Assimilation in asian american culture
Through careful observation between the old country and the new country, we see the process of alienation and assimilation and the feelings that are endemic to this process. The constant reminder of language barrier, physical differences and loss of your native land all help to problematize this extremely complicated struggle. While it is difficult for an Asian person to assimilate into American culture, it is similarly difficult for an Asian American to assimilate back to their native country. The feeling of alienation does not vanish just because similar faces surround them. The idea of assimilation is explored in both Joy Kogawa’s Obasan and The Wedding Banquet. The novel and movie portray how we carry within ourselves remnants of the past, as inherited through family tradition and culture. It appears that for those who leave their place of birth, a constant eagerness without cure creates a new ideology that has little to do with their origin, and more to do with effective assimilation. In both works, we see examples of how assimilation conquers individuals as they familiarize themselves to the new Western culture. Each character adapts to the new western culture in their own distinctive ways. Both, Obasan and The Wedding Banquet portray how each character faces assimilation.
The Asian upbringing plays a prominent role in both stories. In Obasan, Naomi and her brother are raised well, as they never had bold questions about their Japanese heritage until the war began. Then when the war began, anti-Japanese sentiments began to rise, so began the questioning. While, in The Wedding Banquet we see that Chinese culture is characterized by strongly believing in familial loyalty, having a family, and having a son to keep the family name going. Western identity is about individualism and each character in the stories assimilate to the new, western heritage differently.
There is Stephen, who after the teasing and tormenting in his adolescence of being a gimpy Jap, he felt embarrassed of who he was, and he tries to disunite himself from his culture. In college, he felt embarrassed by his aunt and uncle for being too accustomed to Japanese traditions. As Naomi states, when he was travelling with a French girl, he only stayed in the house for five minutes. When he reaches adulthood, he completely detaches himself from every root of Japanese culture, running away from his ethnicity. “Stephen has made himself altogether unfamiliar with speaking Japanese (Kogawa 253).” Through this quote we understand how quickly Stephen detaches himself from his ethnicity.
Likewise, Aunt Emily’s attitude towards Japanese culture is also very intense. She is stubborn of the fact that she is a Canadian and there is no difference between her and any native born Canadian. The Uncle and Obasan both, withdraw in a world of acceptance and silence and persistent isolation. They never seem to care about what it means to be Japanese- Canadian in Canada. They pursue their Japanese traditions and when met with prejudice, they neglect it. “She does not dance to the multicultural piper’s tune or respond to the racist slur. She remains in a silent territory”(Kogawa pg. 248). Naomi must charter with the world around her, and she does this in a way that initiates a balance between Aunt Emily’s attitudes of her Japanese ethnicity. Naomi is the only one who does not despise her heritage, does not withdraw within herself nor has thoughts that she should and will be accepted as a native born Canadian. Naomi still eats Japanese food, visits her Uncle and Obasan, understands her native language but she also recognizes the prejudice that surrounds them and though it might make her insolent, she still has managed to keep up a strong balance of cultures and often reflects over her identity.
On the other hand, Wai- Tung compiles to western heritage differently than the other characters from Obasan. Wai-Tung’s is successful in real estate and an American citizen, who has forgotten about his Chinese roots and has adapted to American heritage very well. He uses homosexuality as a pathway to assimilate to western culture. The only thing that can foil him is the secret of homosexuality, which he keeps from his parents. Simon is Wai-Tung’s gay partner. Simon portrays traditional female characteristics in the relationship. Simon can cook, wears earrings and is always nagging Wai-tung about spending too much time at work. Simon is a benevolent person and Wai-tung’s parents like him but he cannot produce any children. As stated earlier family is extremely important in Chinese culture and so the fact that they can’t produce kids as a result of them being gay it endangers Chinese culture. Wai-Tung’s father is a strict man with Chinese pride.
Additionally, the father arrives in the U.S. so that Chinese values and traditions can continue. However, in order for the -father to make Chinese values and traditions last in the west he must come and give up some of his rights, values, and traditions. The last scene of the movie is symbolic of this act when the father throws his hands up as in surrender to the white western security guard. This act was ironic and represents the surrendering of his Chinese identity in order to enter America and control the traditions the way he wants them to.
In Obasan, we see how Canadian culture captivated Stephen and Aunt Emily. Alternatively, Naomi has a correspondence between both cultures. Additionally, Obasan and Uncle overlook the idea of two individual cultures. Similarly, in the movie we see an unbalanced Chinese family struggling between opposite cultures. They struggle to understand the concept of individualism and homosexuality because they want to preserve their son from assimilating to the western culture which leads to secrecy, and family distance. This movie illustrates how even though the world is being westernized, the future for Chinese culture is looking optimistic. The Wedding Banquet, contrasts from Obasan through the tone of story. The Wedding Banquet provides comic relief which makes assimilation seem more acceptable. Conversely, the tone of Obasan is melancholy which makes assimilation seem more shameful.
The book and the movie are quite similar because they demonstrate that assimilation is common among immigrants migrating to a new country. Some characters balance culture effectively like Naomi, while others fall into western ideologies such as homosexuality. All in all, both stories portray how Asian Americans move past strict Asian culture and integrate to the western culture. Finally, we see how each character assimilates to the new culture differently. Both, stories show how migrating to a new world can threaten your origin because you inherit a new culture and new ideas. In contrast, both stories also vary in tone which depicts the process of assimilation differently.
