The Construction Of The Image Of Chinese Americans In Donald Duk

Being the "Founder of Chinese American Literature" , Frank Chin challenges courageously the Asian bias deep-rooted in white Americans, and he argues that Chinese Americans are neither Chinese nor Americans, but a new ethnic group with Chinese American sensibility. Centering around Frank Chin's first novel Donald Duk, this paper offers an analysis of the stereotypes of Chinese Americans and through the close reading of the text, the paper intends to expound Frank Chin's literary thoughts embodied in this novel as well as his approaches to modifying the stereotypes of Chinese Americans in Donald Duk so as to construct a new image of Chinese Americans of the fifth generation. By creating such an image, Frank Chin expresses his wish to get immerged in the Caucasian mainstream society, and will never be "the other" in American history. The research method of the thesis may also be applied to the studies of other ethnic works.Introduction part is a general introduction about the author, Frank Chin, his works, and the latest studies carried out home and abroad on the novel Donald Duk. Then follow the research methods and literary innovation applied in the thesis.In Partâ… , the thesis is expounded in two aspects. On the one hand, the thesis provides a historical and literary background to the understanding of the text through the analysis of the development of Chinese American Literature. On the other hand, the thesis extends Frank Chin's intention in the novel, which is to help the Chinese American have a deep insight into their Chinese American cultures and the real Chinese American history. The author intends to construct an image of Chinese Americans which can be adopted by the Mainstream society by first modifying the stereotypes of Chinese Americans.In Partâ…¡, with the evidence of literary images as well as historical documents, the thesis analyses the Cultural hegemony of the Caucasian Society that has long been exerted on the Chinese American through racist hate. Be it Ah Sin or Fu-manchu, such images are aimed to establish the supremacy of the American Cultures by twisting ethnic cultures or assimilating them into obedient citizens.In Partâ…¢, the thesis explores how Frank Chin subverted the established stereotypes of Chinese Americans by creating the positive images of fathers, Foreman Kwan as well as the Chinese coolies.In Partâ…£, the thesis states that the image of Chinese Americans of the fifth generation is neither from being a Chinese nor from being a purely American, but being the accumulation and emersion of the two groups. A Chinese American needs not only to learn to have a profound understanding of their cultures, but also to learn to defend themselves by discovering the immersed history and meanwhile to establish an equal and harmonious ethic relationship with the whites so as to get their voiced heard by the mainstream society.In Conclusion, Chin's argument in this novel is restated that a Chinese American should learn and seize their ancestral heritage, and resist the cultural colonialism that attempts to devalue their heritage as un-American so as to get admitted by the mainstream society, which is the only way to live on American land.