The Confusion And Reconstruction Of The Protagonist’s Identity In Han Suyin’s Novel A Many-Splendoured Thing

Han Suyin(1917-2012)is a famous British Chinese female writer.Her autobiographical novel A Many-Splendoured Thing tells the author’s life experience in Hong Kong in the late 1940 s.From a first-person perspective as a Eurasian,Han Suyin presents the inner world and true situation of the characters through memory and emotional narration,which undoubtedly makes it a classic for Western readers to understand China.Han Suyin’s works present her sensitive identity issues.The work expresses her emotional journey of longing for recognition and acceptance in the context of her dual identity between China and the West.Therefore,Han Suyin reshaped her identity and clarified her stance while exploring her identity.This paper not only demonstrates Han Suyin’s confusion about identity but also analyzes the reasons for its occurrence.The protagonist’s strong desire to explore identity in the novel A Many-Splendoured Thing is positively reflected in Han Suyin.This paper includes three parts: introduction,main body,and conclusion.The introduction briefly introduces the research content and Han Suyin’s life experience and her works,the literature review summarizes the research status about the novel A Many-Splendoured Thing at home and abroad.This section expounds on the identity theory and cultural identity adopted in this paper.The second part is the main body of the paper,which consists of three chapters.The first chapter presents the expression of identity confusion,and analyzes it from the social,cultural,and political perspectives,to provide a more detailed interpretation of Han Suyin’s identity and reflect the practical significance of the novel.The second chapter analyzes the reasons for identity confusion in the novel from social,cultural,and political perspectives.Taking Han Suyin as a typical representative,through her intersection and contradiction of life with others of different identities and situations,the reasons for her identity confusion gradually emerge.Han Suyin’s identity writing also portrays distinct character images in the novel.In the historical process of mutual influence between Eastern and Western cultures,her Eurasian identity is not only a product of the times but also an important factor confusing her identity.The third chapter is about the reconstruction and significance of identity and explores her changes in thought,language,behavior,and other aspects.It analyzes the internal connections of things and finally explores the significance and value of identity reconstruction in the novel.The third part is the conclusion,summarizing Han Suyin’s identity choice in the novel A Many-Splendoured Thing.This is not only the author’s personal experience and true feelings but also the pursuit of literary creation by a British Chinese female writer.Through this work,Han Suyin allows readers to better understand the life difficulties faced by people in different situations,especially the oppression faced by people in the context of war and historical culture.Although many difficulties may be encountered in the process of obtaining an identity,people in complex situations never give up their pursuit of a better life,especially in contemporary society where international and racial conflicts are intensifying.