Celeste Ng in Conversation with Maxine Hong Kingston: Intergenerational Trauma and the Asian American Experience in Everything I Never Told You.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61173/dqbef625Keywords:
Intergenerational trauma, Asian American studies, Celeste Ng, Everything I Never Told You, Maxine Hong Kingston, Viet Thanh NgyuenAbstract
This paper delves into the representation of intergenerational trauma within Asian American literature, focusing on Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You, Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior, and the critiques by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Ng’s work is analyzed for its nuanced portrayal of trauma as an intrinsic part of the Asian American experience, distinguishing it from earlier works that, as Nguyen argues, tend to conform to the “model minority” stereotype. The paper examines Ng’s sensitive unpacking of trauma, particularly its non-punctual, systemic nature, and its intergenerational transmission, especially in parent-child relationships. Additionally, it contrasts Ng’s approach with Kingston’s, exploring how trauma in The Woman Warrior is masked by cultural reinterpretation and the desire to please dominant Western narratives. By employing the theories of Cathy Caruth, Naomi Mandel, and Greg Forter, the essay argues that Ng repositions trauma as a core theme in Asian American literature, filling a significant gap left by previous works and redefining the narrative of Asian American identity and heritage.
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