Analysis of Social Conflicts in David Wong Louie's 'The Barbarians Are Coming' Using Sociological Approach.
ABSTRACT
Dalam penulisan tugas akhir ini, penulis membahas konflik yang dapat
ditemukan dalam novel karya David Wong Louie, The Barbarians are Coming.
Konflik yang akan dibahas merupakan konflik sosial yang dialami oleh tokoh
utama novel tersebut, yaitu seorang keturunan imigran Cina yang lahir dan
dibesarkan di Amerika. Pembahasan akan dilakukan dengan menggunakan
pendekatan sosiologis.
Setelah membaca dan menganalisis novel tersebut, penulis mendapatkan
hal yang menarik tentang perbenturan budaya, yang mengakibatkan sang tokoh
memilih untuk merangkul budaya Amerika yang sama sekali berbeda dari budaya
aslinya yaitu Cina. Hal ini menyebabkan terjadinya krisis identitas yang dialami
tokoh utama. Konflik sosial yang terjadi merupakan contoh dari apa yang dialami
seseorang yang hidup dengan dua latar belakang budaya yang berbeda.
Dari hasil analisis, penulis menemukan fakta yang menarik bahwa
seseorang yang hidup dengan dua latar belakang budaya yang berbeda akan
mengalami perbenturan budaya. Untuk mengatasinya diperlukan pemahaman
yang cukup tentang budaya aslinya agar ia dapat menentukan identitas dirinya
untuk hidup di tengah masyarakat dengan kebudayaan yang berbeda dengannya.
ii
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................
i
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................
ii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study ......................................................................
Statement of the Problem .....................................................................
Purpose of the Study ............................................................................
Method of Research .............................................................................
Organization of the Thesis ...................................................................
1
2
3
3
4
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL CONFLICTS IN
DAVID WONG LOUIE’S THE BARBARIANS ARE COMING
USING SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH .........................................
5
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION ........................................................
16
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................
19
APPENDICES
Synopsis of The Barbarians are Coming ............................................ 21
Biography of David Wong Louie ........................................................ 22
i
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Synopsis of The Barbarians are Coming
Being the second generation of a Chinese immigrant Sterling Lung does not
attracted to the idea of accepting his legacy. He lives with his parents in the first
level of their house. As being an American appeals him the most, Sterling is
having conflicts not only with his Chinese parents but also with the American
society.
Genius, Sterling’s father, wants him to become a doctor but Sterling ruins
his father’s dreams by becoming a European chef. He also ruins her mother’s
dream of marrying him to a Chinese woman, as he marries his American
girlfriend and has a son from their marriage. While in his workplace, he is
expected to cook Chinese dish but he does not like to do it. Just like in his
workplace, when Sterling’s wife, Bliss, confronts him to act as a Chinese, he does
not do his part as one.
Now that Genius has passed away, Sterling realizes he has a son and must
act as a father for him, especially a Chinese father. On Genius’s funeral, Sterling
brings Mosses to Genius’s funeral. After that, when Zsa Zsa urges him to feed
Moses, Sterling chooses to give him many kinds of Chinese food that Moses
usually likes. However, Moses rejects them, and somehow it triggers him to
remember his childhood when Genius makes a concoction of food for him.
21
Eventually, Sterling decides to give the same concoction for Moses. They make it
together then Moses eats it.
Biography of David Wong Louie
Born in Rockville Center, New York in 1954, David Wong Louie is the
second child from four children of Chinese immigrants. His family arrived after
the World War II and run a laundry in the suburb. He graduated from Vassar
College in 1977 and received B.A and M.F.A. for Creative Writing from the
University of Iowa in 1981. He was also awarded a Lannan Writing Fellowship
from Lannan Foundation in 2001 and received fellowship the National
Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, the Mac Dowell Colony and
Yaddo.
Pangs of Love in 1991 was his first short story collection and becomes
New York Times Notable Book, won Voice Literary Supplement Favorite, The Los
Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Book Review First Fiction Award and The
Ploughshares First Fiction Book Award in 1991. His first novel The Barbarians
are Coming in 2000 won the Association for Asian American Study Award for
Prose in 2000.
Louie taught at Vassar College where he received his B.A from 1988 to
1992. He was also Associate Professor of English and Asian American Literature
at the University of California in Los Angeles. He now lives with his wife in
Venice, California.
- “Davis”, “Lannan – David Wong Louie”
22
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
A person who is having two or more cultural backgrounds tends to face
cultural clash because of the differences between the two cultures. Cultural clash
itself is a conflict arising from the interaction of people with different cultural
values (“Cultural clash”). This kind of conflict will create a situation called
‘identity crisis’. Identity crisis is a period of uncertainty and confusion in which a
person’s sense of identity becomes insecure, typically due to a change in their
expected aims or role in society (“Identity crisis”). It is often experienced by
American-born-Chinese immigrants or their descendants in the United States due
the different cultures: the Chinese culture and the American culture.
There are some differences between the Chinese and American cultures.
Chinese people are collectivists; they put higher values on group cooperation,
while the Americans are individualists; they put higher values on self-reliance.
Another difference is Chinese people tend to avoid direct confrontation, open
criticism and controversial topic, in order to maintain their ‘face’. American
people, however, are willing to confront directly, criticize and discuss
1
Maranatha Christian University
controversial topic. This is due to their emphasis on personal opinions about what
they consider the truth. (“Some General Differences between Chinese and
American Cultures”)
One of the American writers who deal with identity crisis of Americanborn-Chinese immigrants is David Wong Louie. He is a late 20th century Chinese
-American writer who wrote Pangs of Love (1991), a collection of short stories,
The Barbarians are Coming (2001) his first novel and A Contemporary Asian
American Anthology (1991) in collaboration with Marilyn Chin. His books have
won some awards and reviews. His Pangs of Love received the 1991 First Fiction
Award from the Los Angeles Times and the Ploughshares First Fiction book
award, while his novel The Barbarians are Coming received the Shirley Collier
Prize award. Since David Wong Louie deals with the issue about identity crisis in
The Barbarians are Coming, I choose this novel to be analyzed in my thesis.
The Barbarians are Coming narrates about a second generation Chinese
immigrant who encounters conflicts not only between himself and his parents but
also with his surroundings regarding his identity. The protagonist of this novel,
Sterling Lung, a 26-year-old American-born Chinese immigrant tries to live like
the Americans. He becomes attracted to the freedom that America offers, so that
he denies his family traditions and his Chinese background. This novel shows
how a second generation Chinese immigrant is affected by his parents who still
hold their Chinese culture as well as by his surrounding culture. The protagonist
faces social conflicts regarding his identity throughout the novel due to those
cultural differences.
2
Maranatha Christian University
In my thesis, I choose to analyze the conflicts in the novel since conflict is
the most outstanding literary element in the novel. Conflict is “a clash of actions,
ideas, desires or will” (Perrine 44). There are three types of conflicts, which are
social conflict: man versus society, inner conflict: man versus himself, and
physical conflict: man versus nature (44). The most conflicts that can be found in
this novel are social conflicts. Thus, I am going to analyze the social conflicts in
David Wong Louie’s The Barbarians are Coming. As the conflicts deal with clash
of cultures, I will use sociological approach in analyzing the novel. Sociological
criticism examines literature in the cultural, economic, and political context in
which it is written or received. “ (Kennedy and Gioia 2036)
Statement of the Problem
The problems I am going to analyze are:
1. What are the social conflicts of the protagonist?
2. What is the cause of each conflict?
3. What is the resolution of each conflict?
Purpose of the Study
Based on the statements of the problem, the purposes of the study are:
1. To show the social conflicts of the protagonist.
2. To show the cause of each conflict.
3. To show the resolution of the conflict.
Method of Research
I conduct library research in writing my thesis. First, I read the novel. After
that I search for a number of references from books and the Internet websites in
3
Maranatha Christian University
order to create an objective and a non-superficial analysis in the process of the
research. In the end, I draw some conclusion.
Organization of the Thesis
I divide my thesis into three chapters, preceded by the Table of Contents
and the Abstract. Chapter One is the Introduction, which consists of the
Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study,
the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two is the
Analysis of Social Conflicts in David Wong Louie’s The Barbarians are Coming
using sociological approach. Chapter Three is the Conclusion. The thesis ends
with the Bibliography and the Appendices, which consist of the Synopsis of The
Barbarians are Coming and the Biography of David Wong Louie.
4
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After analyzing the social conflicts in the novel The Barbarians Are
Coming in the previous chapter, I would like to draw some conclusion. In my
opinion, this book shares the view of cultural clash and the issue of identity crisis
experienced by a second generation immigrant. As the protagonist, Sterling Lung,
lives between two cultures, Chinese and American, and thus some social conflicts
occur due to those different cultures.
In my analysis there are two kinds of conflicts experienced by Sterling.
The first kind is the conflicts with his parents and his bride-to-be. The first
conflict happens because Sterling refuses to marry the chosen Chinese bride
prepared by his mother, Zsa Zsa, but chooses to marry his American girlfriend and
another one happens when Zsa Zsa asks Sterling to be a good son by brewing
medicinal tea for his father Genius, while Sterling chooses to think in an
American way by leaving Genius to the doctor. The conflict between Sterling and
Genius happens when Sterling is already halfway in culinary school; instead of
finishing his medical school as his father wishes, Sterling enters culinary school to
become a Chef. Besides his parents, Sterling also has a conflict with Yuk, the
16
Maranatha Christian University
chosen bride, because of their having different perceptions of meaning of ‘moving
bed’. These conflicts show that Sterling is experiencing cultural clash. His parents
and Yuk represent the Chinese society which emphasizes more on family matters,
traditions and beliefs, while Sterling represents the American society which
focuses on him as an individual and has a realistic and modern thinking. Sterling’s
American way of thinking is due to the fact that he was born and raised in
America even though he is of Chinese descent.
The second kind of conflicts is those between Sterling and his American
manager and his American wife. The conflict between Sterling and his American
manager, Libby Drake, happens when Libby chooses to hire another Chinese cook
to cook Chinese food for her. The conflict with his American wife, Bliss Sass,
occurs when Bliss challenges him to act as a Chinese, because Sterling does not
act as one, even though he is aware of his being Chinese. These conflicts happen
because from the beginning Sterling always claims himself as American, but
when the Americans deny his being Chinese, he tries to prove as one. Thus, when
Sterling says he is Chinese, the other party challenges him to act as one; however,
Sterling does not do as expected by Libby and Bliss. Sterling’s reactions in the
conflicts above are interesting because they confirm that he experiences identity
crisis.
Sterling becomes more confused with himself because when he thinks that
he has already embraced his Chinese part by feeding Moses and by acting as a
Chinese father towards him, he is rejected by Moses as he does not want to eat
anything. Moses’s refusal makes Sterling think more. He remembers that Genius
once gives him a mixture of crackers when he was a child. Thus, Sterling chooses
17
Maranatha Christian University
to make the similar mixture of crackers with Moses and eat it with him. Sterling
also confirms Moses that what they have made is Chinese food and Moses accepts
it.
From analyzing the social conflicts, I conclude that one who is facing a
culture different from their own, must first accept, learn and understand their own
original culture before attempting to fit in into another society which has a
completely different culture. If one does not do so, one will have to experience
cultural clash, between one’s original culture and the culture one is trying to fit in.
This cultural clash will lead to one’s being confused of identifying oneself, which
results in one having an identity crisis. If one manages to learn and understand
their own culture, it will be easier for one to fit in into another culture different
from one’s own.
After reading and analyzing the novel The Barbarians Are Coming, I can
learn some things from it. I can see that a second generation immigrant will
experience cultural clash which leads to his having an identity crisis. The cultural
clash will affect him more if the person does not have enough knowledge of his
own culture, as experienced by Sterling. In my opinion, parents showed an
important role in making their children understand who they are and help them to
accept themselves as they are, so that if the children live in a different culture,
they can differentiate between things which are acceptable and not acceptable for
themselves and other people.
18
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary text:
Louie, David Wong. The Barbarians are Coming. New York: The Berkley
Publishing Group. 2000. Print.
References:
Althen, Gary. “American Values and Assumptions”. par. 1. 5. n.d Web. 6 Sep.
2013
Cheryan, Sapna and Benoit Monin. “Where are you really from?”: Asian
Americans and Identity Denial. Interpersonal Relations and Group
Processes. 718. 2005. Web. 2 Dec. 2013
“Chinese Belief and Superstitions.” Its Fast-Fading Existence Chinese Belief and
Superstitions. n.d. Web 19 Oct. 2013
“Cultural clash.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford Dictionaries, 2013. Web. 22 May
2013.
“David Wong Louie”. Lannan.com. n.d. Web. 23 May 2013.
Davis, Rocio G. “David Wong Louie”. Asian American Short Story Writers: an Ato-Z guide. Ed. Huang, Guiyou. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
2003. Print.
19
Maranatha Christian University
“Identity crisis.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford Dictionaries, 2013. Web. 13 Apr.
2013.
Jessica. “Cultural Differences between USA and China.” China Travel Depot. 26
Sep. 2010. Web. 13 Sep. 2013.
Kennedy, X.J and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and
Drama. 11th ed. New York: Pearson Longman. 2010. Print. 3 Feb. 2014
Kohls, L. Robert. “The Values American Live By.” Claremont McKenna. n.d.
Web. 19 Oct. 2013
“Overview: The Assessment and Treatment of Asian American Immigrant
Families.” Asian American Mental Health Resources A Tribute to Evelyn
Lee. n.d. Web. 5 Sep. 2013
Perrine, Laurence. Story and Structure. 4th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, 1974. Print.
Rana, Satish. “Important qualities of a good son or daughter? – Essay”. Publish
Your Article. n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2013.
“Sociological Criticism”. Glossary of Literary n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.
20
Maranatha Christian University
Dalam penulisan tugas akhir ini, penulis membahas konflik yang dapat
ditemukan dalam novel karya David Wong Louie, The Barbarians are Coming.
Konflik yang akan dibahas merupakan konflik sosial yang dialami oleh tokoh
utama novel tersebut, yaitu seorang keturunan imigran Cina yang lahir dan
dibesarkan di Amerika. Pembahasan akan dilakukan dengan menggunakan
pendekatan sosiologis.
Setelah membaca dan menganalisis novel tersebut, penulis mendapatkan
hal yang menarik tentang perbenturan budaya, yang mengakibatkan sang tokoh
memilih untuk merangkul budaya Amerika yang sama sekali berbeda dari budaya
aslinya yaitu Cina. Hal ini menyebabkan terjadinya krisis identitas yang dialami
tokoh utama. Konflik sosial yang terjadi merupakan contoh dari apa yang dialami
seseorang yang hidup dengan dua latar belakang budaya yang berbeda.
Dari hasil analisis, penulis menemukan fakta yang menarik bahwa
seseorang yang hidup dengan dua latar belakang budaya yang berbeda akan
mengalami perbenturan budaya. Untuk mengatasinya diperlukan pemahaman
yang cukup tentang budaya aslinya agar ia dapat menentukan identitas dirinya
untuk hidup di tengah masyarakat dengan kebudayaan yang berbeda dengannya.
ii
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................
i
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................
ii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study ......................................................................
Statement of the Problem .....................................................................
Purpose of the Study ............................................................................
Method of Research .............................................................................
Organization of the Thesis ...................................................................
1
2
3
3
4
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL CONFLICTS IN
DAVID WONG LOUIE’S THE BARBARIANS ARE COMING
USING SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH .........................................
5
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION ........................................................
16
BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................
19
APPENDICES
Synopsis of The Barbarians are Coming ............................................ 21
Biography of David Wong Louie ........................................................ 22
i
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
Synopsis of The Barbarians are Coming
Being the second generation of a Chinese immigrant Sterling Lung does not
attracted to the idea of accepting his legacy. He lives with his parents in the first
level of their house. As being an American appeals him the most, Sterling is
having conflicts not only with his Chinese parents but also with the American
society.
Genius, Sterling’s father, wants him to become a doctor but Sterling ruins
his father’s dreams by becoming a European chef. He also ruins her mother’s
dream of marrying him to a Chinese woman, as he marries his American
girlfriend and has a son from their marriage. While in his workplace, he is
expected to cook Chinese dish but he does not like to do it. Just like in his
workplace, when Sterling’s wife, Bliss, confronts him to act as a Chinese, he does
not do his part as one.
Now that Genius has passed away, Sterling realizes he has a son and must
act as a father for him, especially a Chinese father. On Genius’s funeral, Sterling
brings Mosses to Genius’s funeral. After that, when Zsa Zsa urges him to feed
Moses, Sterling chooses to give him many kinds of Chinese food that Moses
usually likes. However, Moses rejects them, and somehow it triggers him to
remember his childhood when Genius makes a concoction of food for him.
21
Eventually, Sterling decides to give the same concoction for Moses. They make it
together then Moses eats it.
Biography of David Wong Louie
Born in Rockville Center, New York in 1954, David Wong Louie is the
second child from four children of Chinese immigrants. His family arrived after
the World War II and run a laundry in the suburb. He graduated from Vassar
College in 1977 and received B.A and M.F.A. for Creative Writing from the
University of Iowa in 1981. He was also awarded a Lannan Writing Fellowship
from Lannan Foundation in 2001 and received fellowship the National
Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, the Mac Dowell Colony and
Yaddo.
Pangs of Love in 1991 was his first short story collection and becomes
New York Times Notable Book, won Voice Literary Supplement Favorite, The Los
Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Book Review First Fiction Award and The
Ploughshares First Fiction Book Award in 1991. His first novel The Barbarians
are Coming in 2000 won the Association for Asian American Study Award for
Prose in 2000.
Louie taught at Vassar College where he received his B.A from 1988 to
1992. He was also Associate Professor of English and Asian American Literature
at the University of California in Los Angeles. He now lives with his wife in
Venice, California.
- “Davis”, “Lannan – David Wong Louie”
22
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
A person who is having two or more cultural backgrounds tends to face
cultural clash because of the differences between the two cultures. Cultural clash
itself is a conflict arising from the interaction of people with different cultural
values (“Cultural clash”). This kind of conflict will create a situation called
‘identity crisis’. Identity crisis is a period of uncertainty and confusion in which a
person’s sense of identity becomes insecure, typically due to a change in their
expected aims or role in society (“Identity crisis”). It is often experienced by
American-born-Chinese immigrants or their descendants in the United States due
the different cultures: the Chinese culture and the American culture.
There are some differences between the Chinese and American cultures.
Chinese people are collectivists; they put higher values on group cooperation,
while the Americans are individualists; they put higher values on self-reliance.
Another difference is Chinese people tend to avoid direct confrontation, open
criticism and controversial topic, in order to maintain their ‘face’. American
people, however, are willing to confront directly, criticize and discuss
1
Maranatha Christian University
controversial topic. This is due to their emphasis on personal opinions about what
they consider the truth. (“Some General Differences between Chinese and
American Cultures”)
One of the American writers who deal with identity crisis of Americanborn-Chinese immigrants is David Wong Louie. He is a late 20th century Chinese
-American writer who wrote Pangs of Love (1991), a collection of short stories,
The Barbarians are Coming (2001) his first novel and A Contemporary Asian
American Anthology (1991) in collaboration with Marilyn Chin. His books have
won some awards and reviews. His Pangs of Love received the 1991 First Fiction
Award from the Los Angeles Times and the Ploughshares First Fiction book
award, while his novel The Barbarians are Coming received the Shirley Collier
Prize award. Since David Wong Louie deals with the issue about identity crisis in
The Barbarians are Coming, I choose this novel to be analyzed in my thesis.
The Barbarians are Coming narrates about a second generation Chinese
immigrant who encounters conflicts not only between himself and his parents but
also with his surroundings regarding his identity. The protagonist of this novel,
Sterling Lung, a 26-year-old American-born Chinese immigrant tries to live like
the Americans. He becomes attracted to the freedom that America offers, so that
he denies his family traditions and his Chinese background. This novel shows
how a second generation Chinese immigrant is affected by his parents who still
hold their Chinese culture as well as by his surrounding culture. The protagonist
faces social conflicts regarding his identity throughout the novel due to those
cultural differences.
2
Maranatha Christian University
In my thesis, I choose to analyze the conflicts in the novel since conflict is
the most outstanding literary element in the novel. Conflict is “a clash of actions,
ideas, desires or will” (Perrine 44). There are three types of conflicts, which are
social conflict: man versus society, inner conflict: man versus himself, and
physical conflict: man versus nature (44). The most conflicts that can be found in
this novel are social conflicts. Thus, I am going to analyze the social conflicts in
David Wong Louie’s The Barbarians are Coming. As the conflicts deal with clash
of cultures, I will use sociological approach in analyzing the novel. Sociological
criticism examines literature in the cultural, economic, and political context in
which it is written or received. “ (Kennedy and Gioia 2036)
Statement of the Problem
The problems I am going to analyze are:
1. What are the social conflicts of the protagonist?
2. What is the cause of each conflict?
3. What is the resolution of each conflict?
Purpose of the Study
Based on the statements of the problem, the purposes of the study are:
1. To show the social conflicts of the protagonist.
2. To show the cause of each conflict.
3. To show the resolution of the conflict.
Method of Research
I conduct library research in writing my thesis. First, I read the novel. After
that I search for a number of references from books and the Internet websites in
3
Maranatha Christian University
order to create an objective and a non-superficial analysis in the process of the
research. In the end, I draw some conclusion.
Organization of the Thesis
I divide my thesis into three chapters, preceded by the Table of Contents
and the Abstract. Chapter One is the Introduction, which consists of the
Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study,
the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis. Chapter Two is the
Analysis of Social Conflicts in David Wong Louie’s The Barbarians are Coming
using sociological approach. Chapter Three is the Conclusion. The thesis ends
with the Bibliography and the Appendices, which consist of the Synopsis of The
Barbarians are Coming and the Biography of David Wong Louie.
4
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After analyzing the social conflicts in the novel The Barbarians Are
Coming in the previous chapter, I would like to draw some conclusion. In my
opinion, this book shares the view of cultural clash and the issue of identity crisis
experienced by a second generation immigrant. As the protagonist, Sterling Lung,
lives between two cultures, Chinese and American, and thus some social conflicts
occur due to those different cultures.
In my analysis there are two kinds of conflicts experienced by Sterling.
The first kind is the conflicts with his parents and his bride-to-be. The first
conflict happens because Sterling refuses to marry the chosen Chinese bride
prepared by his mother, Zsa Zsa, but chooses to marry his American girlfriend and
another one happens when Zsa Zsa asks Sterling to be a good son by brewing
medicinal tea for his father Genius, while Sterling chooses to think in an
American way by leaving Genius to the doctor. The conflict between Sterling and
Genius happens when Sterling is already halfway in culinary school; instead of
finishing his medical school as his father wishes, Sterling enters culinary school to
become a Chef. Besides his parents, Sterling also has a conflict with Yuk, the
16
Maranatha Christian University
chosen bride, because of their having different perceptions of meaning of ‘moving
bed’. These conflicts show that Sterling is experiencing cultural clash. His parents
and Yuk represent the Chinese society which emphasizes more on family matters,
traditions and beliefs, while Sterling represents the American society which
focuses on him as an individual and has a realistic and modern thinking. Sterling’s
American way of thinking is due to the fact that he was born and raised in
America even though he is of Chinese descent.
The second kind of conflicts is those between Sterling and his American
manager and his American wife. The conflict between Sterling and his American
manager, Libby Drake, happens when Libby chooses to hire another Chinese cook
to cook Chinese food for her. The conflict with his American wife, Bliss Sass,
occurs when Bliss challenges him to act as a Chinese, because Sterling does not
act as one, even though he is aware of his being Chinese. These conflicts happen
because from the beginning Sterling always claims himself as American, but
when the Americans deny his being Chinese, he tries to prove as one. Thus, when
Sterling says he is Chinese, the other party challenges him to act as one; however,
Sterling does not do as expected by Libby and Bliss. Sterling’s reactions in the
conflicts above are interesting because they confirm that he experiences identity
crisis.
Sterling becomes more confused with himself because when he thinks that
he has already embraced his Chinese part by feeding Moses and by acting as a
Chinese father towards him, he is rejected by Moses as he does not want to eat
anything. Moses’s refusal makes Sterling think more. He remembers that Genius
once gives him a mixture of crackers when he was a child. Thus, Sterling chooses
17
Maranatha Christian University
to make the similar mixture of crackers with Moses and eat it with him. Sterling
also confirms Moses that what they have made is Chinese food and Moses accepts
it.
From analyzing the social conflicts, I conclude that one who is facing a
culture different from their own, must first accept, learn and understand their own
original culture before attempting to fit in into another society which has a
completely different culture. If one does not do so, one will have to experience
cultural clash, between one’s original culture and the culture one is trying to fit in.
This cultural clash will lead to one’s being confused of identifying oneself, which
results in one having an identity crisis. If one manages to learn and understand
their own culture, it will be easier for one to fit in into another culture different
from one’s own.
After reading and analyzing the novel The Barbarians Are Coming, I can
learn some things from it. I can see that a second generation immigrant will
experience cultural clash which leads to his having an identity crisis. The cultural
clash will affect him more if the person does not have enough knowledge of his
own culture, as experienced by Sterling. In my opinion, parents showed an
important role in making their children understand who they are and help them to
accept themselves as they are, so that if the children live in a different culture,
they can differentiate between things which are acceptable and not acceptable for
themselves and other people.
18
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary text:
Louie, David Wong. The Barbarians are Coming. New York: The Berkley
Publishing Group. 2000. Print.
References:
Althen, Gary. “American Values and Assumptions”. par. 1. 5. n.d Web. 6 Sep.
2013
Cheryan, Sapna and Benoit Monin. “Where are you really from?”: Asian
Americans and Identity Denial. Interpersonal Relations and Group
Processes. 718. 2005. Web. 2 Dec. 2013
“Chinese Belief and Superstitions.” Its Fast-Fading Existence Chinese Belief and
Superstitions. n.d. Web 19 Oct. 2013
“Cultural clash.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford Dictionaries, 2013. Web. 22 May
2013.
“David Wong Louie”. Lannan.com. n.d. Web. 23 May 2013.
Davis, Rocio G. “David Wong Louie”. Asian American Short Story Writers: an Ato-Z guide. Ed. Huang, Guiyou. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
2003. Print.
19
Maranatha Christian University
“Identity crisis.” Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford Dictionaries, 2013. Web. 13 Apr.
2013.
Jessica. “Cultural Differences between USA and China.” China Travel Depot. 26
Sep. 2010. Web. 13 Sep. 2013.
Kennedy, X.J and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and
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