Awakenedness·Deconstruction·Reconstruction

Amy Tan is an immensely popular writer of dazzling talent in Chinese American literary world.As her prominent representative work,The Joy Luck Club caused an immediate sensation after its publication and won the wide acclaim from both readers and critics,and established her important literary position in American literature.Based on her own life experiences,her great insight,and super writing skill,choosing the conflicts between immigrant mothers and American-born daughters,Tan gives us a vivid picture of mother-daughter relationship in The Joy Luck Club.The novel deeply reflected the third-world women(Chinese American women) struggling to survive in the white-centric American society.By adopting the postcolonial feminism to interpret The Joy Luck Club,the thesis focuses on struggles encountered by four pairs of mothers and daughters:i.e.Suyuan and Jing-mei, An-mei and Rose,Lindo and Waverly,Ying-ying and Lena;explores how four pairs of mother-daughter are aware of their oppressions,take their own efforts to break "stereotypes" in the oppression of race,gender & class,re-create the new images,and deconstruct the western hegemonic discourse,and regain their subjectivity and establish their own unique identity in American society as well,through which their "Other" image turn into "Self".Firstly,after introducing the existing studies on the novel,the author mainly elaborates the theoretical bases of this thesis—postcolonial feminism and stereotypes of Chinese American existed in American literature long ago.The post-colonial feminist declares that the third—world women must be recognized as masters in their own lives as opposed to simply victims.It mainly criticizes the white-centricity and essentialism in the western feminism.Then taking the four pairs of mother-daughter as examples,the thesis discloses the suffering of Chinese American women from the racial,sexual,and cultural discrimination in the white-centered world,and their finally awakening to these oppressions.After that,it finds that the Chinese American women take efforts to subvert the stereotypes,fight against racial discrimination,resist to sexism,and finally deconstruct the white-centered hegemonic discourse and get their own rights as well as happiness.At last,it dwells on the construction of identity and new image of Chinese American women.Having experienced the tense conflicts,both daughters and mothers get reconciliation, and reconstruct Chinese American women new Self-images and unique identities.The new Self-images are confident and powerful Chinese mothers,and witty and successful American daughters.And their new identities are neither Chinese nor American but Chinese Americans.At present,the research on the Chinese American literature is becoming focus in American mainstream academic and national academy.We hope the thesis would give new implications on the research of Chinese American literature and the literature of the third-world women.At the same time,by analyzing the influences of the traditional Chinese culture in the works of Chinese American literature on the oversea Chinese American people,we can get deeper understanding of Chinese culture and enlighten us to establish a modern civilized society.