A Study Of Bildung Of Ethnic Women In Sula And The Woman Warrior As Female Bildungsromane

As two of the most preeminent female ethnic writers in contemporary American literature, both Toni Morrison and Maxine Hong Kingston show genuine concern for their women's identity formation and initiation journey. Their works Sula and The Woman Warrior have always been the subject of critical reviews and scholarly attention. Among all the research on these two works, little is done from the perspective of female Bildungsroman.This thesis aims to approach them as female Bildungsromane from three aspects. First, it exposes the multiple oppressions and confusion experienced by protagonists in two novels. Second, it conducts a comparative analysis of their process of questing for identity and growth, including roles of mentors in their self-shaping, their different methods to quest for identity and growth, and the strategy of cultural integration. Finally, it explores Morrison and Kingston's revising traditions of the Bildungsroman by combining their cultural traditions, which brings creation and vitality to the development of female Bildungsroman. By probing into the difficult Bildung of protagonists in these two novels, the thesis provides the readers with insights into the living conditions of African American and Chinese American women.