Monkeys in the West : the manifestation and resolution of Chinese-ethnic and American-cultural tensions in The joy luck club, FOB, and Tripmaster monkey

Abstract

My dissertation addresses the question of how the inner tension of Chinese Americans between those who are ethnically Chinese and those who are culturally American surfaces in relationships and how it is resolved in The Joy Luck Club, FOB, and Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book. I argue that the Chinese Americans in the texts who are ethnically Chinese but culturally born-and-bred want to be recognised as Americans and not as Chinese. In mainstream American society in which hegemonic racist and stereotypical representations are prevalent, these outwardly Chinese Americans struggle to assimilate into it and face a lot of inner tensions. The tensions are caused by the in-between-ness, which leads to the uncertainty concerning their identity. They are not American enough, and they are not Chinese enough. I argue that their inner tensions expand and surface in their relationships with their parents and others. In my dissertation I discuss the dilemma of Chinese-born parents wanting their American-born children to remember Chinese ways while the children want to forget them. The tension between the parents and the children arises because the children finding their identity as Americans is threatened by their parents who appreciate their own Chinese-ness and encourage their children to adopt the Chinese traditions and values because they want to pass on their hopes from generation to generation. However, the children think their identity is threatened as they cannot escape their parents’ influence. Based on Freud’s Defence Mechanism and the Racial Shadow Theory suggested by Wong Sau-ling, I argue that they then in turn revolt against newly-arrived immigrants from China even though they meet the first time because of self-hatred and self-defence. The second reason is about the resemblance between their parents and the immigrants. To secure their identity, they do not want to be associated with new immigrants from China, that is, the true “Other.” They don't want to be the subject of discrimination from white Americans but they themselves discriminate against new immigrants. With all the heightened tensions developing and interacting, I conclude that the ultimate resolutions for the Chinese Americans suggested in the three texts are to recognise their true identity instead of being engulfed by the dominant discourse about ethnic Chinese, share their unique stories in different ways and build a supportive, inclusive, accommodating community which encourage heterogeneity to influence the society in positive ways (FOB 42).