Fluidity Of Ethnic Identity:Identity Performance In Gish Jen’s Mona In The Promised Land

Praised as "one of the leading chroniclers of the Chinese-American experience”,Gish Jen is a well-known Asian American writer known primarily for her portrayal of immigrants and children of immigrants in America who grapple with cultural diversity and ethnic identity.Her second novel Mona in the Promised Land,a New York Times notable book,mainly describes the second-generation Asian Americans’exploration of diverse cultures and construction of their ethnic identities in their growing process,as well as the tension and conflict between ethnic minorities and the dominant group in the multicultural context.As a realistic fiction with a keen sense of the times,the novel is hailed as "a shining example of a multicultural message delivered with the wit and bit of art" by the Los Angeles Times.Scholars at home and abroad mainly analyze the cultural conflict and cultural integration in the novel from the perspective of multiculturalism and discuss hybrid identities and the process of identification.Few scholars have noticed the performative and fluid nature of ethnic identity implied in the novel.Therefore,this thesis will focus on the issue of ethnic identity,and apply Judith Butler’s theory of performativity to analyze the identity performances of the main characters in Mona in the Promised Land,thereby revealing the important message the novel conveys about the fluidity of ethnic identity.The thesis consists of five chapters.The first chapter briefly introduces Gish Jen,her cultural background as well as the main contents of her second novel Mona in the Promised Land.After reviewing and examining the previous studies on Mona in the Promised Land,it introduces the topic of the thesis and briefly explains the research approach and structure of the thesis.Chapters Two to Four are the body of the thesis.Chapter Two focuses on the identity performances of the Chang’s family.Considering themselves as Asian Americans,Mona,Callie,and their parents endeavor to fit into the stereotypes of"model minority" and "perpetual foreigner" in order to seek recognition from American society.However,their identity performances of Asian Americans fail to bring them a sense of belonging.On the one hand,they are still marginalized by the white society,and on the other hand,they are unable to connect themselves with Chinese identity.Chapter Three discusses the ways Mona,Callie,and their friends strive to resist stereotyping with identity performances.Some of them perform the identities of other ethnic groups to resist the mainstream society’s stereotype about their own ethnic group.Some search for the root and essence of their ethnic culture and perform the characteristics they newly discover about their ethnic group to challenge the stereotype"customized" for them by the mainstream society.Chapter Four reveals the concept of the fluidity of ethnic identity conveyed by Mona in the Promised Land.Through the analyses in the previous two chapters,it can be concluded that the novel challenges the essentialist view of ethnicity,and conveys the message that ethnic identity is fluid.There is no natural link between ethnic body and ethnic identity;and ethnic identity,instead of a natural given,is socially constructed via actions,and is an ongoing process of becoming.The last chapter is Conclusion,which summarizes the central arguments of the thesis and the previous discussions,and further points out the realistic significance of Mona in the Promised Land.Through the depiction of identity performances,the novel not only reveals the fluid nature of ethnic identity,but also inspires people to reshape their understanding of ethnicity,remove racial discrimination and oppression,and envision a future of "ethnic reconciliation".