Study On "Hybridity" In Frank Chin's Donald Duk

Among all the Chinese American writers,Frank Chin is no doubt one of the most controversial ones.He has made great contributions to the development of Chinese American literature with his works while at the same time he is criticized by some critics because of his cynical comments on other Chinese American writers.His ethnic identity enables him to better comprehend the inner world of Chinese Americans and better know their present life condition in American society,which in turn helps him with creation of his works.Different from other writers,Frank Chin has his own understanding of ethnic identity of Chinese Americans which is uniquely called as "Chinaman"."Chinaman" is not like Chinese and is also different from typical Americans.Frank Chin intends to indicate unique identity of Chinese Americans through his works.Donald Duk is undoubtedly the most representative among his works.This novel is about the process of finding unique identity of Chinese Americans.Through Donald Duk,a twelve-year old boy's own experiences during Chinese New Year,Frank Chin wants to tell people that Chinese Americans should have a right attitude towards their own identity as well as their history.Chinese Americans have made great contributions to the development of America in history.Homi Bhabha's "Hybridity" Theory can serve as an effective tool to analyze the novel.This thesis mainly explores three embodiments of "Hybridity" in the novel.The first chapter elaborates "Hybridity" in Chinese American characters' identities in the novel.Names are like people's labels.The naming of the main Chinese American characters reflects a kind of ambivalence.Almost all the Chinese American characters in the novel are endowed with the kind of names symbolizing their hybrid identities.Besides,the protagonist Donald Duk's personality also represents a kind of "Hybridity".On the one hand,Donald Duk upholds American values and behaves accordingly,on the other hand,he is deeply influenced by Chinese-oriented surroundings.The second chapter explores "Hybridity" in narration.The most apparent feature in narration is the application of Dream Narrative,i.e.the detailed descriptions of Donald Duk's dreams which are about the track-laying history of early Chinese Americans.What are reflected in illusory dreams are the real truth of history of early Chinese American rail workers while the so-called "truth" taught in Donald Duk's school is in fact a big lie.Two kinds of "truths" hybridize with each other throughout the novel.Besides,non-standard English and Cantonese are applied to show the ethnic-featured language.The application of non-standard English and Cantonese in English writing manifests a kind of lingual "Hybridity".What's more,in narration there are temporal "Hybridity" and spatial"Hybridity".In time descriptions the seemingly spontaneous time-shifting is fulfilled.The history appearing in dreams which represents the past hybridizes with present life.Meanwhile,with the shift of time the descriptions of space shuttles back and forth between the railroad and Chinatown.Ambivalences in time and in space serve as important parts in the hybridization process.Chapter Three focuses on "Hybridity" from the cultural perspective.The introductions of Chinese folk culture,the appearance of Chinese Heroes and detailed depictions of Chinese culinary art are all applied to hybridize the typical American culture.Introductions of Chinese cultural elements indicate a kind of cultural "Hybridity".This thesis tries to analyze three embodiments of "Hybridity" reflected in the novel through the application of Homi Bhabha's "Hybridity" Theory.With the help of Homi Bhabha's "Hybridity" Theory we are able to perceive the new meanings delivered to us and revalue the novel in its contribution to the development of Chinese American Literature.When people reread this novel they are able to retrace and further study the ambivalent elements mentioned in the thesis.Meanwhile,when people study other Chinese American writers' works they may also focus on hybrid aspects and find out those writers' "Hybridity"identities reflected in their works.