Maxine Hong Kingston Languages and Silences of Being Chinese-American
Keywords:
Hyphenated identity, Growing up, Psychoanalytical exile, Lost origin, Creative strategyAbstract
This article explores the process of growing up into a hyphenated identity, specifically that of a Chinese-American, as depicted in the works of Maxine Hong Kingston. The author argues that this journey can be likened to a psychoanalytical exile from an archaic mother figure and a lost origin, represented by China. The article discusses how China is not just a physical place but a construct used to define one's identity, and how the relationship between silence and language in Kingston's works involves a shuttling motion between past and present, reality and fiction, Chinese and English. The creative act in Kingston's writing is seen as an elaboration of nostalgia and a movement further away from the site of primeval loss, which for immigrants and their children is the country of origin.
(The abstract and keywords were prepared retrospectively for indexing purposes using AI-assisted tools and editorial review, based on the original article. They did not appear in the original publication.)
References
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