earticle

영어

Asian-American literature has recently tended to spread beyond the Pan-Asian category and to focus on the diversity and distinct characteristics of the “Other Asias” to varying degrees. This means that Asian-American literature has rejected conformity with one Asia and values greater diversity. Chang-Rae Lee, one of the representative Korean-American novelists, has also broadened his interests to something universal. Accordingly, this study aims to explore his works from the perspective of trauma, which is a universal human experience. Native Speaker discusses the racial melancholia passed on generation after generation in the ethnic minority society. In this novel, the process of double ‘otherness’ operates invisibly and sneakingly in all of the areas. When Henry Park tries to be an ‘authentic’ American, his Asian face becomes a clear indication that he can never be more than an alien in America. However, his encounters with Emile Luzan and John Kwang, who suggest ideal types of Asian-Americans, make him reevaluate his Asian heritage, especially his Korean tradition. He starts to deconstruct his delusional dreaming, (i.e. the myth of whiteness), and overcomes racial melancholia by identifying himself as hybrid subject. Chang-Rae Lee proposes in Native Speaker that trauma can be overcome and furthermore appropriated as a creative way through the narratives of the memories. His keen sense of trauma shows us that he is an outstanding writer much more than just an ethnic minority writer.