The Perplexity Of Identity

Abstract in EnglishAdopting diasporic literature as its theoretical foundation, this thesis discusses and analyzes the identities of two literary protagonists based on a comparative study of Disappearance by the Guyanese writer David Dabydeen and Happy by the Chinese writer Jia Pingwa.Disappearance is set in Guyana in the period after the country achieved its Independence from Britain in 1966, thereafter becoming a republic in the 1970s. The novel tells the story of a young Guyanese engineer who comes to Britain and seeks after Englishness, eventually gaining an insight into the essence of Englishness. The novel reveals the resistance of colonialism and servitude, while it indicating the confusion and struggle for identity. Happy is set in the era of the Chinese Reform and Opening up and modernization. It depicts the story of a trash collector, Happy Liu, and his fellow rural migrant workers who come to Xi'an with the dream of blending into city life. Struggling at the bottom of society, they finally sink down into marginal class of the city. The novel manifests the author's deep concerns about the living conditions and spiritual aspirations of the underclass, reflecting the sharp contradiction between urban and rural lives during this modernization and urbanization.Through specific comparison and detailed analysis of the settings, imagery, protagonist and their destinies, this thesis finds that under the impact of homeland culture and the shock of host land culture, both the intelligent Guyanese engineer and the aspiring trash collector Happy Liu are perplexed about their identities. By the concern and analysis of the key factors in the two novels, this thesis explores the perplexity of identity experienced within a diasporic group.