xii ABSTRACT
CHANDRA, TAN MICHAEL. Kay’s Personal Identity Establishment as a Chinese-American as Seen in Deanna Fei’s A Thread of Sky. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2016.
This thesis begins with the researcher’s curiosity when reading Deanna Fei’s novel A Thread of Sky about how Second-Generation Chinese-Americans are stereotyped in America. The Second-Generation of Chinese-Americans were born in America but cannot identify themselves as American due to the White people’s insistence that they are Chinese. The Second-Generation Chinese-American, reflected by the character in the novel, cannot accept being seen as Chinese as they felt that they were born in America and those born in America have the right to say that they are American no matter what their race is. The stereotypes combined with the Chinese-Americans’ inability to identify as Chinese, as they cannot speak Chinese, make them confused about their personal identity.
The objectives of this study are to know how Kay being portrayed as a American, find what stereotype that Kay must face as a Chinese-American and how she reacted to the stereotypes given to her by White-Americans to find her personal identity. For the first objective, the writer used character and characterization theory to see how Kay being portrayed in the novel. For the second objectives, the writer made a list of stereotypes that Kay must face as a Chinese-American. Regarding the third objective, the writer saw how the stereotypes have influenced Kay in order to find her own identity.
The method of this study is library research, i.e. this research uses journals and textbooks as the sources. The primary source of the research is a novel written by Deanna Fei entitled A Thread of Sky (2010). The secondary sources of the research are related studies in the form of articles in the journals from Dan Caldwell and Jing Yi Song. The related theories come from Joe Feagin (stereotype), Harry H.L. Kitano (identity), Elizabeth Langland, and Rene Wellek and Austin Warren (the relationship between literature and society). This research used post-colonial approaches that focused on stereotypes, prejudice, and identity.
xiii ABSTRAK
CHANDRA, TAN MICHAEL Kay’s Personal Identity Establishment as a Chinese-American as Seen in Deanna Fei’s A Thread of Sky. Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2016.
Skripsi ini bermula dari keingintahuan peneliti tentang bagaimana Generasi Kedua orang Tionghoa-Amerika distereotipkan di Amerika ketika membaca novel A Thread of Sky milik Deanna Fei. Para Generasi Kedua Tionghoa-Amerika ini lahir di Amerika namun tidak dapat menyebut diri mereka orang Amerika dikarenakan kekeraskepalaan orang Amerika yang tetap menyebut mereka sebagai orang Tionghoa. Generasi Kedua Tionghoa-Amerika, direpresentasikan oleh karakter di dalam novel, tidak dapat menerima dianggap sebagai orang TIonghoa karena merasa lahir di Amerika dan berpikir bahwa semua orang yang lahir di Amerika adalah warga Negara Amerika apapun ras mereka. Stereotip ini dan ketidakmampuan Tionghoa-Amerika menyebut mereka orang Tionghoa, karena mereka tidak bisa berbicara bahasa Tionghoa, membuat mereka bingung akan identitas pribadi mereka.
Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk melihat bagaimana Kay digambarkan sebagai Tionghoa-Amerika, menemukan stereotip apa saja yang Kay, sebagai generasi kedua Tionghoa-Amerika, harus hadapi dan bagaimana Kay bereaksi terhadap stereotip-stereotip tersebut untuk menemukan identitas pribadinya. Tujuan pertama adalah melihat bagaimana Kay digambarkan sebagai seorang Tionghoa-Amerika. Pada tujuan kedua, peneliti membuat daftar stereotip yang Kay harus hadapi sebagai seorang Tionghoa-Amerika. Berkaitan dengan tujuan ketiga, peneliti melihat bagaimana stereotip-stereotip tersebut menghasilkan proses tertentu pada Kay untuk menemukan identitas pribadiya
Metode studi ini ialah riset kepustakaan yang menggunakan jurnal dan buku teks sebagai sumbernya. Sumber utama dari penelitian ini adalah sebuah novel yang ditulis oleh Deanna Fei berjudul A Thread of Sky (2010). Sedangkan sumber sekunder dari penelitian ini ialah beberapa studi terkait berbentuk artikel dalam jurnal dari Dan Caldwell dan Jing Yi Song. Teori terkait berasal dari Joe Feagin (stereotip), Harry H.L. Kitano (identitas), Elizabeth Langland, and Rene Wellek and Austin Warren (hubungan antara sastra dan masyarakat). Riset ini menggunakan pendekatan post-kolonial yang berfokus pada stereotip, prasangka, dan identitas.
KAY’S PERSONAL IDENTITY ESTABLISHMENT AS A
CHINESE-AMERICAN AS SEEN IN DEANNA FEI’S
A THREAD OF SKY
UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
TAN MICHAEL CHANDRA Student Number: 114214120
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
ii
KAY’S PERSONAL IDENTITY ESTABLISHMENT AS A
CHINESE-AMERICAN AS SEEN IN DEANNA FEI’S
A THREAD OF SKY
UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
TAN MICHAEL CHANDRA Student Number: 114214120
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
KAY'S
PERSONAL
IDENTITY ESTABLISIIMENT
ASA
CHINESE.AMERICAN
AS SEENIN DEANNA FEI'S
A
THREAD
OF
SKYBy
TAI\ MICHAEL CHANDRA Student Number: 114214120
Approved by
February
ll,2016
February
ll,2016
lI Co-Advtsor
I
'
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate ThesisKAY'S
PERSONAL
IDENTITY
ESTABLISHMENT
ASA
CHINESE-AMERICAN
AS SEENIN DEANNA FEI'S
A
THREAD
OF
SKYBy
TAI\I MICHAEL CHANDRA Student Number:
ll42l4l20
Board of Examiners
Secretary
Member I Member 2
Member 3
Yogyakarta,' February 29, 2A16
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STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
I
certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no rnaterial which has beenpreviously submitted for the award of any other degree at any university, and that,
to the best
of
my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no materialpreviously written by any other pefson except where due reference is made in the
text of the undergraduate thesis.
Yogyakarta, February I
l,
2016LEMBAR***"#+$iliBlifl
lYJBtil-"YAHffi
?IKARYATLMIAH
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma Nama
Nomor Mahasiswa
: Tan Michael Chandra :114214120
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul
KAY'S
PERSONAL
IDENTITY ESTABLISHMENT
ASA
CHINESE-AMERICAN
AS SEENIN DEANNA FEI'S
A
THREAD
OFSKY
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas sanata Dharma
hak
untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendishibusi-kan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin kepada saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal 11 Februai2016
Yang menyatakan,
Tan Michael Chandra
vii
For with God nothing shall be impossible.
–
Luke 1:37 KJV–
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
– Hebrews 13:5-6 NIV –
We can use logic to identify almost all things in the world. However, there is one thing that logic cannot touch:Faith.
Because when you have Faith you just believe with your heart, while logic uses your brain.
– Rev Dr. P.S. Hary Susanto, S.J. –
Life is a matter of CHOICE Whether you want to make your life happy or not depends on the choices you made.
Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum.
-THERE IS NO SHORTCUT IN LEARNING
– Dr. F.X. Siswadi, M.A. –
Study and Work is IMPORTANT. However, having time for yourselves is also VERY IMPORTANT
– Rev. R. In Nugroho Budisantoso, S.J., M.Hum., M.P.P –
Never give up,
never blame the circumstances or conditions, never give your hopes away
-viii
I dedicate this undergraduate thesis
To all people who not only believe me
But also put their faith in me
They are the ones who still choose to keep their faith in me
Even in the time I was down and losing faith in myself
They are the ones who always help me up
No matter how many times I fall
And
My special dedication goes to my late grandmother
Tati Juhati Miun
(1947-2013)
ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I give my highest praises to Lord Jesus Christ, My Savior and My Closest Friend, for leading me to the right way, reminds me to never give up, and accompanies me always so that I can finish writing this undergraduate thesis.
I foremost give my gratitude to Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum. for her kindness to become not only my advisor but also work-partner and trustful friend. She is the one who always has faith in me even at times when I lose faith in myself. I also thank Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S., M.Hum. as my co-advisor who provides her time to give suggestions and revisions to improve my writing. I give my gratitude also to Mr. Stephen Chandra and Mrs. Titoes Libert for their financial help that enabled me to carry on at college. I also thank Mbak Ninik, Mas Pariyo, Mbak Elis, and Mas Sugeng for always helping me.
I thank my parents, Tan Peter Chandra and Try Damajanti, for their full support and their efforts to keep reminding me to finish my thesis. I thank my little sisters, Angelia Chandra and Gabrielle Chandra, for their support in cheering me up when I was down. I thank my grandfather, Saliwiatun Djiun, who always supports me in prayer. I give many thanks to my classmates from Class D 2011 for the wonderful memory in the past 4 years and all the people who helped me but whom I cannot mention one by one. I also thank my gaming team: Beni, Lina, and Risa for the cross-generational friendship.
x
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ... ii
APPROVAL PAGE ... iii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE... iv
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY... v
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH ... vi
MOTTO PAGE ... vii
DEDICATION PAGE ... viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... x
ABSTRACT... xii
ABSTRAK... xiii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ... 1
A. Background of the Study ... 1
B. Problem Formulation ... 3
C. Objectives of the Study ... 3
D. Definition of Terms ... 4
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ... 6
A. Review of Related Studies ... 6
B. Review of Related Theories ... 13
1. Theory of Character & Characterization ... 13
2. The Relation between Literature and Societies... 18
3. Post-Colonial Studies on Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Identity .... 21
a. Streotypes and Prejudices ... 28
b. Identity... 24
C. Theoretical Framework ... 26
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ... 28
A. Object of the Study ... 28
B. Approach of the Study ... 29
C. Method of the Study ... 30
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ... 33
A. Kay’s Potrayal in the Novel ... 33
B. The Stereotypes Kay Experienced as a Chinese-American ... 36
1. Being Seen as Non-American ... 36
2. Considered to Be Inferior ... 39
C. Kay’s Reaction toward the Stereotype to Establish Her Racial Identity..46
1. Rejection and Fighting ... 46
2. Questioning Identity... 52
xi
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION... 60
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 64
xii ABSTRACT
CHANDRA, TAN MICHAEL. Kay’s Personal Identity Establishment as a Chinese-American as Seen in Deanna Fei’s A Thread of Sky. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2016.
This thesis begins with the researcher’s curiosity when reading Deanna Fei’s novel A Thread of Sky about how Second-Generation Chinese-Americans are stereotyped in America. The Second-Generation of Chinese-Americans were born in America but cannot identify themselves as American due to the White people’s insistence that they are Chinese. The Second-Generation Chinese-American, reflected by the character in the novel, cannot accept being seen as Chinese as they felt that they were born in America and those born in America have the right to say that they are American no matter what their race is. The stereotypes combined with the Chinese-Americans’ inability to identify as Chinese, as they cannot speak Chinese, make them confused about their personal identity.
The objectives of this study are to know how Kay being portrayed as a American, find what stereotype that Kay must face as a Chinese-American and how she reacted to the stereotypes given to her by White-Americans to find her personal identity. For the first objective, the writer used character and characterization theory to see how Kay being portrayed in the novel. For the second objectives, the writer made a list of stereotypes that Kay must face as a Chinese-American. Regarding the third objective, the writer saw how the stereotypes have influenced Kay in order to find her own identity.
The method of this study is library research, i.e. this research uses journals and textbooks as the sources. The primary source of the research is a novel written by Deanna Fei entitled A Thread of Sky (2010). The secondary sources of the research are related studies in the form of articles in the journals from Dan Caldwell and Jing Yi Song. The related theories come from Joe Feagin (stereotype), Harry H.L. Kitano (identity), Elizabeth Langland, and Rene Wellek and Austin Warren (the relationship between literature and society). This research used post-colonial approaches that focused on stereotypes, prejudice, and identity.
xiii ABSTRAK
CHANDRA, TAN MICHAEL Kay’s Personal Identity Establishment as a Chinese-American as Seen in Deanna Fei’s A Thread of Sky. Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2016.
Skripsi ini bermula dari keingintahuan peneliti tentang bagaimana Generasi Kedua orang Tionghoa-Amerika distereotipkan di Amerika ketika membaca novel A Thread of Sky milik Deanna Fei. Para Generasi Kedua Tionghoa-Amerika ini lahir di Amerika namun tidak dapat menyebut diri mereka orang Amerika dikarenakan kekeraskepalaan orang Amerika yang tetap menyebut mereka sebagai orang Tionghoa. Generasi Kedua Tionghoa-Amerika, direpresentasikan oleh karakter di dalam novel, tidak dapat menerima dianggap sebagai orang TIonghoa karena merasa lahir di Amerika dan berpikir bahwa semua orang yang lahir di Amerika adalah warga Negara Amerika apapun ras mereka. Stereotip ini dan ketidakmampuan Tionghoa-Amerika menyebut mereka orang Tionghoa, karena mereka tidak bisa berbicara bahasa Tionghoa, membuat mereka bingung akan identitas pribadi mereka.
Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk melihat bagaimana Kay digambarkan sebagai Tionghoa-Amerika, menemukan stereotip apa saja yang Kay, sebagai generasi kedua Tionghoa-Amerika, harus hadapi dan bagaimana Kay bereaksi terhadap stereotip-stereotip tersebut untuk menemukan identitas pribadinya. Tujuan pertama adalah melihat bagaimana Kay digambarkan sebagai seorang Tionghoa-Amerika. Pada tujuan kedua, peneliti membuat daftar stereotip yang Kay harus hadapi sebagai seorang Tionghoa-Amerika. Berkaitan dengan tujuan ketiga, peneliti melihat bagaimana stereotip-stereotip tersebut menghasilkan proses tertentu pada Kay untuk menemukan identitas pribadiya
Metode studi ini ialah riset kepustakaan yang menggunakan jurnal dan buku teks sebagai sumbernya. Sumber utama dari penelitian ini adalah sebuah novel yang ditulis oleh Deanna Fei berjudul A Thread of Sky (2010). Sedangkan sumber sekunder dari penelitian ini ialah beberapa studi terkait berbentuk artikel dalam jurnal dari Dan Caldwell dan Jing Yi Song. Teori terkait berasal dari Joe Feagin (stereotip), Harry H.L. Kitano (identitas), Elizabeth Langland, and Rene Wellek and Austin Warren (hubungan antara sastra dan masyarakat). Riset ini menggunakan pendekatan post-kolonial yang berfokus pada stereotip, prasangka, dan identitas.
1
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Race is part of the one’s identity because it is considered as one of the factors genetically inherited by any people in the world. People cannot choose which race they want to be born into and by, they cannot change their race to whatever other races they want by any means. Thus making a race is important part of human life. There are many races all over the world and many kinds of categorizations to differentiate them. Some of those categorizations categorized race according to their origin like European, Caucasian, or Asian while some of them categorized race according to the skin color like White, Black, Yellow, or
Mullato. Although races and gender made the world rich in diversity, there are many problems related to race; one of the main problems is racism.
stereotypical view from the society which was reflected by White-American in the novel.
Among the six characters, this research focused more on Katherine Shen (called Kay in the novel and continued to be called so in this research). Kay was born from Chinese-turned-American parents Bill and Irene Shen. Irene, Kay’s mother, was forced fled from China and became immigrant in America due to the war that happen in China. In America Irene met Bill Shen, married, and had three daughters. Therefore, basically Kay is Second-Generation of Chinese-American, a person that has double identity: Chinese heritage from her parents, and American citizenship by the place she was born. This made Kay confused in establishing her personal identity between the two races: Chinese and America
Born in America, Kay personally identified herself as American. Kay’s personal claim, however, caused an disagreement among the society she lived in. The people around her, especially White-Americans, rejected her claimed and constantly addressed her as Chinese by the using their stereotypical view toward Chinese. This research see how Kay establish her personal identity toward those White-acclaimed stereotyped, whether Kay stick to her personal claim as an American, convert to Chinese, or became something else.
event when Kay tried to understand Chinese by studying about them in their own land. This novel also explicitly stated the idea that Chinese are treated as foreigner in America despite that they were born there (Fei, 2010:213) also explicitly quoted Edward Said’s idea of Orientalism detailing how the White-American used it to made Chinese-American felt inferior and imposed stereotypical view toward them (Fei, 2010:72-73, 213). This is the second thing that made this novel unique and worth to research, because the novel stated a view and theory outside it, a peculiar thing for a novel who usually focused more on the intrinsic elements.
B. Problem Formulation
To focus the research, the writer limits the scope into three problem formulations:
1. How Kay’s character being potrayed in the novel?
2. What are the stereotypes experienced by Kay as a Chinese-American? 3. How does Kay react to those stereotypes to establish her personal identity?
C. Objectives of the Study
Chinese-American, the writer show how the stereotypes affected Kay, and led her to question her own identity. Then the writer then show how Kay reacts to those stereotypes in order to make sure of her personal identity, whether she will confirm, resist, or negotiate in order to find she is American, Chinese, or something else.
D. Definition of Terms
To avoid misunderstanding and to give further explanation to the reader, the writer will explain some important key terms related to this thesis. The first term is about Chinese-American. Chinese-Americans are the people who live in American as a result of immigration. They started to enter the United States in the 1840s because of economic reverses, local rebellions, and social discontent in China (Kitano, 1985:217).
The second term is stereotypes. Feagin noted that stereotype is “an overgeneralization associated with racial or ethnic group that goes beyond existing evidence” (Feagin, 1978:12). Feagin definition means that stereotype is just an exaggerated generalization toward certain races. He also noted that stereotype needs no proof, means that it’s only a one-sided exaggerated view toward certain races.
6
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review on Related Studies
In order to understand more about the topic of the research, the writer provides several studies to support this research. The first study is about how Chinese people can end up in America. For this topic, the writer took an undergraduate thesis by Emeilya Kumala Sari entitled “The Responses of Chinese
Immigrant Women in America in the Mid 20th Century toward the Demand of the
Society in Lisa See’sShanghai Girls.” This study will provide basic information
on why Chinese people choose to live in America in the first place.
In the late 19th century until the early 20th century there was a series of war
happened in China. These long desperate wars forced people to seek better lives outside China. Since the United States of America was famous for its American Dream, the United States of America attracted millions of immigrants from all over the world. Believing that they could get better lives, many Chinese people also migrated to America (Sari, 2011: 2-3)
The second study is about stereotypes. For this part, the writer takes Dan Caldwell’s writing “The Negroization of the Chinese Stereotype in California” who gives brief explanation about stereotypes.
The latent prejudice of early Californians was nurtured by the use of popular stereotypes. Defining stereotypes as "pictures in our heads," Walter Lippman first introduced the concept of the stereotype to social science in 1922. He went on to point out that the stereotype is an undifferentiated caricature of the group or individual it presumably represents and that prejudiced people "see mainly what they expect to see rather than what is really there." In regard to the Chinese, early Californians were no exception to this rule (Caldwell, 1971:123).
Caldwell showed that stereotypes are actually only “pictures in our head” and people see “what they expect to see” rather than “what is really there.” Therefore, it means that stereotypes are based only on someone or some group’s perspective and expectation toward a certain group of people that are, at most times, not true. This is usually because stereotypes toward certain groups are one-sided. Caldwell also noted this in the next part
Often stereotypes disregard fact and concern only image .The most common stereotypes refer to physical characteristics or to out of the ordinary lifestyles. The most common physical characteristics include skin color and features of the head: hair, eyes, nose, mouth and shape of the head. Stereotypes referring to lifestyles often attribute decadent and immoral behavior to the group that does not conform to the majority (Caldwell, 1971:123).
lifestyles. Usually, these kinds of stereotypes disregard a group of people to have “immoral and decadent” behaviors although, same as physical stereotypes, are not always true. For example, a common stereotype that an Afro-American family usually consists of a poor single parent with the kids not knowing his/her father and live in dirty places. Of course, this is not true as the majority of Afro-American families have complete families nowadays. Perhaps this stereotype was
true in the past when they still lived in the ghetto and had difficulty in finding a
stable job, which led to poverty. However, this is not true nowadays as the majority of Afro-Americans have stable jobs and some of them are even richer than White people. The stereotypes still exist due to some people’s unwillingness to see the reality and still cling to their false-point of view from the past. In conclusion, these two kinds of stereotypes continue even until now because people refuse to see the thing as it is, and cling to what they think about it instead.
The third study is the studies about identity. How can this kind of problem happen? Why does this problem occur? Actually, the ones who experience these kinds of problems are not first-generation Chinese immigrants because they understand their identity as a certain race, which is Chinese. Identity becomes a problem for the second generations of Chinese-American who were born in
America. Based on the American principal of ius soli (nationality by birth), they
One of the main complaints against Chinese immigrants in the past was the idea that they were unassimilable. Opponents used Asians' alleged inability to become "real" Americans as an excuse to exclude them and to deny them participation in American political and social life. A series of landmark decisions in the lower federal courts and the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the exclusion. Historians often argue among themselves whether Chinese immigrants have been discriminated against as a class, a race, or a nationality (Song, 2002: 385-386).
Song’s writing showed that in the past even Chinese immigrants (whose children later become Chinese-Americans) were thought as “unassimilable” and unable to become “real” Americans. This is perhaps due to racism at that time, when Americans used the Chinese “alleged inability” as a reason to disallow them from becoming “real” Americans. Thus, Chinese were not allowed to take part in politics and were seen differently in society. As Song noted, historians still argue about the topic whether Chinese immigrants at that time were discriminated against as a class, race, or nationality - a question that may still not yet be answered. Unfortunately, although the era of the act and racism is already over, people still have the same stereotypes and prejudices toward Chinese people as in
the past. Stereotypes of Chinese such as “nerd,” “conservative,” “shy,”
“intelligent,” “diligent” and other stereotypes can still be found.
After the background of the stereotypes has been sketched, the writer now looks for its effect on the second-generation of Chinese-Americans. Interestingly, racial stereotypes and inability to call themselves American made them confused whether they were American or Chinese. On this topic, Song cited a case study of Maya Lin, a second-generation Chinese American
identity, especially for Americans, as this country is the home of immigrants from all parts of the world. Several hundred years of living and working on this land created generations of Americans with mixed ethnic and racial backgrounds. Relatively flexible social structures permitted social mobility of people of different nationalities and classes. Unfortunately, because of cultural ignorance and prejudice, misunderstanding and antagonism among Americans still exist. Not a typical for Chinese Americans, Lin was challenged when she identified herself as an Ohioan when she was asked if she were a Chinese. She reaffirmed her American identity by telling the audience that she was born in the United States and had established herself as an American artist (Song, 2002: 386).
By giving Lin as an example, Song clearly showed that although a Chinese-American was born in America (Ohio in this case) and stated him/herself as “American” (or Ohioan in this case), people will still ask if she were a Chinese. This is because the prejudice and misunderstanding among Americans about Chinese people still exist. An “American” is considered a White person, so Chinese who are not White (colored, as American categorized them) cannot identified themselves as “fully American.” Even though they were born in America, speak only English and cannot speak Mandarin, Americans will still recognize them as Chinese, regardless the Chinese’s explanation and self-introduction as American. This problem made a simple question like “Where do you come from?” cause a big problem for second-generation Chinese-Americans. It is because they cannot say that they are Chinese, as they were born in America, but cannot say that they are Americans, as Americans will stubbornly tell them that they are Chinese and not Americans.
who later immigrated to America thought other races as inferior or –borrowing Said’s word- “Other”.
The emergence of Eurocentrism also coincided historically with the establishment of Euro-American domination and colonialization of the world. Eurocentrism served the cause of colonialism by representing the world outside of Europe as "empty," at least culturally speaking, or backward, defined in terms of "lack," and hence in need of European intervention. Europe had everything to give to the world; what it received in return were images of its own past - and the rightful material returns from its civilizing activity (Dirlik, 1996:111).
Dirlik’s writing showed that the reason why Europeans thought that other races are inferior was because of Eurocentrism. It is the time when Europe invaded many countries in order to “civilize” them. They thought the world outside Europe as “empty” and “backward” so it need to be civilized by Europeans. Back then, it was normal to think that way because Europeans thought that non-European people were exotic, sensual, low-cultured, uneducated, and immoral. They did even not consider non-Europeans as “people” or “persons” but choose to think that non-Europeans are not individual human beings but only “anonymous masses” (Barry, 2002:193-194). This past-point of view carries on to the present as the descendants of the Europeans who migrated to America and later became American citizens, refuse to acknowledge non-White people as American.
These related studies have been very helpful to the writer by giving many insights and a new point of view for this research. The writer’s research has a similar topic as Emeilya Kumala Sari’s “The Responses of Chinese Immigrant
Women in America in the Mid 20th Century toward the Demand of the Society in
hardship Chinese immigrants faced in America. Jing Yi Song’s “Fighting for Chinese Identity” also explores identity. The writer’s research shares similar characteristics with Dan Caldwell “The Negroization of the Chinese Stereotype in California” in the talking about stereotype. Finally, Arif Dirlik’s “Chinese History and the Question of Orientalism” also uses post-colonial theory. Despite of those similarities, however, the writer’s research provides something new.
What makes this research different from other similar research is its current reference and its diffrent point of view toward personal identity of the immigrants. For the current references, the novel was published in 2010 and has
21st century urban American life and China as its setting, different from the other
Chinese research that usually focused on the life of Chinese immigrants in the 19th
or 20th centuries. This research also deals with the modern Western point of view
toward Chinese, so it will be different from previous research. This research will
show how in the 21st century, stereotypes towards Chinese still exist, making
Chinese Americans confused about their identity.
B. Review of Related Theories
Related to the objectives of this study, the writer will refer several theories in order to answer the problem formulations. The first theory is about character and characterization; the second is the relationship between literature and society; and the last is Post-Colonial Studies on Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Identity, which consisted of Stereotypes and Prejudices theory and Identity theory.
1. Theory of Character & Characterization
In order to know how the character reacts with the stereotypes to find her identity, the theory of character and characterization should be used to see Kay as the character in the story and how the writer, Deanna Fei, characterized her.
According to Abrams’ Glossary of Literary Terms, there are two definitions of
characters
1. The character is the name of a literary genre; it is a short, and usually
witty, sketch in prose of a distinctive type of person.
of characters. Therefore, seeing the character in the real world, can help the reader to relate to his own life.
Another definition of character can be seen from Richard Gill’s Mastering
English Literaturenoted that
“a character is someone in a literary work who has some sort of identity (it needn’t be a strong one, an identity which is made up by appearance, conversation, action, name and (possibly) thought going on in the head” (Gill, 1995 : 127).
Gill strengthens Abrams’ arguments by giving additional information about characters. Gill notes that a character needs an identity although “it does not need to be a strong one.” This means that every character, whether main or secondary, must have an identity, despite how weak it is. Their identity, as Gill said, can be judged by several means. It can be the appearances (e.g., how they dress), conversation between them and another character, their actions in the story, and finally, their thoughts in their own head. Taken from Abrams and Gill’s definitions, a character is a figure in literary works that represents people in the real world and must have an identity despite how weak it is.
Apart from theory of character, there is also a theory about characterization i.e. how a character is introduced by the author. On characterization, Abrams (1999 : 33-34) states
to describe, and often to evaluate, the motives and dispositional qualities of the characters.
Similar to character theory, Gill also has his own definition of characterization. For Gill, characterization is "the way in which a character is created" (Gill, 1995: 127). Gill seems to give a simpler definition than Abrams, but the point is same. Characterization is the way the author presents the nature of the characters in the literary work. There are various ways of how the author presents and explains the character to the reader. Abrams has noted his two ways: telling and showing, while M.J. Murphy notes nine ways in his book Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and The English
Novel for Overseas Students. According to Murphy(Murphy, 1972: 161-173), the
ways are summarized as follows:
1. Personal description
“The author gives a description of a person's appearance such as the face,
skin, eyes, build and clothes.” In this kind of characterization, the author
is usually portrayed as the narrator who gives insight to the reader the personal description of the characters.
2. Character as seen by another
3. Speech
“The insight is given to us by the author into the character, one of the people in the book through what the person says. The reader can get some clues about the character through speech, conversation and opinion.” With indirect characterization, the author gives information about a character through the speech or opinion of the other character toward him/her.
4. Past life
“The reader can learn something about a person's past life from the clues given by the author. The author gives a clue to events that have helped to shape a person's character by direct comment, person's thoughts, the conversation or the medium of another person.” This method is usually used in the stories that provide flashbacks about a character’s past life. Knowing the character’s past can help the reader understand the nature of the character in the present.
5. Conversation of others
6. Reaction
“The description of how the character reacts to various situations and events.” Usually, the author presents some conflict or problems that a character needs to solve. In seeing how he/she reacts to that problem or conflict, the readers can see what kind of character it is.
7. Direct comments
“The reader gets the description or comment on a person's character directly.” Simple, the author directly gives the readers insight about the characters through direct comments from the narrator or the other characters.
8. Thought
“The knowledge of what a person is thinking about is given by the author directly to the reader.” This is usually used in the kind of story where the narrator knows all the characters’ thought. Providing the characters’ thought to the reader, the author gives the reader the nature of the characters that he/she creates.
9. Mannerism
Therefore, in the explanation for the characterization theory, Murphy goes into more detail than Abrams. This is because Abrams’ explanations were more general while Murphy is more specific. Nevertheless, these two explanations support each other.
In this novel, the theory of character and characterization is useful to understand the nature of the character in the novel because with those theories, the nature of the character, Kay, can be analyzed.
2. The Relationship between Literature and Society
As noted in the objectives of the study, this research aims to find the stereotypes that Kay, as a Chinese-American, face from Americans and how those stereotypes make her confused about her identity. However, the society being studied in this research is not the real society and is only novel-based. The person who experienced it, Kay, is also not a real person and only a character in the novel. This poses a question: Could we study a society reflected in the novel to see the real society? Langland gives an interesting background to how this question can appear:
Langland noted the common assumption about this kind of problem is always “society is society, a novel is a novel” which means people always treat these two things differently. Society is being constructed by “abstract concepts, ideas about human relationships” and is not a “concrete, codified thing,” so it can be difficult to portray a real-life society in a novel due to its “language limitations in referring to any reality outside itself.” Therefore, many people were skeptical about the idea that the society in the novel can portray real-life societies. People also distrust the assumption that studying society in the novel can reflect its real-life counterpart, because man creates literature, so a chance of individuality and subjective portrayal of society can happen. Besides, they keep on believing the language will be limited in portraing the reality and hold the assumption that real-life society is too abstract to be portrayed in the novel.
Langland has given the background to how most people feel and think about literature and society based on the assumption that we cannot simply judge a real-life society based on a novel’s (or any literary works) portrayal of society. However, as time goes by, many experts disagree with this view as they think that a literary work’s society can portray a real life society. Among them are Wellek and Warren. They note that:
social institution; and in primitive society we may even be unable to distinguish poetry from ritual, magic, work, or play. Literature has also a social function, or ‘use,’ which cannot be purely individual (Wellek & Warren, 1956: 94)
Here, Wellek and Warren at first acknowledge the truth about the existence of some norms that could only happen or “arise” in real-life society. They also admit that literature is sometimes subjective in addressing the society it portrays. However, Wellek and Warren note that literature represents life and life in larger measure is “a social reality.” Therefore, literature is a social reality and the society inside it can represent real-life society, making literature a “social institution” and a “social creation.” Wellek and Warren add that the poets are part of society and thus their works represent the society in which they live. Toward the assumption that literary works’ society is subjective, Wellek and Warren claim that literature has also a social function that cannot be purely individual. This means that society in literature can somewhat represent real-life society as its poet is a member of the society and the fact that a literature has a social use.
Langland, in her book, also agrees with Wellek and Warren that literature (or works of fiction in her terms) can portray real life society. She notes
Studies of society must acknowledge, then, that society is a concept and a construct in fiction…
literary works. This means there is no difference between the society portrayed in the novel and real-life society. Toward the assumption that society is too abstract to be portrayed in the novel, Langland says the novel does not aim to become a “mirror” or an exact-concrete and detailed copy of society. This is because the novel tends to shows the society from “patterned, formal relationship” among the people, which is truly existant in real-life society and does not depend on absolutely fidelity to the outside world (costumes, setting locality).
The two theories provide facts that from a novel, a real-life society’s condition can be seen and therefore provides an answer to the previous question: Could we study a society reflected in the novel to see the real society? In conclusion, the writer can show how a real-life American society treats Chinese-Americans by seeing what happens in the novel that pictures it.
3. Post-Colonial Studies on Stereotypes, Prejudices, and Identity a. Stereotypes and Prejudices
As stated in the problem formulation and objectives of the study, the character in this novel need to face stereotypes from Americans due to her condition of being second-generation Chinese-American. Before going any further, a definition of stereotypes needs to be found. Joe Feagin, through his book
Racial and Ethnic Relations, defined the stereotypes as “an overgeneralization
“overgeneralize” it to represent the whole race. People that stereotype Chinese as “nerds” for example, perhaps only found a number of Chinese who are like that. However, they “overgeneralize” it so they all have a thought that all Chinese are nerds. The next question to be asked to those people is “Can they prove that all Chinese are nerds?” Of course the answer is that they cannot prove that their stereotype is 100% correct because not all Chinese behave or are born like that. This stereotype can be dismissed easily should there be a number of Chinese who are not “nerds.” However, the stereotypes will always be repeated eventhough it has no proof because as Feagin noted, stereotypes is “overgeneralization associated with racial or ethnic group that goes beyond existing evidence.” Therefore, basically stereotypes need no evidence to work because it “goes beyond” it. That is why stereotypes usually only consist of thought and perspective, not a scientifically proven fact as it tends to use overgeneralization and goes beyond evidence.
continue to exist. For example, there is a stereotype that Chinese are stingy and not generous. This will lead people to the prejudice that all Chinese are like that. This will become more and more dangerous later as prejudices and stereotypes lead to avoidance e.g. “Let’s not make friends with Chinese”, later to discrimination e.g. “We are not allowed to accept Chinese here”, and later into segregation, e.g. “Neither dogs or Chinese people allowed in this area” (Kitano, 1985:52). Kitano also noted that this circle can probably lead to more extreme action such as concentration camp, extermination, and the most extreme one is genocide. It should be remember that all of those actions (discrimination, segregation, concentration camps, extermination, genocide) were started by a simple false-generalizations toward certain races. It should be noted that those false-generalization were made unilaterally by a group of people based on their own perspective only and cannot be proven scientifically.
Related to the background why Western people have such one-sided prejudices and stereotypes toward the “Oriental”, the writer refers to Orientalism
by Edward Said as stated in Peter’s Barry bookBeginning Theory.
Said identifies a European cultural tradition of “Orientalism”, which is particular and long-standing way of identifying the East as “Other” and inferior to the West. The Orient, he says, features in the Western mind “as a sort of surrogate and even underground self” (Literature in the Modern World, ed. Dennis Walder, p. 236). This means, in effect, that the East becomes the repository or projection of those aspects of themselves which Westerners do not choose to acknowledge (cruelty, sensuality, decadence, laziness, and so on) (Barry, 2002: 193-194).
not individuals but only anonymous masses (Barry, 2002: 193). The East becomes the projection of emotions that the West refuses to admit such as cruelty, decadence, sensuality etc. The East was judged as a group of people who uses emotion to determine their action. Their actions are judged from racial determination rather than individual status or circumstances, as stated by Said (Barry, 2002: 194). It means that when Eastern people do something, Western people will think that the Eastern did that because it was usual for their race to do that, not because they had consideration as an individual to do it. In conclusion, it can be said that one of the reasons those one-sided prejudices and stereotypes can arise is because the Americans (as in the the past European immigrants) still cling to their old belief toward other races, Oriental in this case.
b. Identity
From the definition, identity is “how an individual perceives and feels about self remains that serves as the end result of a process of socialization that includes the family, the community, the ethnic group, and the society” (Kitano, 1985:82). Therefore, an identity is being constructed with elements that make a person distinguishable from the others such as name, gender, race, and social status. Therefore, should the topic of identity arise, it can talk and explain about many things depending on what kind of identity is needed. However, as this research focuses mainly on personal identity regarding racial issues, a theory of racial identity will be preferable here.
answer can be found relating each definition of race and ethnicity. Racial identity is linked to skin color, physical identifiability, and a social definition of race (Kitano, 1985:84). In other words, racial identity refers to a physical thing or more precisely things that can be seen with eyes, such as skin color and physical appearances. Physical features are used to identify and categorize a person into which the race in which he/she belongs. It can also make a person distinguishable from the rest, as he/she will have different physical features and appearances.
Unique cases happen inAmericawhen non-European races cannot fully participate
and acquire American identity due to their physical features that are different from White people. The need for having identity plus the realization of the importance of developing racial and cultural pride result in the making of a hyphenated identity such as Chinese-American or Japanese-American (Kitano, 1985:84). This is the background of how Chinese people in America called themselves Chinese-American and stick to the identity, carrying it as their pride, culture, and nationality.
group. Unlike racial identity that has physical appearances as its feature of categorization, ethnical identity depends solely on the members’ sense of belonging of the group. Because of this, there are frequently cases when a member of one race feels he/she does not belong to a certain ethnic group. One example is the second generation Chinese-American. Having born and grow up in America, they usually identify themselves as Chinese or Chinese-American and refuse to be called Asian or be included in an Asian ethnic group. This is why racial identity is sometimes more common than ethnic identity. The knowledge of this theory would be able to help the writer see how Kay choose her own personal identity by attaching and identifying herself to certain ethnic by her own conscious choice.
C. Theoretical Framework
The writer uses the theories in this part in order to answer the questions that have been formulated in chapter one.
To answer the first question, “How Kay’s character being potrayed in the novel?” The writer will use the character and characterization theories of M.H. Abrams, Richard Gills, and M.J. Murphy. These theories will help the writer to understand the nature, personality and characteristics of Kay.
Therefore, a series of stereotypes events that Kay needs to face as a Chinese-American can be listed. Thus, answering the first question in problem formulation.
To answer the third problem formulation, the writer applied the theory of identity by Harry H.L. Kitano to understand the meaning of identity. After that, the writer used Kay’s character found in the first question to see how Kay reacted to the stereotype based on her nature and characteristics. By using this theories, the third question in the problem formulation: “How does Kay react to those stereotypes to establish her personal identity?” could be answered.
28 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of the study is a novel entitled A Thread of Sky, written by Deanna Fei and published by Penguin Books in 2010. This book consists of four parts: Prologue, Part One - The Astronomers, Part Two - The Constellations, and Part Three - The Stars. The structure of this book is unique, there are six characters in this book and each of them will tell the story in a first-person perspective in each chapter for each part. Therefore, at first the reader may be confused because at the start of each chapter the “I” character will not refer to the same person. Fortunately, a narrator will help the reader to identify who the “I” character in that chapter is by giving information about her in the beginning of the chapter, and sometimes in the middle with a third-person perspective. That is why this novel is still readable and easy to understand.
This novel became New York Times Editor’s Choice and had accepted praises fromChicagoTribune.com,New York Times,Mostly Fiction,Booklist, and several other authors. They mostly claimed that this book is a really fine debut by Fei because she could describe the life of a Chinese immigrant very well. Some other authors also said that with this novel, Fei would soon claim Amy Tan’s “territory” and throne in the world of Chinese-American novels.
mainland of China. This was not an easy task because she needed to bring together three different generations of her family. Her formidable eighty-year-old mother Lin Yunlan (an ex-revolutionary, who moved to America to avoid war), her distant poet sister Susan (like Irene, who followed her mother immigrating to America but later lived in Hongkong with her husband), and her three Chinese-American independent daughters, Nora, Kay, and Sophie. All of them bring big and small secrets that can actually tear the family apart and the reunion to their origin will determine their family’s fate. This book will provide interesting conflicts of how Irene tries to unite the five women connected to her through differences in point of view, way of life, and background.
B. Approach of the Study
To analyze the novel and answer the problem formulations, the writer uses the post-colonial approach. Based on the topic the writer intends to write, these approaches are the most suitable approaches to answer the problem formulation. These approaches will help the writer to find the stereotypes that Kay needs to face as a Chinese-American and how those stereotypes made her aware about her racial identity.
drawn to (Barry 2002: 192-193). The writer will use postcolonial approach to see how the Western Society, represented by Americans, has certain stereotypes toward Chinese people in America. This approach will also help the writer to find the reaction of the Chinese-Americans toward the stereotypes to find their racial identity due to the existence of the theory of identity in post-colonial approach.
C. Method of the Study
In order to analyze the topic of this undergraduate thesis, the writer uses library research as the method of the study. This means that the writer shall consult books, journals, theses and other written sources, both printed and electronic to support this research.
The primary data to analyze is the novel by Deanna Fei entitled A Thread of Sky. The secondary sources of data are books, journals and theses. Some important sources are Racial and Ethnic Relations by Joe Feagin, Race Relation
by Harry H.L. Kitano, Society in the Novelby Elizabeth Langland, and Theory of Literature by Rene Wellek and Austin Warren. In the form of journals, there are “The Negroization of the Chinese Stereotype in California” by Dan Caldwell, and "Fighting for Chinese American Identity" by Jing Yi Song.
establish her personal identity. Second, the writer read many books, theses, and journals on character and characterizations, Americans’ stereotypes toward Chinese-Americans, the relationship between literature and society, and finally, identity.
After the writer understood the theory, the writer went to the third step, tried to find the answer of the first problem formulation about how Kay’s character being potrayed in the novel. By using the knowledge from the theory of character and characterization the writer identified how the author portrayed Kay in her novel.
The fourth step was to find the answer of the second problem formulation about the stereotypes that Kay, as a Chinese-American need to face. By using the knowledge the writer got from the theory, the writer identified the parts of the novel that supported this research’s topic and separated them from the other part. Then the writer made a list of the stereotypes that Kay faced and then analyzed it.
The fifth step was finding the answer to the third problem formulation about How Kay react to those stereotypes to establish her personal identity. After knew Kay’s character and finding the stereotypes, the writer would see how Kay reacted to those stereotypes to establish her personal identity.
33 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter aimed to provide analysis and answers to the problem formulations. Therefore, this chapter consists of three parts. The first part discussed how Kay’s character being potrayed in the novel. The second part discusses the stereotypes that Kay experienced as a Chinese American. The third part explains how Kay reacts to those stereotypes to find her racial identity.
A. Kay’s Potrayal in the Novel
This subtitle analyzed how Kay’s being portrayed in the novel through Kay’s character and characterization. In order to analyzed Kay’s character, the writer relied on Abrams and Gill’s definition of character. They each has their own definition about character but strengthen each other. Combining their definition, the writer concluded that the character is a figure in literary works who represents peole in real world and must have an identity despite of how weak it is. For characterization, the writer used Gill’s definition that characterization is “the way in which a character is created” (Gill, 1995 : 127). While to identified how the author potrayed Kay’s character, the writer used Murphy’s nine ways of characterization. By using this theories, Kay character and characterization could be analyzed.
it because her novel concerned more about Kay’s way of thinking. However, there was a part in introduction that described Kay’s physical appereance seen from her mother’s point of view. Through the eyes of Kay’s mother Irene, Fei noted that Kay is “tall and tan and strong, with a surpsising delicacy to her brow and chin” and also has “trademark grin, wide, and cheesy, kept her from ever appearing as if she’d tried to look pretty” (Fei, 2010 : 4). According to Murphy, when the author described the character through the eyes and opinions of the other character is the kind of characterization called “Character as seen by another.”
and then got scholarship to China. She is also very fluent in English and Mandarin. All of the Kay’s characters were mostly described using “Character as seen by another” and “Thought” method of characterization. Actions that describe Kay character were mostly used ”Character as seen by another” method of characterization as Fei using other person opinion (e.g. Irene, her mother) to describe her action and way of thinking. However, sometimes Fei also using “Thought” characterization method especially when Fei showed the reader how Kay disliked white men stereotypes’ of Chinese girl and how the Chinese girl were succumbed to those stereotypes. Instead of using other person point of view, Fei gave the reader Kay’s thought in order to make the reader directly understand Kay’s way of thinking. Here is one example
These women couldn’t understand how what seemed like romance, or at least mutual attraction, was shameless capitalization; or the historical context of Orientalism; or the subtext of those English ads – how, for starters, that “Handsome European male” preferred his Asian women inarticulate, if not voiceless; or how such presumptions coiled around people, until they no longer knew how their very identity had been constricted (Fei, 2010 : 73).
From this part, it can be seen that Fei provided Kay’s thought and point of view toward the reader. This part was clearly Kay’s view because she did not say it loud to the other character and there is no other character said this to her as she was alone. By using the combination of characterizations, Fei gave the reader more deep and rich understanding of Kay’s character.
her personal identity. By knowing how Kay’s being potrayed, the writer could analyzed and understand that the way Kay reacted to the stereotypes addressed to her were closely related to Kay’s character as a person.
B. The Stereotypes Kay Experienced as a Chinese-American
This part analyzes the stereotypes that Kay experienced as a Chinese-American. The writer divided this part into several points. Each point contains a stereotype that Kay faced as a Chinese-American. In each point after giving the description of the stereotypes from the novel, the writer gave explanations on it. In analyzing the stereotypes that Kay experienced, the writer referred to the definition of stereotype by Joe Feagin to separate which parts that are considered as stereotypes and which ones are not. Feagin’s defined stereotypes as an overgeneralization associated with racial or ethnic group that goes beyond existing evidence (Feagin, 1978:12). By using this definition as guidance, the writer analyzed the stereotypes that Kay faced as a Chinese-American. As mentioned before, Feagin’s view about stereotypes would give insights about which acts Kay experienced that were considered as a stereotype and which ones are not. Feagin’s definition also became an indirect limitation to this part, made this part solely to analyze stereotyped-related actions and not all actions found in the novel.
1. Being Seen as Non-American
However, people around her, especially White Americans, insisted that she is not an American but a Chinese instead. This happened because Kay was born from Bill and Irene Shen, who were first-generation Chinese immigrants, causing her to have the same physical features as a Chinese. Believing herself as an American, this stereotype made Kay feel that she was a foreigner in her own country. As Fei noted
When Byron motioned for her to join him in a dim corner of the hotel lobby, she said, “The short answer is, Asian American have always been treated as foreigner, and I wanted to change that” (Fei, 2010:213)
This part showed Kay’s answer toward Byron when he asked about her reason to join American organizations. Kay’s answer showed that in America, Asian-Americans, including Chinese-Asian-Americans, were treated as non-American instead of American citizens. Like Kay, they were unable to say that they were Americans as people around them would still insist that they are Chinese. This unfair treatment made Kay experience a difficulty to answer a simple question “Where are you from?” from the people around her. It was a question with a simple answer for everyone, but not Kay
Where are you from? That relentless question, long the bane of her existence, and every other Asian American’s; the one question that somehow was, to the questioner, of paramount importance. In America, no matter if you were American-born, spoke only English, knew nothing else, the answer that satisfied people was China, or something equally foreign (Fei, 2010 : 63).
American” because she was born and raised in America. However, this answer did not satisfy the questioners, as the most satisfying answer for them is Chinese. As Fei noted, the questioner thought this question as a “paramount importance,” meant that they needed to satisfy themselves by saying that Kay is not an American but a Chinese. The reason perhaps, because these people still cling to what Allport called “false-generalizations” about Chinese people and American citizens. These people still thought that an American must be white so that they would still address Kay as Chinese no matter how many times she convinced them. In addition, according to Song, the Whites used Chinese people’s “alleged inability to deny them to become real Americans.” It means that the Whites used the Chinese’s own characteristics (the fact that they are Non-White) to deny their American citizenship thus refused to call them “Americans.” This act and stereotype have already existed for a long time but still repeated throughout generations. The stereotypes would exist as long as people still cling to their
perspective about “real” American citizens, which are White people.As this way
Chinese-Americans too can reply that they are also Chinese-Americans if people ask them “Where do they come from?” In conclusion, according to Kay, all races in America have the right to call themselves “Americans” because all of them are immigrants. Kay’s point is true, although the fact is still the other way around.
This act of seeing Chinese-Americans as strangers was considered as a stereotype. It can be seen from the way of how the Americans treated Kay that matched Feagin’s definition about stereotypes. The Americans formed an overgeneralization beyond evidence knowledge and identification that Chinese were not Americans simply because they were not Whites and they were immigrants. The Americans refused to acknowledge the proof that the Chinese-Americans too had legal documents as American citizens like them. Ironically, the White Americans also failed to remember that they were immigrants too, a fact that caused them to have no right to call Chinese-Americans immigrants as they both are immigrants. Instead of accepting the truth, the White Americans were more likely to cling onto their overgeneralization about Chinese-Americans and repeated it from time to time ignoring the evidences, as Feagin had noticed.
2. Considered to Be Inferior
stereotypes toward certain Eastern races. In the case of Kay, who is physically Chinese but considered herself as a American, she needs to face American people that expect her to become like the image of Chinese the American people have in mind: meek, voiceless, and inarticulate (Fei, 2010: 15,174)
Kay recoiled. A middle-aged white man leaned on the bar beside her, his blue eyes traveling the length of her. In America, a contemptuous glare generally sufficed. But there was such offhandedness to this overture, such self-assurance oozing toward her, and in another second, she understood what he was, perhaps unintentionally, signaling: Not only I want you, but lucky you.
She spat, “Go fuck yourself.”
The guy jumped. So did everyone around her –all local women, she realized, waiting drinkless at the bar for the opportunity she’d just spat on…….
…..She was studying the local women sitting, waiting, hoping, while the white men held court, taking their time, taking their pick.
These women couldn’t understand how what seemed like romance, or at least mutual attraction, was shameless capitalization; or the historical context of Orientalism; or the subtext of those English ads – how, for starters, that “Handsome European male” preferred his Asian women inarticulate, if not voiceless; or how such presumptions coiled around people, until they no longer knew how their very identity had been constricted (Fei, 2010 : 73).
sees a real-world portrait about Orientalism, a subject that she really is attached to. She despised these women for succumbing to how Westerners portrait Asian women to be voiceless and obedient. She hated this kind of portrayal because she is a woman herself and was raised by her mother to become a woman who could speak for herself. In addition, Kay feels that this kind of portrayal has corrupted Chinese own identity. Her characteristic to stand for herself toward any unjust treatement probably was affected by Nora, her big sister. As Fei noted in Nora’s chapter in this book
She’d taught Kay to curse at the neighborhood boys who pulled slanted eyes at them and called them Chinks –yes, even in New York, even in this day and age. By the time she was twelve, with Kay skipping alongside, she’d learned to hold her head high against a daily barrage of men professing lust for their Asiannes, which meant, she soon figure out, sexy, docile, and inarticulate –men on the subway and the street, in the drugstore and the library, young and old, cocky and shy, sweet-talking and foul-mouthed, men of every race but their own (Fei, 2010: 15).
Perhaps due to her background as a schloar and her understanding about Orientalism, Kay became more sensitive about these issues. Because she is a woman, she really despised how Western people stereotyped Asian, particularly how they stereotype her as a woman. She learned through Orientalism that the Westerners stereotype the Easterners as inferior, exotic, and sensual (Barry, 2002: 193). In her world, this novel, Chinese women (or particularly Asian Woman, due to White people ignorance considering Japanese, Korean, and Chinese to be “Asian”) were portrayed as sweet, sexy, slim, petite, possibly smart, inarticulate, voiceless, and obedient to the husband (Fei, 2010 : 72-73). Kay rejected these stereotypes since young age by becoming a Chinese (although she still believes she is an American) who could speak for and defend herself. Her principal made her appear unlike any Asian who acts exactly like what Western people stereotyped them. She felt that those people corrupted their own Asian identity by becoming what White people wanted them to be instead of speaking and defending themselves. An example of this case can be seen from Kay’s view toward Tomoko, her Japanese roommate in dormitory who always kept her head
down and continuously bowed when entering the room and kept saying duibuqi
“That’s not nice,” Irene said.
“I know, but she drives me nuts,” Kay said. “At first I thought it was the language barrier,
