readers find various references of paintings, architecture and dishware in the novel.
Moreover, living in the United States for more that two decades has exposed him to the American way of thinking. This change of society and environment has
brought him new perspectives in seeing the world. He is driven by the spirit of individualism and American success myths, i.e. rags to riches, zero to hero and
self-made men, that all people, regardless of their background, have the same opportunity to succeed. He realizes that in Asia people still have conservative
point-of-view, where someone can only go not too far from the condition they were born and bred with. However, the Capitalism in the United States, with the
attitude of American Dream, allow people to go as far as they want to if they work hard.
2. Singaporean Chinese, Mainland Chinese and American Chinese
People of Chinese origin or ethnicity constitute the biggest population in the entire world. As such, the Chinese are often mistaken that they are all citizens of
the People’s Republic of China. In fact, explained by Wang 1998: 1, there are two kinds of Chinese. The first is the Mainlanders. These are the Chinese
originated and widespread in their ancestral continent; exclude Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The second is the Overseas Chinese. It refers to the ones who
have left Mainland China long before the Communists invaded, and resided in Asia-Pacific countries, such as North America and Southeast Asia, but
predominantly in Singapore and the United States.
The terms ‘Chinese Singaporeans’ and ‘Singaporean Chinese’ are used interchangeable, and they serve the same function to explain the citizens or
residents of Singapore whom are of Chinese ancestry. Because the education system in Singapore use English, most Chinese Singaporeans do not speak proper
Mandarin. Although they are influenced by Western cultures, the Singaporean Chinese still uphold the values of Confucianism, i.e. care for families and respect
for elders. Their traditions also include the perpetuation toward male dominations, which mark Chinese culture to be patriarchal Windows on Asia, 2014: par.1.
Furthermore, the Singaporean Chinese tend to distant themselves from the Mainlanders. Singapore is a capitalist state, whereas China is a communist
country Ian, 2014: par.9. Additionally, in the past, the Mainlanders immigrated to Singapore, called ‘coolies’, were employed by the wealthy Chinese
Singaporeans for hard work but with little money Thulaja, 1998: par.1. Nowadays, they blame the Mainlanders for raising real-estate prices, cumulating
high-end goods and clogging streets with European sport cars. The Chinese Singaporeans call to themselves as ‘Old Money’, and they call the Mainlanders
‘New Money’. The Chinese Singaporeans pursue the namely 5Cs – cash, car, condo, credit
card and country club Mydans, 1996: 6-7.. As the majority, the Chinese Singaporeans are well represented in all sectors of life, including in politics and
economy. They are controlling the commerce, as well as running the government. Thus, they enjoy systematic, institutional and racial privileges, as opposed to the
country’s minorities, such as Malays and Indians. These privileges function
similar to White privileges in the Western Countries, i.e. Australia, Western Europe and the United States.
On the contrary, the Chinese ethnic, minorities in the United States, have faced discriminations in forms of racial violence, legislative discernment and
opportunity limitation, i.e. extralegal persecution and anti-Chinese sentiment National Park Service, 2004: par.4. Discriminations are created to validate the
structure of power relations in society in favor of the group at the higher status and to keep the lower group to their negligible social position Jones, 1972: 4.
Nowadays, the discriminations might not be as vulgar as they were in the past. However, discriminations still happen in daily interactions, which take forms in
purposely-bad treatments from the superior group to the inferior group Dovidio, et al., 2010: 8.
Migrating for search of labors in 1820, the Chinese have proven to be hard, diligent workers. The Chinese have grown throughout history, and made
contributions in American culture. Despite many Chinese Americans are no longer live in Chinatown, they are always proud of their cultural ancestry, such as
teaching children Mandarin or Cantonese, decorating houses according to feng shui and throwing Chinese festivals. Nowadays, most of the American Chinese
have advanced educational levels, so they work as white-collar professionals with high salaries and live in racially mixed neighborhoods Omaye, 2013: par.18.
These advancements bring with them the ‘model minority’ archetype. This change of perception spreads racial prejudice like jealousy and hatred towards the
American Chinese.
Furthermore, the Chinese, regardless where they settle, are culturally and historically influenced by Confucianism. It is a system of socioeconomic, political
philosophical and ethical beliefs. Confucianism is also often considered as a set of religion, ideology or teaching principles. The core of Confucianism is humanism,
with strong concerns on the maintenance of family and social harmony, i.e. filial piety. The secular emphasis of Confucianism lies on the faith that human beings
are profoundly kind-hearted, ‘teachable, improvable, and perfectible through personal and communal endeavor’ Fingarette, 1972: 463-477. The influence of
Confucianism is deep-rooted in Chinese society that it is assimilated with modern values, as it can be seen in education, economic and religious sectors. Confucian
churches are examples of the assimilation between Confucianism and religion found in Singapore.
C. Previous Researches
