Narratology, cultural reflections and nostalgic memories : images and symbols of fire in Ng Kim Chew's novels = 寫作技法、文化反思與鄉愁記憶 : 論黃錦樹小說的「火」之意象和象徵

Abstract

The image of “fire” is an important element in Ng Kim Chew’s novels. According to different texts in different periods, its symbolic meaning can be divided into three categories. The first is to express Ng Kim Chew’s modernist aesthetic tendency in writing techniques. In presentation, they are often represented as “fire of destruction” and “fire of illumination”. The former emphasizes bidding farewell to the realist literary tradition, while the latter, can be seen as a symbol of the modernist writing techniques he learned from Taiwan. But “illuminating fire” is often swallowed up by the dark forest, reflecting Ng’s choice of modernism that is closely connected to local reality. The second is the dialectical relationship between the “Chineseness” and “localness” of Malaysian Chinese culture that Ng questioned with fire. Ng Kim Chew believes that excessive penetration of “Chinese fire” will hinder the construction of the subjectivity of Malaysian Chinese culture, but sometimes it is used as a stronghold and bargaining chip for the struggle for local rights and interests of Malaysian Chinese. In the abandonment and use of “Chinese fire”, Ng expressed his understanding of the limits of both Chinese consciousness and local consciousness in Malaysian Chinese culture. The third is a trigger device for Ng Kim Chew’s nostalgic memory, which not only evokes the fear and trauma of childhood life in the rubber forest, but also connects with the infinite warmth of family life. Wandering outside, Ng repeatedly narrates two life experiences in different novels, which become his lingering nightmare and nostalgia. Three different types of fire reflect Ng Kim Chew, as a unique Malaysian Chinese writer in Taiwan.