黃禍與模範弱裔:《骨頭》與《夢娜在應許之地》中族裔與階級的交錯

Abstract

中文摘要 本論文以華美作家伍慧明(Fae Myenne Ng)的《骨頭》和任璧蓮的《夢娜在應許之地》兩本小說為分析文本，進而探討黃禍與模範弱裔此二種對華裔美國人的刻板印象如何影響華美社群內的階級政治。就黃禍而言，華裔美國人經常被再現為無法同化、大量湧進美國以搶奪白人勞工工作機會的移民。然而，在另一方面，華裔美國人又被視為模範弱裔：高度美國化、在經濟上有所成就、同時又能夠融入白人中產階級的生活。本論文集中探討此二種刻板印象的不同階級意涵對華美社群的影響。二次大戰後，由於白人主流社會的刻意篩選，導致華美群內階級分歧形成並且加劇。由於勞工及中產階級的華裔美國人同時存在，使得黃禍及模範弱裔兩種刻板印象得以持續流行。藉著操弄這兩種刻板印象，白人主流社會不僅將其對於華裔美國社群的剝削合理化，並且分化不同階級的華裔美國人，從而削弱社群成員之間的團結。華裔美國人的族裔和階級認同亦因這兩種刻板印象的影響而發生衝突。

Abstract This thesis examines how the Yellow Peril and Model Minority stereotypes influence the Chinese American community and shape the class politics within the community. The Yellow Peril stereotype often represents Chinese Americans as unassimilable laborers flooding into the U.S. in competition with the white workers while the Model Minority stereotype constructs Chinese Americans as an ethnic group highly Americanized, economically successful, and fully assimilated into the white middle-class life. The thesis focuses on the class implications of the two stereotypes. Through a comparative reading of Bone and Mona in the Promised Land, this thesis illustrates how the two stereotypes affect Chinese Americans' self-perception and their perception of other Chinese Americans who occupy different class positions. I argue that through the manipulation of the two stereotypes, the white mainstream society not only justifies its exploitation of Chinese Americans, but also fissures Chinese American ethnic solidarity along the class lines. Also by means of the two stereotypes, the white mainstream society makes Chinese Americans feel split between their ethnic and class identities.