Criticism Of Opposition And Construction Of Harmony

From an ecofeminist perspective, the thesis attempts to explore the relationships between human and nature, genders, races, in Gish Jen's Typical American. As one of the most significant movements emerged in the 1980s, the Ecofeminism Movement constitutes a significant branch integrating ecological criticism and feminism with its philosophical characteristics probing the connections between the denigration of women and domination of nature. Ecofeminism firstly is"feminine"reestablishing behavior principles, social policies, and philosophy theories based upon a foundation without male bias, and disclosing and eliminating androcentrism and male discrimination. Ecofeminism secondly means that a feminist must also be an ecologist, because the domination and oppression of women and nature are inextricably intertwined. And the kaleidoscopic lens of ecofeminism include a prepatriarchal historical analysis, an embracement of spirituality, and a commitment to challenging racism, classism, imperialism, heterosexism, and other forms of oppression. Therefore, it means a multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary endeavor, requiring effective methods for an interdisciplinary exchange.An ecofeminist study of Gish suggests that we will probe into previously unnoticed elements by stereotype criticism, cultural identity, and narratology and reexamine all dual discriminated relationships in the world. In critical chapters, the harmonious relationships between humans, human and nature are being threatened and destroyed by crass and ever-expanding commercialism and materialism which are based on patriarchal values. Meanwhile, an ecofeminist ethic of care with caring love, trust, respect, compassion, and empathy embodied in the novel, is explored to observe Gish's ideal construction of harmonious relationship between women and men, human and nature, opposing individualism and egotism, and autonomy overemphasized in the mainstream Western culture. In contrast to patriarchal culture, Chinese cultural essences are also imbedded into portraying the characters in the novel. Focusing on textual analyses, this thesis attempts to achieve a fresh understanding of this novel from an ecofeminist perspective. Furthermore, through a relatively thorough ecofeminist analysis of the novel, the thesis, as Gish's creation intention, aims to provide certain indications for the solution to the present ecological crises as well as the gender discrimination, even for the equality of all ethnic and religious communities.