Migrant Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper demonstrates that, regardless of ethnicity and cultural background, migrants worldwide have similar problems of ethnic-identification and cultural assimilation. The author compares two semi-autobiographical novels by two Asian migrant authors of different diasporic movements: Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club', which reflects the Asian-American migrant experience, and K.S. Maniam's "The Return", which is a portrayal of the Tamil-Indian migrant community in Malaysia. The paper concludes that migrant literature should maintain its niche in contemporary literature to continue to fulfill its purpose of spotlighting the often silent struggles of migrants everywhere. The paper includes in the appendix a summary of the interview with a professor of post-colonial Malaysian and Singaporean theater and a list of the questions.

Table of Contents:
Abstract
Introduction
Review of Literature
Methods
Findings and Discussions
Cultural Displacement, Ethnic-Identification and Attempts at Assimilation in "The Joy Luck Club" (Amy Tan) and "The Return" (K.S. Maniam)
The Trouble with Tongues: Language as a Barrier to Ethnic-Identification and Cultural Assimilation
The Absence of Reminiscence: The Lack of Memory of the Homeland and its Consequences on Ethnic-Identification
Negotiation and Elusion: Attempts at Assimilation and Ethnic-Identification
Conclusions and Recommendations
Appendix: Interview Questions
Appendix: Interview Summary

From the Paper:

"These efforts, however, lead often to crisis of ethnic-identification. It is not simply a matter of being one culture or the other; it is the dilemma of being neither. Many find it difficult, in reality, to articulate the "cultural hybridities" Bhabha mentions. This displacement of and attempts at negotiating ethnic identity thus become the common vein of Tan and Maniam's highly personal works. The semi-autobiographical stance of both novels is reflected through the first-person narrative and the protagonists' personas."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gabriel, Sharmani Patricia. "Nation and Contestation in Malaysia: Diaspora and Myths of Belonging in the Narratives of K.S. Maniam". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 36.2 (June 2005): 234 - 248
• Heung, Marina. "Daughter-Text/Mother-Text: Matrilineage in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club". Feminist Studies 19.3 (Autumn 1993): 596 - 616
• Huntley, E.D. Amy Tan: A Critical Companion. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated, 1998
• Lim, Shirley Geok-Lin. "Assaying the Gold: Or, Contesting the Ground of Asian American Literature." New Literary History 24.1 (Winter 1993): 147 - 169
• Maniam, K.S. "The New Diaspora". International Literature. 16 April 2008. <http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/eduweb/eng1392/maniam-dias.html>

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