The Americanness In Gish Jen’s Typical American

As a Chinese American writer,Gish Jen has been focusing on the ups and downs in Chinese immigrants’ life in the United States since the 1950 s.Taking the Changs’ pursuit of the American dream as a cut-in point,Jen portrayed what America looked like from 1947 to1965 in Typical American.Affected by consumerism,American ideas characterized by Franklinesque ideals including frugality,self-made man,self-reliance,individualism,and faith were disrupted by extravagance,the decline of morality and money worship.Therefore,as part of American society,Chinese Americans were also engulfed by consumerism and money worship,which granted the Changs the aspirations and desire to pursue the American dream,although they looked down upon Americans and refused American values at first.With the widening gap between the rich and the poor as well as the strengthening of class solidification,the opportunity of upward mobility which the American dream promises has become unusual and Franklinesque industriousness is no more an endorsement of the realization of the American dream.The downfall of “self-made” men and the uprising of unscrupulous businessmen demonstrated the degeneration of American morality,which made the disillusionment with the American dream an inevitable consequence,with the poor still striving and the rich practicing fraud without penalty.Along with Ralph’s disillusionment with American dream,the female characters in the book embraced the American ideal of independence.The Changs not only embraced American spirits and values in the 1950 s and performed the American national narrative of“self-making”,but also participated in the reconstruction of Americanness by incorporating Chinese values including family unity and diligence into Americanness,which further facilitates the integration of traditional Chinese culture and American culture and redefines America’s distinctive culture and the essence of Americanness.Although they were Chinese immigrants,their Americanness cannot be denied as they both acquired and reconstructed Americanness in their daily life in America.Therefore,they challenged the idea of what a typical American looked like.This thesis argues that the Changs were qualified to claim their Americanness despite their identities as Chinese Americans and that Americanness is not a set of common traits,but consensuses achieved through negotiation among different parties,which have been reexamined and subverted.It becomes clear that American identity has been and will be under continuous construction,destruction,and reconstruction along with the evolution of the United States and the mingling of people from different cultures.