A Comparative Study Of Initiation Theme Between Fifth Chinese Daughter And The Color Purple

In American ethnic literature, there are two ethnic women writers. They and their works havemade great contributions not only to American literature, but also to the world literature. Numerousreaders and scholars aspire after their amazing writings. They are Jade Snow Wong and AliceWalker.This thesis emphasize Jade Snow Wong’s Fifth Chinese Daughter and Alice Walker’s TheColor Purple, drawing on the theory of initiation story, show the initiation process of ethnic womenfrom three aspects of race, gender and culture; interpret the social, historical, and cultural reasonswhy ethnic women in the white-centric and male-dominant American society are discarded,including the ways and the modes that ethnic women free themselves from straits and blend in thewhite society. In the modern society, when we put up the slogans like Gender Equality and RaceEquality, the scene of oppression is still common occurrence at the same time. This thesis aims toexplore an outlet by comparing the two works for the ethnic people, especially for the ethnicfemales who are living in the American colonialism society. That is also the original intention of theauthor of the thesis. In the exposition of the thesis, the author hopes the readers can have muchdeeper recognition of the ethnic women’s circumstance, facing difficulties and arduousness, andpay more attention to it and the related ones. We should give more chances to them to speak out,making more and more people hear their voice.This thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter One is a brief introduction of the developmentand actuality on Chinese American literature and African American Literature. Chapter Two makesa summary of all their life and their achievements of Jade Snow Wong and Alice Walker. Thischapter also contains the main plots and the contemporary studies on Fifth Chinese Daughter andThe Color Purple. Chapter Three, from the view of themes, analyzes the similarities of the twoworks. That’s the identity quest of ethnic women in the oppression of race and gender and the two protagonists, regarded as the representatives of initiation stories, strive to live in the Americanmainstream society actively, in the end of this chapter, analyzes the causes of the similarities.Chapter Four not only share different initiation in Fifth Chinese Daughter and The Color Purplethrough comparing the different female images and different attitude towards native cultures, butalso give the causes of the differences. Chapter Five is the part of conclusion. It reveals that if theethnic women want to live in the American colonialism and hegemonism, they must stand upbravely and become the governor of their fate, never attach, never compromise, and fight againstthe discrimination of gender and race. In the process of getting rid of oppression andself-reconstruction, ethnic people should adore native culture, keep conscious, and treat theAmerican culture critically. By comparing the two works, the author hopes this thesis can providesome valuable information and materials to ethnic American literature and the literature of thethird-world women research.