Torn Between The West And The East

Michelle de Kretser(1957-)was born in Sri Lanka and emigrated to Australia at the age of 14.Her multicultural education background and life experience give her inspiration to creative writing.The three novels analyzed in this thesis are The Hamilton Case(2003),The Lost Dog(2007),and Questions of Travel(2012).In these novels,Michelle de Kretser conveys her systematic thoughts on the diverse forms of Asian diasporas' living condition,the dynamic interaction of different individuals between the West and the East.As a vital part of post-colonial study,diaspora criticism has been employed extensively in examining migrant literature.Diasporic writing and the related themes such as nostalgia for homeland,situation of displacement,alienation,identity crisis,and transnation are discussed at all times.As an Asian Australian writer,Michelle de Kretser examines the Asian diasporas' living condition,and the relationship between the Asian diaspora and the West.The thesis aims at analyzing the construction of diasporic identity,and reveals the Asian diasporas' dilemma and their predicament of being torn between the East and West,making an analysis of factors such as colonialism,migration,nomadic life and transnational experience that influence the process of diasporic identification.The first chapter gives a brief introduction to the writer Michelle de Ktretser and her literary works,the relevant study of the three novels in Australia and China,the theoretical framework as well as the layout of the thesis.The body part of the thesis consists of three chapters in accord with three selected novels.Chapter Two analyses The Hamilton Case and the characters' longing for the West,which is embodied in colonialism,and explores the characters' attempt to establish a diasporic identity under colonial control.Chapter Three analyses The Lost Dog and explores the protagonists' bitter and miserable experience while living in the western country.And Chapter Four puts the novel Questions of Travel in a globalized context,where the characters acquire transnational mind and get the global experience in different forms by travel.The fifth chapter summarizes the previous chapters,and concludes the theme of the thesis.Thus,de Kretser's view on the relationship between Asian individual and the West in these three novels can be clearly clarified.