| This thesis examines Pearl S. Buck's hybrid identity as a case for the rethinking of both traditional modes of identity as well as the role of the individual in promoting crosscultural understanding. Reflected in her novels and social activism, Buck's Asia-Pacific identity also challenges the claims of her critics, that she, as a Nobel Prize laureate and expert on China throughout the 1930s and '40s, drew on her authority to interpret the country in harmful, essentializing terms.; This thesis also interrogates the theoretical foundation of such critiques, as found in Edward Said's Orientalist critique. Buck's attempts to increase familiarity with and an appreciation for Chinese literature and culture, as well as humanize her Asian subjects, are factors that complicate claims that her work served Western imperialist interests. |
