Switching between different cultures, as depicted in Gish Jen’s novel Mona in the Promised Land, seems to be the most natural thing to do. However, crossing ethnic boundaries often evokes negative reactions: When Jen’s teenage protagonist Mona converts to Judaism, her parents do not exactly approve of this decision. As Chinese immigrants to the United States, Ralph and Helen Chang used to call themselves the ‘Chang-kees’, indicating both their desire to be fully accepted into American (i.e. ‘Yankee’) society and their awareness of being “racially different and, therefore, un-American” (Lee 47). Although in fact it is part of Jen’s first novel Typical American (1991), the ‘Chang-kee’ pun is also interesting with regards to the sequel Mona in the Promised Land: Here, Ralph’s and Helen’s daughter Mona is given the nickname ‘Changowitz’, a blending of Chang and the common Jewish name ending ‘-witz’. Both ‘Chang-kee’ and ‘Changowitz’ indicate an affiliation with different cultures at the same time, which is precisely what Jen’s novel deals with.
While Ralph and Helen Chang had to struggle with racial barriers during the 1950s and early 1960s and wish to be respected as assimilated self-made Americans, their daughter Mona embraces the idea that “American means being whatever you want”, putting individualism first (Jen 49). This self-granted freedom of cultural choice seems to stem from the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, the “dawn of ethnic awareness”, which also happens to be the dawn of Mona’s adolescence (Jen 3). As Sollors recalls, “ethnicity truly was in vogue in the 1970s” (1968, 21). Accordingly, Mona and other characters in the novel engage in discovering numerous aspects of their ethnic identities. Chapter 2 approaches the concepts of ethnicity and Americanness as well as several issues related to these terms. Here, I will refer to scholars such as Werner Sollors and Herbert Gans, who have made significant contributions to the field of ethnic studies. I will argue that Mona in the Promised Land with its recurring theme of cultural cross-dressing fits perfectly into the setting of the late 1960s and 1970s and humorously suggests what many (ethnic) adolescents must have experienced during these times.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Americanness and Ethnicity
- Defining the 'Self' and the 'Other'
- Herbert Gans's Symbolic Ethnicity
- Symbolic Ethnicity in Mona in the Promised Land
- Werner Sollors's Consent and Descent
- Consent and Descent in Mona in the Promised Land
- Cultural Cross-Dressing
- Definition
- 'Crossers' in Mona in the Promised Land
- Mona
- Barbara
- Naomi
- Rabbi Horowitz
- 'Non-Crossers' in Mona in the Promised Land
- Eloise and the Ingles
- Alfred
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
The essay aims to analyze Gish Jen’s novel "Mona in the Promised Land" through the lens of cultural cross-dressing, focusing on the characters’ navigation of ethnic identity and their experiences with American culture in the late 1960s and 1970s.
- The complex relationship between Americanness and ethnicity
- The concept of symbolic ethnicity and its influence on identity formation
- The portrayal of cultural cross-dressing as a means of self-expression and identity exploration
- The contrasting experiences of 'crossers' and 'non-crossers' in terms of their cultural choices
- The role of the Civil Rights Movement and the “dawn of ethnic awareness” in shaping individual identities
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The first chapter provides an introduction to the concept of cultural cross-dressing and its relevance to the novel. It examines how the protagonist, Mona, embodies this concept through her conversion to Judaism, highlighting the tensions between her parents' desire for assimilation and Mona's embrace of a multiethnic identity.
Chapter 2 delves into the definition of "Americanness" and "ethnicity," exploring the evolution of these terms over time. It discusses the concept of symbolic ethnicity, as proposed by Herbert Gans, and analyzes how the characters in the novel engage in various forms of ethnic expression. The chapter also examines Werner Sollors's theory of consent and descent, considering its application to Mona's journey of identity discovery.
Chapter 3 examines different characters in the novel and their individual experiences with cultural cross-dressing. It analyzes the motivations behind their decisions to embrace or reject cultural blending, and it explores the challenges associated with navigating these choices. It contrasts the experiences of "crossers," such as Mona, Barbara, Naomi, and Rabbi Horowitz, with those of "non-crossers," including Eloise and Alfred, highlighting their contrasting perspectives on cultural identity.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The main keywords and focus topics of the essay include cultural cross-dressing, ethnic identity, Americanness, symbolic ethnicity, consent and descent, assimilation, multiethnicity, and the Civil Rights Movement. The essay examines how these concepts intersect in Gish Jen's novel "Mona in the Promised Land" and the challenges of navigating ethnic identities in a diverse society.
- Quote paper
- Anonym (Author), 2008, Cultural cross-dressing and the quest for ethnic identity in Gish Jen's 'Mona in the Promised Land', Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/113381
