Multiculturalism In My Year Of Meats

My Year of Meats(1998),written by Ruth Ozeki and published in the 1990 s,is a typical reflection of the historical context of multiculturalism.It mainly concerns the living dilemma and struggle of many ethnic minorities and marginal groups in America.It profoundly reflects the historical discourse of the Japanese-American ethnic minorities represented by the protagonist Jane,who is seeking self-identity in the narrow gap between Asian culture and American culture;the discourse between the poor black group represented by the Dews family and the mainstream white culture of America;the discourse between the illusory American dream and the tough life of illegal immigrant marginal group represented by the Martinez family from Mexico,and the discourse of intimacy between women and men as well as lesbians among ethnic minorities.This paper analyzes the novel from the basic principle of New Historicism that text and history are interactive with each other.First of all,this paper analyzes the characteristics of multiculturalism in My Year of Meats(1998).It is mainly based on the relations between the characters and multiculturalism,multiple emotional relations among the characters and the recognition of Hybrid identity of the characters.This chapter concludes that multiculturalism has been rooted in the novel.Next,this paper analyzes critical reflections on My Year of Meats(1998)according to multiculturalism.More specifically,it discusses the loss of interests of minorities and marginalized groups,the disharmony under intimate relationship,the ecological issue and dilemma of individual identity,reflecting the reaction of the novel to multiculturalism.Thirdly,this paper points out that My Year of Meats(1998)fails to break away from the limitations of multiculturalism and falls into its trap by itself because it caters to the illusion of multiculturalism through a fictional happy ending.Finally,this paper concludes that,on the one hand,My Year of Meats(1998),deeply influenced by American multiculturalism in the 1990 s,embodies the historicity of text;on the other hand,it reflects the textuality of history by trying to reflect multiculturalism and giving a happy ending to cater to the illusion of multiculturalism,which promotes the further development of multiculturalism and becomes a key text to help us understand American multiculturalism.