The Strangers’ Self-pursuit And Transcendence In The Bonesetter’s Daughter

The Bonesetter’s Daughter is the famous Chinese-American writer, Amy Tan’sfourth novel, which has excavated the Chinese-Americans’ living condition and hasalso exhibited their self-pursuit and transcendence as the strangers. The novel depictsthe unusual experiences of the three-generation women in a Chinese-Americanghost-writer Ruth’s family. According to their life experiences as the strangers, AmyTan displays the diaspora life of the characters: confronting different cultures, they donot know how to position themselves; however, in the dilemma of their self-pursuit,they never become negative, but doughtily keep striving and pioneering to transcendthe predicaments, and obtain their transcendence and sublimation by realizingself-value. This realm, is just the Chinese-Americans’ optimistic diaspora attitude thatthis thesis centers on.Based on the diaspora theory, this thesis focuses on life experiences of the threeprotagonists in The Bonesetter’s Daughter: Precious Auntie, LuLing Liu Young andRuth Luyi Young, and it analyzes the Chinese-Americans’ marginal life from a positiveperspective, and it does not routinely sets this special group as the negative victimsany longer, but exhibits their more profound and expansive range of vision, theirsurvival ability from the adversity, and their transcendence from the predicaments,with which their cross-boundary living experiences endue them.This thesis is divided into three parts, which go forward one by one. In ChapterOne, the thesis analyzes the historical development of the Chinese-American diasporaand contrasts their present condition with their past, in order to discover theiradvancement and success, which has been the realistic basis of the theme in this thesis.Then, in Chapter Two, it probes the ever hardships and tribulations of the threeprotagonists: Precious Auntie, LuLing and Ruth, especially for their common silences,which displays the cultural dilemma of the protagonists as the strangers. In ChapterThree, it investigates the protagonists’ successful experience of renascence andtranscendence from their past unpleasant life emphatically and penetratingly: breakingtheir silences forwardly and then trying their best to conquer the dilemma forimprovement with their most precious adaptability, flexibility and courage. Finally,they realize their transcendence, which sets the optimistic view of life and thesuccessful models for the Chinese-American diaspora.By analyzing the protagonists’ diaspora experiences, the thesis probes the Chinese-American diaspora’s optimistic living attitude towards the survival reality.Simultaneously, it also encourages people to learn from the diaspora, for taking fulladvantage of their own flexibility and adaptability in front of the adversities andchallenges. In this way, people are able to grow continuously, to transcend themselvesconstantly, and to realize their extraordinary selves, ultimately. All of these provide themore profound literary space for the readers to think.