An Interpretation Of Initiation Theme In Fifth Chinese Daughter From The Perspective Of Initiation Story

Jade Snow Wong (1922-2006) has been called as "the mother of Chinese American literature" by Maxine Hong Kingston, whose work Fifth Chinese Daughter is regarded as one classic work of Chinese American Literature. Many critics have interpreted this novel from various perspectives, but few have analyzed it from the perspective of initiation theme.As a literary genre, initiation story originates from Germany, and it is well accepted and quickly develops in the literature field as an important part. Initiation story focuses on the growing process of protagonist and reflects the change of protagonist from innocence to maturity both in mentality and psychology.This thesis attempts to interpret Fifth Chinese Daughter by application of initiation story and explore how the novel manages to use the specific literary genre, initiation story, to show the growing progress of the protagonist.Chapter one briefly introduces Jade Snow Wong and her novel Fifth Chinese Daughter as well as the significance and framework of this thesis. Chapter two is about the literature review which presents the current researches on Fifth Chinese Daughter at home and abroad and the relevent theory including the origin and development of Bildungsroman and initiation story as well as definition and the characteristics of the initiation story. Chapter three amply analyzes the life experience of Jade Snow who strives to seek identity, gains success and realizes herself. Chapter four concentrates on interpreting the main features of initiation story embodied in the novel Fifth Chinese Daughter. Chapter five is the conclusion that Fifth Chinese Daughter is an initiation story reflecting the growing process of Chinese American female and has its own characteristics in terms of initiation theme. With the identity as an ethnic female marginalized by the American mainstream culture and males’world, Protagonist Jade Snow will face racial and sexual discriminations. Thus, in the initiation process, she positively seeks her cultural identity and gender identity and finally enters into mainstream society as a model minority. Analysis of this novel from initiation story enriches the study of it and the growing experience of Jade Snow is meaningful to other ethnic American youth and American adolescents, especially females.