Positioning Of Characters Role And Identity

This thesis is mainly about the position of Pearl and Weili(Winnie). Pearl represents the young second generation of Chinese Americans and Weili represents the first generation of Chinese who live in America.The themes of Chinese American literature are closely related to the history of Chinese Americans. It is also associated with their position and identity in American society. The social status of early immigrants was low and they went to America mainly to earn money to support their families. They were outsiders and they had no desire to melt into American society and they were not accepted by American society, either. The second generation immigrants were born in America and grew up there. They desired to be accepted by American society. To realize their American dreams they rejected Chinese culture ad treated themselves as pure whites. No matter how hard they worked, they were rejected by America and they still could not find their position. With the spread of ideology of multi-culturalism, Chinese Americans begin to think about their position again. They finally find out their position as both an American and a Chinese-bridging two cultures and two countries.The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan is, above all, a novel of identity positioning of Pearl, and autobiography of her and her mother's past life. In the novel, Amy Tan shows the daughter Pearl's change from rejecting China to accepting Chinese culture. In the process Pearl found her position—a unique identity of Chinese Americans in which she can find her comfort and self-esteem. The identity of Chinese Americans becomes an important theme since 1960s. in the novel, Pearl tries her best to be a pure American and reject everything about China. Her mother's account of her past changes Pearl and Pearl accepts Chinese culture and transforms into one who is rooted into both Chinese culture and American culture. For Chinese Americans neither an independent community nor a complete embrace can help them find their identity. The only way out is to open themselves to both the East and the West and to find their unique identity in both cultures. Like Pearl in the novel, she finds her position in America only when she realizes that she should be both American and Chinese.The thesis also makes inquiry into the role position of Weili(Winnie). In the novel Amy Tan depicts Weili as a woman of running out of the limits of patriarchal society, becoming awakened and finally acquiring a new life. She appears at the beginning as a woman who lives in a patriarchal society and is oppressed by her husband Wen Fu. With the worse and worse treatment by Wen Fu, Weili experiences a huge change from obedienc to resistance and fighting. The process is that of awakening and looking for liberation. The story of Weili represents that of many women. In a patriarchal society, women have many obstacles to overcome. In order to live, the women have to search for a balance between the social requirements and their own desires. Obedience is not an effective way to solve their problems. Instead, resistance is an outlet for them. Just like Weili, her happiness is achieved after her fighting against Wen Fu.Pearl and Weili are representatives of two types of women. Pearl represents the image of Chinese Americans who seek out their position in American society and Weili represents the women who are brave, resistant, fighting against patriarchal society and finding a new life.