made quite a mark on the literary scene. Both her first novel Typical American and her second one Mona in the Promised Land were listed as "Notable Books of the Year" by the New York Times. Her third work, a collection of short stories entitled Who's Irish ? has also been largely acclaimed and one of the short stories in the collection, Birthmates, was chosen for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories of the Century by John Updike. These books launched Gish Jen into the literary limelight and earned her a place in American literature.Chinese Americans are often caught up in the "between worlds" due to their bicultural tensions. A common puzzle experienced by Chinese Americans is how to define oneself and how to locate oneself. To the Chinese Americans, should they be called Chinese, American, or Chinese American? These issues are quite thorny as they try to make a proper evaluation of their identity and belongings. Gish Jen's novels are historically accurate, entertaining and refreshing. Through the eyes of her characters, Gish Jen gives the readers a glimpse of what it means to be an American. Her novels deal with the more complex identity confusion of all minority groups in the multicultural American society. Her stories touch the very core of a modern man's existence, regardless of where he lives, what his ethnic origins are.Critics center their attention on the conflict and reconciliation between two cultures reflected in her works, while her distinguished power of deconstructing and reconstructing the notion of American culture has largely been ignored. This thesis aims at interpreting Gish Jen's strategy of reconstructing the American culture by mimicking the American master narratives and her redefinition of typical Americans from the multicultural perspective.The thesis consists of four chapters.Chapter one is an overall introduction of the preoccupations of identity question in Chinese American literature. In delineating Chinese American Identity, eachChinese American writer employs a different strategy. Gish Jen distinguishes herself among Chinese American writers in the process of defining American identity.Chapter two explores the themes and style of Gish Jen's works. Gish Jen's innovative themes and unique style contrasts markedly with the other Chinese American writers'. Her language is heartbreaking sometimes, but sidesplitting, which makes her works great combination of profundity and humor. Her humor is just like a shield behind which Gish Jen digs into deep emotions.Chapter three analyzes Gish Jen's debut novel- Typical American by using Homi Bhabha's theory of "mimicry". The process of mimicry is in fact the process of the Changs' becoming typical Americans. With the transformation of identity, the definition of typical American is deviated. Through the strategy of imitation, Gish Jen redefines the term "Typical American", which menaces the mainstream definition.Chapter four centers on Gish Jen's second novel--Mona in the Promised Land. In this novel, Gish Jen is creative enough to combine an adolescent's search for self with the search for cultural identity. Gish Jen tries to construct racial meaning and articulate her fluid vision of racial identity through portraying a group of people with shifting identities. Her portrayal of the irreconcilable mother-daughter conflict and racial discrimination resonates with the multicultural view of cultural toleration and self-definition.Gish Jen is trying to reconstruct a multicultural notion of American culture based on her deconstruction of the American mainstream ideology.