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Why Are The Children Dying?: Mixed-Race Children In Chang-Rae Lee’S First Five Novels, Holly E. Martin

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

The mixed-race children in each of Lee’s first five novels constitute an overarching set of symbols, reflecting, at first, society’s intolerance of miscegenation and its resulting mixed offspring, as demonstrated in the dysfunctional behaviors of the parent(s) (or society) and the death or disappearance of the mixed-race child. Then, later in the novel, a second mixed-race child’s birth, or its impending birth, signifies an acquired racial awareness on the part of the parent(s) and an overcoming of trauma that leads to hope for a more tolerant and understanding social environment for the mixed-race child.

Language, Immigration And Acculturation In The Short Stories Of Ha Jin, Louis J. Parascandola, Rajul Punjabi

Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies

"The Problems of Acculturation: Flushing, Queens, in the Short Stories of Ha Jin"

Abstract:

Noted author Ha Jin is often thought of as a Chinese author despite the fact that all of his writing has been written in English. Two of his later works, A Free Life (2007) and A Good Fall (2009) are set among the Chinese community in Flushing, Queens. This essay examines three short stories "An English Professor," "A Pension Plan," and "Temporary Love" from A Good Fall. In these works, Jin discusses the problems of acculturation these immigrants face, including learning English, finding employment, and dealing …