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THE RESPONSES OF CHINESE IMMIGRANT WOMEN IN AMERICA IN THE MID 20TH CENTURY TOWARD THE DEMANDS OF THE SOCIETY IN LISA SEE’S SHANGHAI GIRLS

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

By

EMEILYA KUMALA SARI

Student Number: 074214002

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2011

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THE RESPONSES OF CHINESE IMMIGRANT WOMEN IN AMERICA IN THE MID 20TH CENTURY TOWARD THE DEMANDS OF THE SOCIETY IN LISA SEE’S SHANGHAI GIRLS

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

By

EMEILYA KUMALA SARI

Student Number: 074214002

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2011

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIK

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:

Nama : Emeilya Kumala Sari

Nomor Mahasiswa : 074214002

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul: The Responses of Chinese Immigrant Women in America in the Mid 20th Century toward the Demands of the Society in Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal : 31 Mei 2011

Yang menyatakan

(Emeilya Kumala Sari)

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The future starts today, not tomorrow

(Pope John Paul II)

Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them, but do not let them

master you. Let them teach you patience, sweetness, insight

(Helen Keller)

We're told that men are strong and brave, but I think women know how to endure, accept, defeat and bear physical and mental agony much better than men (Lisa See - Shanghai Girls)

Life must be lived forward, but it can only be understood backward

(Sorren Kierkegaard)

Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by

anything in between

(Maya Angelou - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings)

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This thesis is dedicated to

My Beloved and Caring Mother,

My Family,

and Sanata Dharma University

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I thank Jesus Christ for His great blessings and everlasting love

for me. I also thank Him for never leaving me in my good and bad times. Without

His guidance I would never be able to face my weaknesses and problems.

I thank my advisor, Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum., for the guidance

and helps during my thesis writing. I would like to thank her for her willingness to

read, and reread my thesis and then give suggestions to improve it every week.

Then, I thank my co-advisor, Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum., and my main

examiner, Dr. Fransiskus Xaverius Siswadi, M.A., for their suggestions and

corrections to improve my thesis. I would also thank all of the lecturers and

academic staff in English Letters Department of Sanata Dharma University.

Without their helps, I would not be able to finish my study on time.

Then, I thank my beloved mother, Yap Siok Lin, for her everlasting love

and support during my study in USD. I thank her for being the best mother ever. I

also would like to thank my best aunt, Yap Siok Hwa, for her love and support.

Then, I thank my beloved brothers, Eddy Prasetia and Yustian Prasetyo, for their

encouragement during my study in USD.

I thank Milka, Jopie, Putra, Reli, Yudha, and Yona for being my best

friends in English Letters. I also thank Mas Greg for his help during my thesis

writing. Then, I thank my Surya 6 family, especially C Linda, Mira, Wiwid, Boti,

and Cintya for all of their encouragement in finishing my thesis. Besides, I would

also thank those whose names I could not mention one by one for the help so far.

Emeilya Kumala Sari

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ...... i APPROVAL PAGE ...... ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE ...... iii LEMBAR PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH ...... iv MOTTO PAGE ...... v DEDICATION PAGE ...... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...... vii TABLE OF CONTENT ...... viii ABSTRACT ...... x ABSTRAK ...... xi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ...... 1 A. Background of the Study ...... 1 B. Problem Formulation ...... 5 C. Objectives of the Study ...... 6 D. Definition of Terms ...... 6

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEWS ...... 7 A. Review of Related Studies ...... 7 B. Review of Related Theories ...... 9 1. Theories on Characters and Characterization ...... 9 2. Theories on Gender Roles for Asian American Women .. 11 3. Theories on Traditional Values of Chinese Immigrant ..... 12 in America 4. The Demands of the Society toward Women ...... 16 5. Theory on Relation between Literature and Society ...... 17 C. The Chinese Immigrant in America in the Mid 20th Century .... 18 D. Theoretical Framework ...... 19

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ...... 21 A. Object of the Study ...... 21 B. Approach of the Study ...... 22 C. Method of the Study ...... 23

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ...... 26 A. Characterization of Woman Major Characters ...... 26 1. Pearl ...... 31 2. May ...... 36 B. The Demands of the Society toward Chinese Immigrant ...... 39 Women 1. The Demands toward Women in the Family Life ...... 39 2. The Demand of the Chinese Immigrant Society ...... 45

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toward Women C. The Responses of Chinese Immigrant Women ...... 47 toward the Demands 1. The Response of Pearl toward the Demands ...... 48 of the Society 2. The Response of May toward the Demands ...... 51 of the Society

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...... 56

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 59

APPENDIX: Summary of Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls ...... 61

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ABSTRACT

EMEILYA KUMALA SARI. The Responses of Chinese Immigrant Women in America in the Mid 20th Century toward the Demands of the Society in Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2011.

Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls is a historical-fiction which talks about the lives of Chinese immigrant women in America in the mid 20th century. The women major characters in this novel grew up China, but then migrated and stayed in America. Since Chinese culture, their primary culture, placed Chinese women in such an inferior position, Chinese women were burdened by several demands of the society which subordinate them. However, living in America might influence their socio-cultural lives. Therefore, the writer intends to find out the gender consciousness of Chinese immigrant women at that time through the major characters’ responses toward the demands of the society. There are three problems formulated in this thesis. The first problem is how the women major characters are characterized. The second is about the demands of the society attached to the woman major characters. The third is how the women major characters respond toward the demands of the society. The approach applied in this thesis is socio-cultural-historical approach. The method used in this thesis is library research method. Therefore, the primary data were taken from the novel itself, Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls. Meanwhile, the secondary data were taken from several books, journals, reviews and reference dealing with this research. The result of the study shows that Pearl is a beautiful, modern but preserving Chinese culture, smart, responsible, and obedient person. Similar to Pearl, May is also a beautiful, smart and modern person, but she is also a selfish and disobedient person. The demands of the society toward the major characters explained in this thesis are divided into two parts. The first is the demands in the family life, such as: being compliant wives, give birth to sons, and applying three obedience and four virtues. The second is the demand of the Chinese immigrant society toward women which is the demand to preserve Chinese culture in their lives. Then, the writer finds out that during that period there are two different responses of Chinese immigrant women toward the demands of the society. Some of them obey the demands of the society while the others start to disobey those gender-based demands. This indicates that during that period, the Chinese immigrant women in America start to have their gender consciousness. They start to realize the gender inequality. Therefore, they start to disobey the demands of the society.

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ABSTRAK

EMEILYA KUMALA SARI. The Responses of Chinese Immigrant Women in America in the Mid 20th Century toward the Demands of the Society in Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2011.

Shanghai Girls karya Lisa See adalah novel fiksi sejarah yang bercerita tentang kehidupan perempuan-perempuan imigran Cina di Amerika pada pertengahan abad ke dua puluh. Tokoh-tokoh utama perempuan dalam novel ini dibesarkan di Cina tetapi kemudian bermigrasi dan menetap di Amerika. Karena kebudayaan utama mereka, budaya Cina, memposisikan perempuan lebih rendah dari pada laki-laki, perempuan Cina dibebani oleh beberapa tuntutan masyarakat yang menomor-duakan posisi mereka. Namun demikian, hidup di Amerika dapat mempengaruhi kehidupan sosio-kultural mereka. Oleh karena itu, penulis ingin mengetahui kesadaran gender perempuan imigran Cina pada waktu itu melalui respon tokoh-tokoh utama terhadap tuntutan masyarakat. Ada tiga rumusan masalah dalam skripsi ini. Rumusan masalah pertama ialah bagaimana tokoh utama perempuan dideskripsikan. Rumusan masalah kedua ialah tuntutan-tuntutan masyarakat terhadap tokoh utama perempuan. Rumusan masalah yang ketiga ialah bagaimana respon tokoh utama perempuan terhadap tuntutan masyarakat. Pendekatan yang digunakan dalam penulisan skripsi ini adalah pendekatan sosio-kultural-histori. Metode yang digunakan dalam penulisan skripsi ini metode studi kepustakaan. Oleh karena itu, data-data utama diambil dari novel Shanghai Girls karya Lisa See itu sendiri. Sedangkan, data-data tambahannya diambil dari beberapa buku, jurnal, review, dan referensi-referensi yang menunjang lainnya. Hasil dari studi ini menunjukkan bahwa Pearl adalah perempuan yang cantik, modern tapi tetap melestarikan budaya Cina, cerdas, bertanggung jawab dan patuh. Sama halnya dengan Pearl, May juga adalah perempuan yang cantik, cerdas, dan modern tetapi selain itu dia juga seorang perempuan yang mementingkan diri sendiri dan tidak patuh. Tuntutan masyarakat pada tokoh- tokoh utama yang dibahas di skrispsi ini dibagi menjadi dua bagian. Yang pertama adalah tuntutan masyarakat di dalam keluarga, seperti menjadi istri yang penurut, melahirkan anak laki-laki, dan menerapkan tiga kepatuhan dan empat kebajikan. Yang kedua adalah tuntutan masyarakat imigran Cina kepada mereka, yaitu tuntutan untuk tetap melestarikan budaya Cina. Kemudian, penulis juga menemukan bahwa pada masa itu, perempuan imigran Cina di Amerika menunjukkan dua respon yang berbeda terhadap tuntutan masyarakat. Sebagian dari mereka mematuhi tuntutan masyarakat sedangkan sisanya mulai tidak lagi mematuhi tuntutan masyarakat berdasarkan gender itu. Hal ini mengindikasikan bahwa pada masa itu, perempuan imigran Cina di Amerika mulai memiliki kesadaran gender. Mereka mulai menyadari adanya ketidakadilan gender. Oleh karena itu, mereka mulai untuk tidak lagi mematuhi tuntutan-tuntutan masyarakat itu.

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Learning about culture is somehow interesting. Read in Webster’s

Comprehensive Dictionary defines culture as enlightment or civilization (1996:

314). Therefore, it can be said that culture is a part of human beings’ civilization.

It means that without a well-developed culture there will be no civilization as

well. Besides, there are a lot of cultures in this world. Those cultures are really

unique. They vary from one another although some might also still share some

similarities with others too.

One of the most interesting cultures to learn is Chinese culture. Not only

being famous as the most populated country in the world, China is also famous for

its civilization as well. Gallin in his research “China: People and Way of Life”

stated that “China has the oldest continuous surviving civilization in the world

although it is not the first to have developed” (1978: 496). It means that China has

a great and old culture. Its greatness even succeeds in making Chinese

descendants all over the world proud of Chinese culture and still preserve it in

their nowadays lives. As we can find in Indonesia, Chinese descendants in

Indonesia also still hold on Chinese culture’s traditions- such as celebrating

Chinese New Year, performing Lion Dance or Barongsai, and celebrating Moon

Cake Festivals- although they no longer live in China.

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The Chinese culture itself cannot be separated from the Chinese society.

According to Bloomfield in her book The Book of Chinese Belief, Chinese people

traditionally have a very role-oriented society. Everyone has his/her part to play

and is supposed to play it properly. A child is supposed to obey his/her parents

and respect his/her teacher; women are supposed to obey their husband, widows

are supposed to obey their sons, etc. This arrangement creates an orderly but

restricted society, in which certain emotions are literally unspeakable (1991: xvi).

In addition, Chinese culture also has a restricted classification in its gender

roles. Similar to other old cultures, from its gender roles classification Chinese

culture is classified as a patriarchal culture. Since the ancient time, Chinese

women are placed in a lower position than men and they get certain gender-based

demands to do.

According to the history of China, there was a westernization process

occurred in China. As stated in Fitzgerald’s The Chinese View of their Place in the

World, “This effort, sustained for the whole of the seventeenth century, brought

the Chinese educated class, for the first time for centuries, into some contact with

foreigners of education and deep learning” (Fitzgerald, 1964: 28). This contact

might cause the Chinese way of thinking gradually changing. It might also

stimulate cultural change in the Chinese’s lives.

In the late 19th century until the early 20th century there was a series of war

happened in China. These long desperate wars forced Chinese people to seek

better lives outside China. Since the United States of America was famous for its

American Dream, the United States of America attracted millions of immigrants

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from all over the world. Believing that they could get better lives, many Chinese

people also migrated to America. In the late 19th century, a huge number of

Chinese immigrants, both the legal and illegal ones, entered the United States of

America. Since the American government was concerned about the huge number

of Chinese immigrants in America which was increasing year by year, they

created Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. As stated in Pascoe’s journal for

University of Oregon: “At America’s Gates: Chinese Immigration during the

Exclusion Era 1882-1943,” Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was a limitation of

immigration that was limited on the basis of race and class for Chinese people

(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2005/is_3_38/ai_n13684753/). During that

period, the American government tried to stop Chinese migration to America.

This action forced most of Chinese people who wanted to migrate to America in

that period of time decided to enter America illegally.

After entering America, those illegal immigrants were faced up to various

cultural problems again. America had a totally different culture from China. The

demands of the society towards Chinese men and women were different from

American men’s and women’s.

These different cultural backgrounds might also influence the way of life

and thinking of the Chinese immigrants in America since they had to live along

with those two dominant cultures at the same time. They kept holding on to the

Chinese culture as their pride of their native country and their main culture while

at the same time they had to adjust to the American culture since it is the main

culture in their new homes. The assimilation process might happen here. The

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Chinese immigrants might adapt and mix their culture with the American one.

Therefore, it might also stimulate cultural changes in those immigrants’ lives.

These cultural changes might lead them to give different responses toward the

demands of their society.

However, if we trace the history back, we could find that Chinese women

were burdened by the unequal gender-based demands from the Chinese society

and still after being immigrants in America, they had to live along with two

dominant cultures. However, they took Chinese culture as their primary culture

and American as the secondary one. Therefore, the writer finds it more interesting

to see how the Chinese immigrant women in America in the mid 20th century

respond toward the demands of the society and the writer decided to take it as this

study’s topic. Besides, by seeing the responses of Chinese immigrant women in

America in the mid 20th century toward the demands of the society, the writer can

also find out about how Chinese immigrant women’s gender awareness was at

that time.

In this study, the writer will focus on one of Lisa See’s novels. Lisa See is

famous as the author of the New York Times’ bestseller Snow Flower and the

Secret Fan. Since See is a Chinese American woman, she has a broad knowledge

of Chinese culture. Therefore, most of her works talk about the lives of Chinese

women which are burdened by the oppression of the Chinese patriarchal culture.

Here, the writer will use Shanghai Girls (2009), Lisa See’s latest novel, as

the object of the study. Shanghai Girls is a historical-fiction. Therefore, the setting

of the story is supported by the facts in the history. Similar to the story in Lisa

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See’s other novels = On Gold Mountain (1995), Flower Net (1997), The Interior

(1999), Dragon Bones (2003), Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005) and Peony

in Love (2007), Shanghai Girls also focuses on the story of the lives of Chinese

women. However, in Shanghai Girls the main focus is about the lives of two

Chinese immigrant sisters in America in the mid 20th century.

In Shanghai Girls, the major characters, Pearl and May, are Chinese

immigrant women who lived in Chinatown in San Francisco during the mid 20th

century. Therefore, they lived in a place which was surrounded by two dominant

cultures, the Chinese and American culture. This condition might also lead them

to do the assimilation process. However, these two dominant cultures also bring

them different demands of the society. Based on this condition, the topic was

chosen to see the responses of Chinese immigrant women in America in the mid

20th century toward the demands of the society as represented by descriptions of

the two female major characters.

B. Problem Formulation

In order to understand this novel better, three questions are formulated as

follows.

1. How are the women major characters characterized?

2. What are the demands of the society attached to the women major

characters?

3. How do the women major characters respond towards the demands of the

society?

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C. Objectives of the Study

The objective of the study is to answer the questions stated before, which

deal with the responses of Chinese immigrant women in America of the mid 20th

century toward the demands of the society as represented by the women major

characters. It is meant to find out the characterization of the women major

characters, what the demands of the society toward the women majors characters

are, to find out how the women major characters respond toward the demands of

the society.

D. Definition of Terms

To make clear some terms which are used in the research title, some terms

are defined as follows.

1. Demand

Read in Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary defined demand as the

act of demanding, or that which is demanded; requirement; claim; need. It is a

desire to obtain; call (Read, 1996: 340). Therefore, based on this description, it

can be said that demand means something claimed as due.

2. Society

Mayhew in International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences volume 14

defined society as a relatively independent or self-sufficient population

characterized by internal organization, territoriality, cultural distinctiveness,

and sexual recruitment (Mayhew, 1972: 577-578).

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CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

A. Review of Related Studies

As a Chinese American descent, Lisa See has a good basic understanding

of Chinese American women’s lives. Although she lives in America, her way of

thinking is influenced by the Chinese way of thinking. This fact is supported by

See’s statement: “I am Chinese in my heart,” which See wrote in her family

memoir On Gold Mountain. This way of thinking also influences her works of

literature. She tends to use a typical theme especially about Chinese lives in her

novel. This fact was stated by Nimura in her review “Too-Familiar Themes,

History Threaten to Shanghai ‘Girls’” special to The Washington Post (July 11,

2009) as quoted in the following.

She is Chinese in her fiction, having mined her heritage for the vivid period details of foot binding, dowries and death rituals that boosted Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love to bestseller Dom. As the third installment in See’s women’s-Chinese-historical sub-genre, Shanghai Girls moves away from the mare remote and picturesque past and into the 20th century (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/ 2009/07/11AR2009071100347.html).

From the above quotation, Nimura shows that See has a typical theme of

her fiction which is also influenced by her own background as a Chinese

American descendant. See understands deeply about Chinese culture. Therefore,

in Shanghai Girls we can easily find Chinese cultural aspects in the main

characters’ daily lives.

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In her latest fiction, See creates a strong bound between the major

characters, Pearl and May Chin. She tells the readers about Chinese’s strong and

complex relationship among family through the relation between those two

characters. See clearly shows how Pearl always protects May although at the same

time she keeps her jealousy toward her sister. This fact was stated by

Wasserstrom, a professor of history at U.C. Irvine and the author of Global

Shanghai, 1850-2010: A History in Fragments, in his article “A Tale of Two

Sisters” as quoted in the following.

Now, with Shanghai Girls, she has produced an engrossing tale of two sisters (who become sisters-in-law, too, by marrying brothers) that has links to all her previous books. Its ties to Peony are strong, to Snow Flower even stronger. Like both those works, Shanghai Girls is a work of historical fiction. And like Snow Flower, its emotional heart is a complex relationship between two women (sworn sisters in the earlier novel). They experience traumatic events that would put a strain on any psyche — and any relationship (http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1908273,00. html).

From the above quotation, Wasserstrom observed that the relationship between

the major characters in this novel is really complex. They are sisters but also being

sisters-in-law at the same time. This condition creates such a deeper emotional

bound between them.

The writer herself agrees with Nimura and Wasserstrom’s studies that in

Shanghai Girls, one of Lisa See’s fictions, there are many Chinese cultural

aspects in the main characters’ daily lives. Besides, the two female major

characters here also have a complex relationship which creates a deeper emotional

bound between them.

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Thus, in order to make this research different from the two previous

studies, the writer would like to focus on finding the responses of Chinese

immigrant women in America in the mid 20th century toward the demands of the

society as represented by the descriptions of Shanghai Girls’ female major

characters in order to see the gender awareness of Chinese immigrant women at

that time.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theories on Character and Characterization

In fiction and play, character is usually the main subject. It can be a person

or certain other animate thing which is endowed with moral and dispositional

qualities. Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms stated that,

Characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say—the dialogue—and what they do—the action (1985:23).

However, Gill in Mastering English Literature stated that characterization

is the way in which a character is created. Here, we can learn that characterization

is the way which is used by an author to tell readers about the character in a

literary work. So, from the author’s characterization the reader can understand the

characteristics of the character. Thus, characterization is the method to create the

character while the character itself is the product of characterization (1995: 127).

According to Murphy in Understanding Unseens, there are nine ways that

an author can use to make his characters understandable and come alive for his

readers. These nine ways are explained in the following.

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a. Personal Description

The first method is personal description. In this method, the characters

can be described through his/her appearance and clothes as the author

stated in the story (1972: 161).

b. Characters as Seen by Another

The second method is characters as seen by another. In this method, the

author describes a character with the help of other character’s eyes and

opinion instead of describing a character directly (1972: 162).

c. Speech

The third method is speech. In this method, the author can give us an

insight into the character of one of the persons in the book through what

that person says (1972: 164).

d. Past Life

The fourth method is past life. In this method, the readers can learn

something about the characters through their past lives (1972: 166).

e. Conversations of Others

The fifth method is conversation of others. In this method, the author

gives the readers clues to a character with the help of the other people’s

conversation and their opinion made about him (1972: 167).

f. Reactions

The sixth is reaction. In this method, we can see the description of the

characters from his/her reaction. Each character in a novel can react

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specifically to various kinds of situations, occasions, and conflicts (1972:

168).

g. Direct Comment

The seventh is direct comment. In this method, the author can describe or

comment on a person’s character directly (1972: 170).

h. Thought

The eighth is thought. Here, the author let the readers know what the

characters think and undergo (1972: 171).

i. Mannerism

The last is mannerism. In this method, the author used mannerism, habits,

unique feature which the character possesses with motivation behind

them to help characterize the character (1972: 173).

Thus, it is clear that in order to give a description about the characteristics

of a character, an author may apply several methods.

2. Theories on Gender Roles for Asian American Women

According to sociological perspective, as stated in Andersen’s Thinking

about Women: Sociological Perspective on Sex and Gender, “Gender role is

defined as the expectation for behavior and attitudes that the culture defines as

appropriate for men and women. These roles are learned through the process of

socialization” (1997: 31).

From above definition, we can see that actually gender roles are

determined by the culture. Therefore, a different culture may have different

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gender roles. As we know, there are a lot of cultures in the worlds. Some have

similarities one with another and some others not. However, the focus of gender

role is still the same. The main focus is the appropriate expectation toward men

and women’s behavior and attitudes.

These gender roles were also attached to Asian American women. Esther

Ngan-Ling Chow in her journal “The Development of Feminist Consciousness

among Asian American Women” stated that Asian American women have defined

roles in their families. This fact is supported by following quotation.

Domination by men is a commonly shared oppression for Asian American women. These women have been socialized to accept their devaluation, restricted roles for women, psychological reinforcement of gender stereotypes, and a subordinate position within Asian communities as well as in the society at large. Within Asian communities, the Asian family (especially the immigrant one) is characterized by a hierarchy of authority based on sex, age, and generation, with young women at the lowest level, subordinate to father-husband-brother-son (1991: 256).

The above quotation shows that Asian American women were placed in a

subordinate position based on their gender roles. It can be said that the Asian

family is also characterized by well-defined family roles. Usually, a father will be

a breadwinner and decision-maker and a mother as a compliant wife and

homemaker.

3. Theories on Traditional Values of Chinese Immigrants in America

As immigrants, Chinese American faced certain changes in the structure

and style of their former Chinese family life. The fact of being immigrant in a

nation which has totally different background and culture forced them to do

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adaptation and assimilation. This fact is supported by Kitano in his book Race

Relation 3rd edition as quoted in following.

The changes in the structure and style of Chinese family life that the immigrants brought with them developed from acculturation, exposure to newer models, and challenges in the new country. It is the interaction of power, culture, and visibility of the ethnic community with the American culture that explains the development of the Asian family style in the United States (1985: 223).

Shibutani and Kwan in Kitano stated that assimilation is a phenomenon

found in all cases of interethnic contact in which one group does not exterminate

the other: “In the United States one needs only to review the history of various

immigrant groups --- the Irish, the Poles, the Jews, the Italians, the Chinese, the

Mexicans --- to see the regularity with which many of them have become

incorporated into the mainstream of American life” (1985: 11). It means that

assimilation makes a change of mental perspective in which the immigrant

eventually perceives the world from an American point of view, rather than from

that of his or her national background. This process also influences the

development of Asian family style in the United States.

However, Chinese culture, the immigrants’ primary culture, is influenced

by Confucius way of life. As stated in Gelber’s The Dragon and the Foreign

Devils, “The Confucian system was based on the idea of harmony as the basic

principle of cosmic and human order” (2008: 15). Therefore, it can be said that

Confucianism focuses on creating harmony in one’s life. Since Confucianism is a

moral teaching, it is applied in some aspects related to Chinese morality. It

arranges the moral principle of family, social, and political life of Chinese people.

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However, Gelber also stated that according to Confucius system, “The

harmony would be displayed in the behavior of the superior man” (2008: 16). It

means that to create harmony a community has to have a leader who has a self-

respect to be seen as a superior, good manner, and good moral qualities. Since a

family is the subordinate level of the community, a family must also have a

leader. The description about the implementation of Confucius teaching in

Chinese family life is explained by Gelber as quoted in the following.

Family unity, obedience to the head of the house hold, and mutual love were high priorities. The family should be governed in its patriarch. The father should have the authority over the son, the husband over the wife, and the elder over the younger brother (2008: 16).

Here, the writer can find out that the superior man of the family according to

Gelber is the father, while the mother, sons, daughter-in-law and the other family

members are the subordinates.

Gallin in her research “China: Social Life and Custom” explained the

hierarchy of a Chinese family in the following.

The structure of this ideal family was hierarchical, according to generation, age, and sex. It was headed by the eldest male, who wielded complete power over all the family members. The headship usually passed to the eldest son, or sometimes to the son adjudged most worthy. Wives, brought into the husband’s joint household through family rather than individual decision, were subservient to the husband’s mother and to other family members (1978: 501).

It shows that in extended Chinese family structure, the roles are clearly defined.

Hsu in Kitano stated that the duty of woman is “to please her husband, his family,

and to provide sons” (1985: 223). So, the women position in Chinese extended

family is very inferior. It seems that the woman is regarded as the weak one with

the youngest woman in the lowest position.

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In addition, one of the basic elements of Chinese family is holding the

ceremonies to honor the ancestors. All of these ceremonies could only be done by

male offspring since after marriage a female offspring is lost to the family which

has been rearing her. Therefore, male offspring has been necessary if these were

to be continued. For this reason, boys have been regarded as more valuable than

girls.

Regarding the relation between men and women in Chinese culture,

Latourette in The Chinese: Their History and Culture stated that

The centuries-old doctrine of the yin and yang has made for the higher status of men, because the yang, associated with good fortune and all that is desirable, has been identified with the male, and the yin, the element of darkness and evil, is female. Confucianism has tended in the same direction, for in addition to its emphasis upon the rites to ancestors its world has been one which men control (1951: 678).

The previous quotation shows that even the Chinese symbol of the

harmony of life which is represented by the yin and yang also subordinating

women in their relation with men.

Pfaelzer in her journal “Chinese American Women, A history of

Resilience and Resistance: Confucianism and Women” which was uploaded in

National Women’s History Museum’s website, stated that

For more than a thousand years the ethics of the “three obedience and four virtues” found in ancient Chinese Confucianism classics, were used as the common rules to educate Chinese women: the three obedience are obey her father as a daughter, obey her husband as a wife and obey her son in widowhood. Meanwhile the four virtues are moral (virtue), proper speech (carefully choosing one’s word), appearance (keeping clean and tidy) and diligent work (devoting in weaving and spinning) (http://www.nwhm.org/ chinese/10.html).

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Here, Pfaelzer shows how Chinese women were discriminated according

to Chinese traditional culture. This gender discrimination also really existed in the

life of Chinese immigrant women. Therefore, Chinese immigrant women at that

time had no power in the family. Since according to that primary principle, even

as a mother they still had to obey and please their own son.

Weiss and Wong in Kitano (1985: 224) have described several types of

Chinese families in America as quoted in following.

1. The traditional family—male-dominant, hierarchical in structure, traditional roles of parent and child, values from the old country. 2. The bicultural family—they are products of the exposure to both cultures; although there may be instances of culture conflict and marginality, the majority have successfully integrated Chinese and American models. 3. The modern family—desire full acculturation and they think, speak, and are “American” so that they are more American than Chinese.

From the previous quotation, we can observe that there are three types of

Chinese American family in relation with the acculturation that happened. The

traditional one usually is kept by the first generation of immigrants. It means that

mostly all first generation or Chinese immigrants in America are still holding the

traditional family type. The bicultural family type is usually held by the second or

third generation of immigrants. Meanwhile the third type may be held by the

modern family type.

4. The Demands of the Society toward Women

The theory on the demands of the society collected in this part is the

theory on the demands of the society toward the Chinese and Chinese immigrant

women. Hook in his research, “The Status of Women”, stated that the pre-modern

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China “asserted the superiority of men over women, supporting that perception

with its ethical justifications, legal codes and customary practices” (1991: 95).

Therefore, during the first half of 20th century, after communist leadership

introduced equality between the sexes to China, Chinese women started to

struggle for their rights.

The unequal state of woman was depicted through burdensome demands

of the society that attached to Chinese women. Some of those burdensome

demands are explained by Hook in the following quotation.

In villages, a woman still has little choice but to marry into the household of her spouse, leaving the familiarity of her own village and facing a potential conflict with her mother-in-law and the need to gain security through the birth of a son. The majority of marriages remain essentially arranged. Divorce rates are extremely low, and a woman who leaves her spouse’s household is likely to be left with neither custody of her children nor ownership of property (1991: 95).

As explained before, to gain security a Chinese woman had to give birth to

a son. It means that by bearing a son a woman acquires greater importance.

Latourette in The Chinese: Their History and Culture stated that “A woman

without a son, however, is a reproach among her neighbors and to her husband,

and often without honor or provision for support in her old age” (1951: 680).

Therefore, it can be said that the greatest demand of the society attached to

Chinese women is to produce a son.

5. Theory on Relation between Literature and Society

Langland in Society in the Novel stated that society as well as other aspects

of the novel “functions as an element in a structure that is, at least in part, self-

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referential” (1984: 4). Therefore, it can be said that society in the literature,

especially in the novel, is a concept and a construct. It refers to the society in the

real world. It is supported by Langland in the following.

Society as an imitation of an outside world have tended to obscure the formal variety of social presentations in novels. Variety, in this framework, depended merely on the different societies writers inhabited or could imagine, rather than on the aesthetic demands of their art (1984: 4).

From previous quotation, it is clear that society in the literature tends to imitate

the society in the real world. Therefore, in the literature, the representation of the

real world can be found.

C. The Chinese Immigrant Women in America in the Mid 20th Century

Early Chinese immigrant women were “pushed” by the desperate wars in

China, and “pulled” by family ties and the economic lure of the United States. In

the early 20th century, a series of war between China and Japan happened. Japan

attacked China territories. During 1937, many of China’s territories were taken

over by Japan. This fact led a huge number of Chinese, both male and female, to

migrate to America to look for better lives.

The struggle of Chinese women to enter and remain in the United States

carried into the twentieth century. Pfaelzer in her research “Chinese American

Women, A history of Resilience and Resistance: The Women of Angel Island”

which was uploaded in National Women’s History Museum website, stated that

To stem the wave of Chinese immigration, in 1910, the Angel Island “Immigration Station” opened on a bleak island in San Francisco Bay. Unlike Ellis Island in New York, Angel Island was an intimidating detention center, designed to limit the entry of Chinese immigrants into the United States. Immediately upon their arrival in San Francisco, custom

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officials ferried Chinese immigrants to Angel Island for prolonged processing. Men and women were separated, then questioned and detained for up to two years (http://www.nwhm.org/chinese/7.html).

In Angel Island, immigration inspectors used grueling interrogations to

verify Chinese immigrants’ legal status. Separated from their husbands and

teenage sons, Chinese women waited from several weeks to several months to two

years, anxiously preparing for their investigations and knowing they might well

face deportation. A woman’s interview and testimony were required to prove that

she was married to a legal resident. This long tiring process of investigation often

drove them into depression. It is recorded that during 1910 to 1940, 75 percent of

the Chinese who entered the United States through San Francisco were held at

Angel Island.

D. Theoretical Framework

To support the analysis the writer will use some theories. In order to

answer the first problem, the writer will apply theories on character and

characterization. Based on these theories, the writer then will be able to reveal the

characterizations of the women major characters.

In order to answer the second problem, the writer will use the theory of the

demands of the society toward the Chinese and Chinese immigrant women, the

theory on gender roles for Asian American women, and the theory of traditional

value of Chinese immigrants in America to reveal the demands of the society

attached to the women major characters.

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The theories of traditional values of Chinese Immigrants in America and the history of Chinese Immigrant women in America in mid 20th century will be used to find out how the women major characters respond toward the demands of the society.

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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

Shanghai Girls is Lisa See’s latest novel. See is famous as the author of

the New York Times bestseller Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005). Other

Lisa See’s novels are On Gold Mountain (1995), Flower Net (1997), The Interior

(1999), Dragon Bones (2003), and Peony in Love (2007).

The novel which is used in this research is the large print version of

Shanghai Girls. It was published in New York by Random House Large Print in

association with The Random House Publishing Group and distributed by

Random House, Inc., in 2009. Shanghai Girls large print edition consists of 513

pages. It is divided into three chapters which are classified based on certain period

of time in the lives of Pearl and May, the major characters of the novel. The first

chapter is divided into ten sub-chapters. In which each of the sub-chapters talks

about the major characters’ lives in Shanghai and their reasons and efforts for

their migration to America. The second chapter is divided into five sub-chapters.

Each of these five sub-chapters talks about Pearl and May’s earlier lives as

immigrant women in America and the cultural-related problems that they have to

face in America. The last chapter is divided into ten sub-chapters. These ten sub-

chapters mainly talk about the difficulties faced by Chinese immigrants in

America, especially they who are illegal immigrants, during the period of

Communist in China in the early and mid 1950s.

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Shanghai Girls in addition, is a historical-fiction whose story talks about

Chinese immigrant women’s lives in the mid 20th century. It depicts all details of

a Chinese immigrant woman’s life including how she was treated and seen by her

family, the Chinese American society and the Americans. It talks about every

aspect of life of Chinese immigrant women in America in the mid 20th century

clearly which is including their responses toward the demands of the society, the

main focus of this research.

B. Approach of the Study

The approach which is used in this study is the socio-cultural-historical

approach. According to Rohrberger and Woods in their book: Reading and

Writing about Literature, the point of this approach is observing a literary work in

relation to social history of certain time and place “since the only way to locate

the real work is in reference to the civilization that produced it.” Rohrberger and

Woods also stated that:

No one, of course, can deny the assertions: first, that literature is not created in a vacuum, and second, that literature embodies ideas significant to the culture that produced it (1971: 9).

The above quotation means that the civilization in which the literature was

created surely influences the literature itself. Therefore, the cultural, social, and

historical background in which a literary work is made or where it takes place will

be significant for the work itself.

This approach is chosen to analyze Shanghai Girls in order to see the

responses of Chinese immigrant women in America in the mid 20th century

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toward the demands of the society, which is conducted in this research. There are

two reasons why this approach is chosen. The first reason why this approach is

suitable to be applied is because actually Shanghai Girls is a historical-fiction

therefore it portrays the history. The second reason is that to be able to find out the

responses of Chinese immigrant women in America in the mid 20th century

toward the demands of the society, this research must also observe the socio-

cultural background of Chinese immigrant women in America at that time.

Therefore, socio-cultural-historical approach is suitable for this research.

C. Method of the Study

In order to collect the data in this research, the writer used the library

research method. The primary data were taken from the novel itself, Lisa See’s

Shanghai Girls. Meanwhile, the secondary data were taken from several

encyclopedias, books, journals, reviews and reference dealing with this research.

For instance, Andersen’s Thinking about Women: Sociological Perspective on Sex

and Gender, Chow’s journal entitled “The Development of Feminist

Consciousness among Asian American Women” and Kitano’s Race Relation 3rd

edition.

Furthermore, there were some steps taken in conducting this research. The

first step was the close reading. The writer did it several times in order to

understand the story deeply. This was aimed to understand the content of the

novel thoroughly and to focus more on the main aspects discussed in the novel.

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Determining the topic and formulating the problem formulation were the

next step done by the writer. Here the writer used the problem formulation to limit

the analysis scope only of the chosen topic.

The third and fourth steps were finding the possible method that could be

applied in conducting this research and choosing the suitable approach and

supporting theories to be applied in this research. The writer then chose socio-

cultural-historical approach of Rohrberger and Woods which was printed in

Reading and Writing about Literature as the approach of the study. Furthermore,

the writer took some theories to be inserted in the Chapter II. For instance, some

of those theories were theories on character and characterization, theories on

gender roles for Asian American women, and theories on traditional values of

Chinese immigrants in America. Then, in collecting some additional data related

to the research which were not available in the library, Internet research was also

done.

After obtaining enough data, answering the questions mentioned in the

problem formulation was done. In the analysis part, the problems were answered

step by step. Firstly, the writer analyzed how the women major characters were

characterized. Secondly, the writer tried to reveal the demands of the society

attached to the women major characters as described in the novel. Thirdly, the

writer tried to observe the responses of Chinese immigrant women in America in

the mid 20th century toward the demands of the society.

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Finally, the writer drew a conclusion by summing up all the analysis into a general statement. This step was done to answer the problem formulation in the first chapter.

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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

In this chapter, the writer intends to answer the questions which are stated

in the problem formulation in Chapter I. This chapter consists of three parts. The

first part is the discussion of characterization of the women major characters. The

second part talks about the demands of the society towards Chinese immigrant

women. The third part presents the responses of Chinese immigrant women

towards the demands of the society.

A. Characterization of Women Major Characters

There are two women major characters in Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls. They

are Pearl and May Chin. Both of them are siblings who were born in Shanghai in

the early 20th century then migrated to America and became Chinese immigrant

women since 1937. Pearl and May share some similar characteristics, such as:

beautiful, modern, and smart.

As stated in Chapter II, a character can be characterized by using several

methods. One of them is by using personal description. The character can be

described through his/her appearance and clothes as the author stated in the story

(Murphy, 1972: 161). Through personal description method, the writer finds that

Pearl is characterized as a beautiful person. “My face is pretty enough–some

might even say lovely” (See, 2009: 3). The previous quotation is the narrator’s,

Pearl’s, description about her own appearance. It implies that she is beautiful.

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Besides, through characters as seen by another method, the writer can also

find their beauty. An author can describe characters with the help of other

character’s eyes and opinion (Murphy, 1972: 162). Here, with the help of Sam,

Pearl’s husband, the author shows Pearl and May’s nature of being beautiful.

“’He’s painted both of you exactly as I see you,’ says Sam, forever the good

husband and appreciative brother-in-law. ‘Always beautiful. Forever beautiful’”

(See, 2009: 421).

Since Pearl and May grew up in a rich family in Shanghai after the era of

Manchuria, both of them are modern. Their modernity can be seen by applying

thought characterization method, which is already stated in Chapter II. In thought

characterization method, the author lets the readers know what the characters

think and undergo (Murphy, 1972: 171). “I consider myself to be a modern

Shanghai girl. I don’t want to believe in all that obey, obey, obey stuff girls were

taught in the past” (See, 2009: 7). Through Pearl’s thought which is quoted in the

previous quotation, the writer finds that Pearl’s modernity leads her to have a

modern life-style which is different from other traditional Chinese girls’.

Pearl and May’s family background also makes them more modern. Their

rich parents let them free from the Chinese woman’s duties. Even their parents

spoil May and Pearl by giving both of them liberty from those duties. It is

supported by the following quotation.

My parents fell in love–total, besotted love–with their younger daughter. This allowed us to retain a certain amount of liberty, with the result that my sister’s spoiled ways are often ignored, as is our sometimes flagrant disregard for respect and duty. What others might call unfilial and disrespectful, we call modern and unbound (See, 2009: 8).

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Since Pearl and May always disregard the past filial piety, it indicates that they are

pertaining to the present or recent period. Pertaining to the present means they no

longer holding on to the ancient time. Therefore, it is also clear that they are

modern.

Besides, they are also strongly influenced by the Western values. “We are

kaoteng Huajen --- superior Chinese --- who follow the religion of ch’ung yang:

worshipping all things foreign, from westernization of our names to the love of

movies, bacon, and cheese” (See, 2009: 17). From the quotation, the fact that they

are influenced by Western values is clearly depicted. Pearl and May are

westernized so they are western-minded. The strong influence of Western value in

their lives also proves that they are modern.

The other similar characteristic of Pearl and May is smart. Pearl has a

good educational background. “I graduated from college five weeks ago” (See,

2009: 12). This quotation shows that she has a high educational background.

Having a higher educational background than the common Chinese women’s here

indicates that she is smarter than other Chinese descent women since she has a

broaden knowledge. As stated in Chapter II, sometimes an author gives the

readers clues to a character with the help of other people’s conversation and their

opinion made about him, which is called as conversations of others method

(Murphy, 1972: 167). By applying this method, the writer can also see that Pearl

is a smart woman. This fact is shown in Old Louie’s, Pearl and May’s father-in-

law’s, statement about Pearl during his conversation with May. “What about the

sister? She’s the smart one. She should do this work” (See, 2009: 310).

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Another method which is used in showing Pearl’s smartness is reaction. In

reaction method, we can see the description of the characters from his/her reaction

toward various kinds of situations, occasions, and conflicts (Murphy, 1972: 168).

Through Pearl’s reaction when she is arguing with Old Louie about whether or not

he should let Joy, Pearl’s daughter, work in the movie set, the writer can see her

smartness.

At first Old Louie does not allow Joy to play in the non-speaking role in

movie since he wants little Joy to stay at home so that Pearl could nurse her while

she does the house works. Then, Pearl convinces him by directing him to think

about the benefits he could get by letting her work. “You will never again pay for

her food. You will never again pay one single penny for this Hope-for-a-Brother”

(See, 2009: 293). The previous quotation is what Pearl said to Old Louie in order

to convince him. Pearl knows clearly that raising a grand-daughter is like a burden

for Old Louie so she reminds him that by letting Joy work she will have her own

income. It means that Old Louie does not need to pay anything for her anymore.

After getting the point, Old Louie allows Joy to work in the movie set. Here,

Pearl’s smart reaction in dealing with this problem shows her smartness as well.

Similar to Pearl who is smart, May is also smart. Her smartness can be

observed by using reaction method too. Her smartness is clearly depicted in her

reactions toward some difficult situations. Mostly she can create a smart decision

to solve her problems. For example is what May does whenever she wants to

disobey her parents’ will. Once when she still lives with her parents in Shanghai,

her father does not allow May and Pearl go out at night. Then, she quickly makes

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use of his affection to her by using her charm as a loving daughter to get rid of it.

It is shown in the following quotation of the narration.

Instead, she just tilts her head and looks down at my father in such a way that he’s powerless before her. She learned this trick as a toddler and has perfected it as she’s gotten older. Her ease, her effortlessness, melts everyone. A slight smile comes to her lips. She pats her shoulder, and his eyes are drawn to her fingernails, which, like mine, have been painted and stained red by applying layers of red balsam blossom juice. Touching— even in families—isn’t completely taboo, but it certainly isn’t accepted. A good and proper family offer no kisses, no hugs, no pats of affection. So May knows exactly what she’s doing when she touches our father. In his distraction and repulsion, she spins away, and I hurry after her. We’ve taken a few steps when Baba calls out (See, 2009: 10-11).

Through the above quotation, it is clear that May reacts smartly in making her will

comes true. She knows exactly that her father loves and spoils her, then she takes

benefit on it. Therefore, she is also a smart person.

May’s smartness is also shown in her reaction when she notices about her

pregnancy. At first she intends to lie to everyone that her baby is her husband’s,

but unfortunately her father-in-law notices that she and Vern, her husband, never

have sex before Vern returns to America. Since Pearl and Sam, Vern’s brother,

did it before Sam goes to America, May plans to give the baby to Pearl so that her

pregnancy can be kept as secret and her in-laws will not know about it. To make

her plans go well, she decides to slow her and Pearl’s immigration process when

they arrive in Angel Island Immigration Centre in America. Since she knows that

if she is detained there during her pregnancy she could make time for getting

away with it by hiding her big belly in a Chinese peasant clothes without any

notice from her in-laws and makes Pearl covers it up by taking her baby as hers.

May’s smart plan is implied in the following quotation.

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“You were already prepared to lie when the ship sailed into San Francisco,” I say finally. “That’s why you didn’t study the coaching book. You didn’t want to answer correctly. You wanted to end up here” (See, 2009: 169).

From the above quotation, it is clear that May’s plan to solve her pregnancy

before marriage problem is well-prepared and even she could cover it from Pearl

for a long time. Then, at the end she still managed to get away from her pregnancy

succesfully by using her smart plan. Thus, May is surely also a smart woman.

Although both female major characters share some similar characteristics,

Pearl has certain characteristics of her own and so does May. Therefore, the writer

will separate the analysis of the characterizations of the women major characters

into the characterization of Pearl and the characterization of May.

1. Pearl

Pearl is the older sister. She is three years older than May. Physically, she

is depicted as a tall and beautiful girl. Besides, Pearl is a responsible person. Since

her early life, Pearl realizes that she is older than May. Therefore, she has to take

the responsibility on her. Her responsible nature is clearly shown through her

relation with May. Through Murphy’s theory on reaction characterization method,

the writer can find Pearl’s nature of being a responsible person. Her nature of

being responsible is shown clearly in her reaction toward her mother’s last wishes

for her. It even can be seen clearly after the death of her mother. “‘You have to

take care of your sister,’ Mama says. ‘Promise me, Pearl. Promise me right now’”

(See, 2009: 126). The previous quotation is her mother’s last word for her. She

asks Pearl to always take care of May because she is older than May. This

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promise makes her feel that May is dependant to her so that she has to take the

responsibility on May. It is supported by the following quotation.

I don’t know what else to do or say. She’s my sister, my only living relative as far as I know, and I promised Mama I’d take care of her. And like that, I make a decision that will affect the rest of my life... and May’s too (See, 2009: 171).

The above quotation is Pearl’s reaction after May told her about her pregnancy.

Although she is disappointed because of May’s effort to detain their immigration

process, she later decides to help her sister since she feels that she is responsible

of her. As May’s elder sister, she must still protect May whatever happened.

Besides, since taking care of May is also one of her mother last wishes, Pearl

thinks that she must fullfil it because it is her duty.

During her life in Shanghai, Pearl is the typical of modern Chinese

woman. She is so western-minded. However, facing a series of difficult events,

such as being raped, her mother’s death, and long-tiring process of interrogation

in Angel Island Immigration Centre before she managed to get to San Francisco

makes her modernity shifts. She used to be a very modern Chinese woman who

ignores her ancestor’s culture, but then she becomes a modern Chinese woman

who is still preserving Chinese culture in her life. It is because somehow she feels

that by believing her Chinese zodiac, Dragon sign, she will be as strong as a

dragon as well. Her dying mother once reminds her that “You’re a dragon, and of

all the signs only a Dragon can tame the fates” (See, 2009: 125) in order to make

her be stronger in bearing her difficulties. As her motivation to regain her strength

in facing her fate, she starts to believe in her mother’s words. She believes that she

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is as strong as the dragon, her sign. Therefore, she is still preserving Chinese

culture even she no longer lives in China.

Pearl always longs for China. “I do all this because Shanghai and China

never far from my heart” (See, 2009: 262). She longs for China and for the times

when she was still able to live easily. Moreover, after arriving in America she has

to face a long difficult period in the Angel Island Immigration Centre. Then after

joining the Louies, she finds out that in fact she is not a legal citizen. Pearl’s

husband, Sam, is only a paper-son. He came to America with a fake identity as an

American’s son. It means that she is a paper-wife as well. Having the fear of being

deported anytime leads her to keep preserving her old culture in her life.

Therefore, although she is a modern Chinese immigrant woman, she is still

preserving the Chinese culture in America.

The evidence that Pearl is preserving Chinese culture are shown in some

ways. One of them is through her mannerism. As stated in the second chapter, the

author sometimes used mannerism, habits, unique feature which the character

possesses with motivation behind them to help characterize the character

(Murphy, 1972: 173). The fact that Pearl is still preserving the Chinese culture is

shown through her habit in life. Although she lives in America, she still lives her

life in the Chinese way. When she is sick, she prefers Chinese medicine. When

she is pregnant, she does it in the Chinese way as well. It is explained in the

following quotation.

I go to the herbalist, who looks at my tongue, listens to the many pulses in my wrist, and prescribes An Tai Yin—Peaceful Fetus Formula. He also gives me Shou Tai Wan—Fetus Longevity Pills. I don’t shake hands with

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strangers, because Mama once told a neighbor woman this would cause her baby to be born with six fingers (See, 2009: 366).

The above quotation shows that Pearl still preserves the Chinese way of life in her

habitual life although she no longer lives in China. Instead of adjusting with the

American culture, Pearl believes in the old Chinese myth and custom like going to

the herbalist and believes in the myth which forbids a pregnant woman to shake

hands with stranger.

Through Murphy’s theory on conversation of others characterization

method, the writer can also find the fact that Pearl is still preserving Chinese

culture. “‘What does Pearl know about it?’ May asks, as though I’m not in the

room.’She’s as old-fashioned as our mother’” (See, 2009: 294). The previous

quotation is a part of May’s conversation with Yen-yen, Pearl and May’s mother-

in-law. In that conversation, Yen-yen demands May to be a good wife, like Pearl.

However, for May, what Pearl does as a wife is very old-fashioned because Pearl

becomes the figure of wife that the Chinese society demanded them to be although

they are no longer in China. It shows that Pearl preserves the Chinese culture.

From the Murphy’s theory on thought characterization method, the writer

can see the fact that Pearl herself also admits that she is still preserving her

Chinese culture although she is a Chinese immigrant woman in America. It is

supported by the following quotation.

I admit that, in my longing for home, for the past, and for our parents, I’ve become like Mama in many ways. All those old ideas about the zodiac, food, and other traditions give me comfort, but I’m not the only one looking backward for consolation (See, 2009: 294-295). Thus, it is clear that after living her life as a Chinese immigrant woman in

America, Pearl’s modernity seems shift into modern but still preserving the old

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culture one. She preserves her old culture in her life in America. Therefore, Pearl

becomes the traditional type of Chinese immigrant woman in America.

Although she used to be a disobedient person in her early life in Shanghai,

Pearl turns to be an obedient woman after she becomes a Chinese immigrant

woman in America. Along with preserving her old culture in life, she changes her

disobedient nature into an obedient one, like what a Chinese woman is always

expected to be. She obeys Old Louie as the head of the family, Sam as her

husband, and Yen-yen as the eldest woman in the family. “I have learned there’s

no point in arguing with our in-laws” (See, 2009: 259). The previous quotation is

what Pearl thinks about disobeying her father-in-law. Pearl understands that she

has no power in the family and instead of rebelling she chooses to be an obedient

wife.

Pearl’s obedient nature is also shown through her obedient wife figure. She

always obeys her husband. “As a fu yen it’s not my place to ask where he goes”

(See, 2009: 254). Through the previous quotation, the writer finds out that since

she is obedient, she also becomes an obedient wife for her husband.

Since in the Louie family she is a daughter in law, Pearl becomes an

obedient daughter in law in the family. It is supported by Yen-yen’s (the mother-

in-law) question to May about Pearl as quoted in the following, “If your movies

teach you to be romantic, then why is it that your sister, who stays with me every

day, has done a much better job at this than you?” (See, 2009: 295) From the

quotation we can observe that the mother-in-law likes Pearl better than May since

Pearl is more obedient than May.

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2. May

May is Pearl’s younger sister. She is tiny and beautiful. She is a high

school graduate, but she has no interest in reading. May is more interested in

beautifying her-self than in studying. During her life in Shanghai, her concerns are

about her physical appearance and her job as a beautiful girl in calendar.

Therefore she is a fashionable person. By applying Murphy’s theory on

characterization: character as seen by another method, the writer can find the fact

that May is fashionable. It is supported by the following quotation,

It’s May’s nature to spend hours at her toilette, choosing the right scarf to tie at her throat or purse to match her shoes, so she tells me what we should look for and I write it down (See, 2009: 79).

The above quotation is Pearl’s opinion about May. It shows that May is the typical

of woman who likes to beautify herself. Therefore, she is fashionable.

May is also depicted as a selfish person. The fact about May’s selfishness

is shown in some ways. It can be seen through Murphy’s theory on

characterization: conversations of others method. Yen-yen, Pearl and May’s

mother-in-law, once says that May is selfish. It is supported by the following

quotation,

“That May thinks only of herself. Her beautiful face hides a devious heart. She has just one thing to do and she doesn’t do it. Pearl, Pearl, Pearl, you sit here and take care of a worthless girl all day. But where is your sister’s child? Why won’t she bring us a son? Why, Pearl, why? Because she’s selfish, because she doesn’t think of helping you or anyone else in the family” (See, 2009: 312). The quotation is a part of Yen-yen and Pearl’s conversation. In that

conversation, Yen-yen clearly states her opinion about May. She thinks that May

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only cares of her-self because she never help her mother-in-law and sister in doing

a wife’s duty. Therefore, she is a selfish person.

May’s selfishness is also shown through another characterization method.

It is shown through speech method. In speech method, the author can give us an

insight into the character through what that person says (Murphy, 1972: 164).

Through what May says the writer can find the fact that she is selfish. “When I

look at May, I see not just jealousy but hate. ‘Let me have this part,’ she says. ‘I

earned it’” (See, 2009: 327). The previous quotation is what May says when she

knows that the director in the movie set offers Pearl a screaming role in the movie.

May insists that she should be the one plays that screaming role since she is the

one who deserve to play the speaking role, although in fact Pearl screams better

than her and she would like to play it too. It shows that May is caring chiefly for

her comfort and disregarding Pearl’s wishes. Therefore, it is clear that May is

selfish.

May’s selfishness can also be seen through Murphy’s theory on

characterization: characters as seen by another method. The writer can find the

fact of May’s selfishness in the thought of Pearl. Pearl’s opinion on her also

implies that she is selfish. It is supported by the following quotation.

“It did,” May says. “Our lives would have been very different it he’d saved our money instead of lost it, which is why I work so hard to make it now.” Make it and spend it on clothes and jewelry for yourself, I think but don’t say. Our differing attitudes about money are among many things that aggravate my sister (See, 2009: 417). From the above quotation, the writer can indicate that according to Pearl, May is

selfish since although she works hard to earn money, she also easily spend it to

buy many things she loves only for her own interest not for the whole family’s

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need as what others do. Since indeed May keeps her money and spends it just for

herself and some for Joy, her one and only biological child. Thus, it is also clear

that she is selfish.

Another characteristic of May is disobedient. After living her life as a

modern Shanghai girl in China, May lives her life as a modern Chinese immigrant

woman in America too. She loves to be freed from Chinese women’s duties. That

is why she does not want to do what her mother-in-law asks her to. She prefers to

work outside the house instead of doing the house-works with her mother-in-law.

She doesn’t want to be a compliant housewife. The fact is supported by the

quotation in the following, “While my mother-in-law teaches me how to be a wife

and mother—jobs she does with a frustrating combination of ineptitude, good

cheer, and fierce protectiveness—my sister learns where everything is” (See,

2009: 221). That quotation shows that when Pearl is learning how to be a good

wife, May starts her adventures in America.

Besides, her disobedience is also seen through Murphy’s theory on speech

characterization method. The way she says to counter the complaints from her-in-

laws shows her disobedience. It is supported by the following quotation.

When May twirls through the main room in a sleeveless dress, stockingless legs, and open-toed sandals, Yen-yen complains, “You shouldn’t be seen in public like that.” “Women in Los Angeles like bare legs and arms,” May counters. “But you aren’t lo fan,” Yen-yen points out (See, 2009: 293).

The above quotation shows that instead of obeying her mother-in-law, May

counters her complaint dirrectly. It shows that she is a disobedient woman.

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B. The Demands of the Society towards Chinese Immigrant Women

In explaining the demands of the society towards Chinese immigrant

women, the writer separates it into two parts. The first is the demands of the

society towards women in the family life. Since the position of the women major

characters in the family is as the daughter-in-law so the demands of the society in

the family life which are discussed here are the demands of the Chinese society

towards daughter-in-law. The second part is the demands of the society toward

Chinese immigrant women outside the family or their demands in their society. In

this part, the writer is going to explain the demands of the Chinese immigrant

society towards Chinese immigrant women.

1. The Demands towards Women in the Family Life

There are three main demands of the society attached to women in their

position in the family life. These demands are more or less the same as the

demands of the society attached to Chinese women in China since the woman

major characters’ family in America is the typical of traditional Chinese American

family. As stated in Chapter II, the traditional family is the type of Chinese family

in America which keeps the male-dominant, hierarchical in structure, traditional

roles of parents and child, values from the old country (Weiss and Wong in

Kitano, 1985: 224). The traditional type of Chinese American family is the

common type for the first generation of Chinese Americans or the typical family

of the Chinese immigrants’ in America. Since Pearl and May’s family is also the

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Chinese immigrants’ family, their family is still very influenced by the Chinese

culture too.

However, the demands of the society are related to the gender roles. As

stated in Chapter II, gender roles are the expectation for behavior and attitudes

that the culture defines for men and women which are learned through

socialization process (Andersen, 1997: 31). The gender-based demands of the

society are similar to the gender roles, mostly the gender-based demands of the

society are also the expectation of the society toward its people. Therefore, the

demands of the society here are also related to the gender roles in the Chinese

culture.

The first demand of the society towards women in their position in the

family life is being a compliant wife. As stated in Chapter II, the main duty of a

woman in Chinese culture based on their gender roles is to please her husband, his

family and to provide sons (Hsu in Kitano, 1985: 223). The demand of the society

toward a woman in their position inside the family is the same. The society

expects that the married women can be compliant wives in their families.

A compliant wife figure in the Chinese culture can be seen through some

attitudes and behaviors. A wife can be said as a compliant wife if she obeys her

father-in-law as the leader of the family, her husband as a wife, any elder man in

the family, her mother-in-law as the eldest woman in the family, and any elder

woman in the family. In short, the wife should follow the hierarchy of authority

based on sex, age, and generation, with young women at the lowest level (Chow,

1991: 256). It is along with the Confucian teaching which says that the harmony

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of life would be displayed in the behavior of superior man (Gelber, 2008: 16),

who is portrayed in the figure of father in the Chinese family.

The demand to be a compliant wife is also stated in the novel, it is implied

in the following quotation.

For thousands of years, daughters-in-law have complained about the hardship of life in their husbands’ homes, living under the iron fists of their fathers-in-law and under the calloused thumbs of their mothers-in- law (See, 2009: 234).

The above quotation shows that the wives who join their husbands’ home and then

become the daughters-in-law in the novel are depicted in such an inferior position

in their families. According to Chinese culture, a daughter-in-law must obey her

in-laws. As stated in Chapter II, in Chinese culture usually wives are expected to

be subservient to the husband’s mother and to other family member (Gallin, 1978:

501).

The demand of the society to be compliant wives who obey their husbands

is also seen in the novel especially in Yen-yen’s description about a wife’s duties.

“She must obey her husband even when he is wrong” (See, 2009: 266). That

quotation shows that no matter what kind of person her husband is, a wife still

must obey her husband. The fact that a wife should always obey her husband is

also supported by the following quotation.

I learned to be a wife from my mother and watching Yen-yen, and I know there’s nothing you can do if your husband wants to walk out on you. You don’t know where he goes. He comes back when he comes back, and that’s it (See, 2009: 254).

The above quotation shows that whether or not her husband is a good husband,

whether or not he is gambling or having affairs with other women, as a wife Pearl

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cannot do anything to stop her husband’s will. Therefore, it is clear that the

demand of the society toward the Chinese immigrant women in relation to their

position in the family life as daughter-in-laws is being compliant wives.

The second demand of the society towards daughters-in-law in relation

with their position in the family life is to give birth to sons. As stated in Chapter

II, the Confucianism emphasizes upon the ceremonies to honor ancestors, which

can only be done by male offspring (Latourette, 1951: 678). Therefore, Chinese

family which is strongly influenced by Confucian values also regards having sons

is really important. This reason leads the Chinese society to place producing sons

as one of the demands of the society attached to wives. This demand even

becomes the most crucial one.

As mentioned before, the main duties of a wife is to please her husband,

her husband’s family, and to produce sons (Hsu in Kitano, 1985: 223). Related to

the Confucian values about the importance of having male offspring, giving birth

to a son is needed by the wives to gain a secure position in their husbands’ family

(Hook, 1991: 95). The position of a wife without a son in the family is really

weak. “A woman without a son however, is reproach among her neighbors and to

her husband, and often without honor or provision for support in her old age”

(Latourette, 1951: 680).

This demand can also be seen clearly in the novel, Pearl and May are

expected to give the Louies grandsons. Therefore, their mother-in-law, Yen-yen,

even asks May to go to the herbalist and drink several medicines to be more

fertile. It is supported by the following quotation.

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“And then when I go to the kitchen in the morning,” May says, “Yen-yen asks, ‘Where’s your son? I need a grandson.’ When I came home from China City last week, she pulled me aside and said, ‘I see the visit from the little red sister has come again. Tomorrow you will eat sparrow kidneys and dried tangerine peel to strengthen your chi. The herbalist tells me this will make your womb welcome my son’s vital essence’” (See, 2009: 231).

The previous quotation shows that since their family is concerned a lot about

having a male offspring, they tried anything to get Pearl and May pregnant. Since

Pearl has given them Joy, a female offspring, they think that Pearl is already

fertile so that they should only wait for the male offspring they hoped for from

her. On the other hand, because of not knowing that May is the real biological

mother of Joy, their family thinks that May is not fertile enough so that she should

be made more fertile to be able to give them a grandson.

In the novel, the writer can also find that giving birth to a son gains a wife

a secure position in her husbands’ family. It is supported by what Edfred, one of

Old Louie’s paper sons, promises to May. “You give the old man the grandson he

wants, you’ll become his favorite,” promises Edfred (See, 2009: 214). The

previous quotation shows that if she could give birth to a son, Old Louie would

not treat her badly anymore and he would be so nice to her instead. So, it indicates

that giving birth to sons is one of the demands of the society attached to them.

Besides, according to the Chinese culture, a wife can be said as a good

wife if she is able to give her in-laws grandsons. It is also supported by the fact

found in the novel. “’You bring me a grandson now?’ Yen-yen asks as she hands

me Joy. ‘You’re a good daughter-in-law’” (See, 2009: 283). The previous

quotation is what Yen-yen says after she knows that Pearl and Sam are having

sex. Yen-yen considers this as a good thing. It is because if they often have sex it

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means that they will have a bigger chance to give her the grandson she wants.

This indicates that giving birth to a son is a big demand of the society towards

daughters-in-law.

The third demand of the society towards daughters-in-law related to their

position in the family life is doing the “three obedience and four virtues”. “Three

obedience and four virtues” is the Chinese women’s primary principle and it is

also the primary principle applied in the lives of Chinese immigrants and Chinese

American women too. As stated in Chapter II, “Three obedience and four virtues”

were used as the common rules to educate Chinese women. The three obedience

are obey her father as a daughter, obey her husband as a wife and obey her son in

widowhood. Meanwhile the four virtues are moral virtue, proper speech, good

appearance and diligent work (http://www.nwhm.org /chinese/10.html).

The writer also finds the fact about this demand in the novel. It is

supported by the following quotation.

“You should marry the man. He sounds like a good match, and you have a duty to your father. When a girl, obey your father; when a wife obey your husband; when a widow, obey your son. We all know this is true” (See, 2009: 49).

The above quotation is what Pearl and May’s father said when they refused their

arranged-marriages. He reminds them that as a daughter, they still have to obey

him because it is the rule and the tradition. The quotation shows that as Chinese

women the woman major characters must follow the Chinese women’s primary

principle. They are demanded to do the three obedience and four virtues in their

lives.

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The demand to apply the four virtues in their lives is reflected in the way

Yen-yen complains about May’s appearance and attitudes. Yen-yen keeps

complaining May about her too Americanized appearance, such as seen in public

with sleeveless dress, stockingless legs, and open-toed sandals (See, 2009: 293).

Since Chinese women and Chinese immigrant women at that time still regarded it

bad. It is against the four virtues that they should keep in their lives. Thus, it is

clear that doing the three obedience and four virtues is also one of the demands of

the society attached to the woman major characters related to their position in

family life.

2. The Demand of Chinese Immigrant Society towards women

The demand of the Chinese immigrant society toward the women in their

position as Chinese immigrant women is to preserve the Chinese culture by

applying Chinese culture in their daily lives. As stated previously, mostly the

Chinese immigrants’ family is the typical of traditional family (Weiss and Wong

in Kitano, 1985: 224). Their family keeps holding on the Chinese culture. They

take the Chinese culture as the primary culture, while they take the American

culture as their secondary one. This fact makes all Chinese immigrants in

America makes preserving Chinese culture as the demand of the society.

However, the demand to preserve Chinese culture in the lives of Chinese

immigrants is optional for the men, but a man is still expected to preserve Chinese

culture in his life. On the other hand, the demand to preserve Chinese culture is an

obligatory demand for the women. Although the leader of the family is always the

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eldest man in the family, it is clear that a mother figure plays a significant role in

the family. Based on Chinese culture’s gender roles, the one who has the duty to

be the caregiver in the family is the mother. It means that the mother is the one

who has the biggest part in child-rearing process. So, the mother will be the one

who has the influence in the character development of the children. If a child is

raised by a good mother, the child may have a good nature. If a child is raised by a

traditional mother, the child will have a traditional point of view as well. Since the

Chinese immigrant society holds the Chinese culture tightly in their lives, they do

hope that their children could have the same point of view as them. Therefore, the

Chinese immigrant society demands the Chinese immigrant women to keep

preserving the Chinese culture in their lives in America.

The Chinese immigrants keep preserving their Chinese culture in their

lives in America. They tend to regard the Chinese culture better than the

American culture. The writer also finds the fact that the Chinese immigrants keep

the pride of being Chinese in their lives in the novel, even they show it to the

Chinese Americans. The Chinese immigrants are different from the Chinese

Americans. Since the Chinese Americans are the second generation of Chinese

family in America, they see American culture not in the lower position than the

Chinese culture different from how the Chinese immigrants see it since the type of

family which the Chinese Americans have usually is the bicultural family (Weiss

and Wong in Kitano, 1985: 224).

The demand to preserve the Chinese culture is shown in the following

quotation.

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Here people are split by whose Chinese is better and where and from whom they learned it. Did you learn it in one of the missions in Chinatown? Did you learn it in China? You know how it is between Sze Yup and Sam Yup speakers? One won’t talk to the other. One won’t do business with the other. If that weren’t enough, the American-born Chinese look down on people like us, calling us fresh off the boat and backward. We look down on them, because we know that American culture isn’t good as Chinese culture (See, 2009: 224-225).

The above quotation indicates that the Chinese immigrants are alienated in

America because of the language problem. This condition forces them to keep

living in their own groups so that they also see the American culture worse than

their Chinese culture. Therefore, they keep preserving the Chinese culture in their

lives in America.

C. The Responses of Chinese Immigrant Women towards the Demands

As stated in the second chapter, the society in the novel likely represents

the real world. It imitates the outside world. It means that by analyzing the literary

work, the writer can find out the representation of the reality (Langland, 1984: 4).

Therefore, in order to find the responses of Chinese immigrant women towards

the demands of the society, the writer will analyze the responses of the woman

major characters in the novel towards the demands of the society first.

In analyzing the responses of woman major characters towards the

demands of the society, the writer will separate the analysis into two parts. The

writer classifies the analysis in this way because the writer finds that the

characterization of the major characters, Pearl and May, are not identical. Having

different characterizations here lead them to respond towards the demand of the

society differently. Pearl and May have different responses towards the demands

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of the society. Therefore, in order to get a deeper analysis, the writer separates the

analysis into two parts. The first part is the response of Pearl towards the demands

of the society. The second part is the response of May towards the demands of the

society.

1. The Response of Pearl towards the Demands of the Society

As what the writer has explained in the previous parts, Pearl is portrayed

as a Chinese immigrant woman who is modern but still preserving the Chinese

culture. She is an obedient and responsible woman. Her characterization leads her

to accept the demands of the society toward her obediently. Although she is

modern, she keeps preserving her old culture, the Chinese culture. Therefore, she

also accepts the demands of the society attached to her which are also based on

the Chinese culture as her duties.

Actually Pearl is not really eager to do the demands of the society attached

to her. However, her obedient and responsible nature makes her take those

demands as obligations to do. It is supported by the following quotation.

But I can’t lie. It bothers me that she gets to be a part of the excitement, while I have to stay with my mother-in-law and Joy in the grimy apartment, where the dust floating in the air leaves me feeling suffocated and dizzy (See, 2009: 223).

The above quotation shows that although she does what her family expects her to

do, Pearl is not very keen to do so. Somehow she feels bothered by her sister’s

happy time outside the house. At first she is not permitted to leave the house since

she is demanded to do her role as a mother and a daughter-in-law. Realizing her

position and duties, along with her obedient and responsible nature she is willing

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to stay at home and help her mother-in-law in doing the house-works. It also

shows that she is trying to be a compliant wife who applies “the three obedience

and four virtues” in her life.

However, Pearl’s modernity also takes part in determining her response

towards the demands of the society attached to her. Since she is modern, Pearl

also accepts the American culture as the host culture in America. She does not see

everything only from the Chinese perspective, but sometimes she is willing to see

it from both Chinese and American perspectives in order to reach the win-win

solution. She also does the same thing in responding to the demands of the society

attached to her. As a daughter-in-law and a mother, based on the demands of the

society Pearl should obey her mother-in-law and help her in doing the house-

works. However, when there is a problem in the family business, her modernity

leads her to put aside her duties to help her mother-in-law doing the house works

and then find a job outside the house to support the family’s finance. It is

supported by the following quotation.

For now I’m happy with the money I make. I give a third to Father Louie, as we all have called him since he and Sam came to their agreement, for the family pot. Another third is put aside for Joy. And I keep a third to spend as I please (See, 2009: 309).

The above quotation shows that not only spending her time as a house wife, her

modernity makes Pearl also works outside the house when the family needs an

additional income. Since Pearl is modern but still preserving the Chinese culture,

Pearl still give a third of her income for her father-in-law as the eldest man in the

family. It is along with Chinese culture which places the eldest man in the family

as the leader of the family. Besides, the previous quotation also implies that

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although she put aside her duties or the demands of the society attached to her,

Pearl’s responsible nature still leads her to take part in fulfilling her duties in the

family. Since Pearl has to put aside her duties in the house for working outside the

house, her responsible nature makes her to give a third of her income to the father-

in-law and another one-third for Joy as the replacement of not doing her house

duties.

Along with her nature which is modern but still preserving Chinese

culture, Pearl also holds the Chinese culture tightly in her life as what the Chinese

immigrant society demands her to do. Besides, Pearl also thinks that doing the

demands of the society attached to her is a part of her effort to preserve Chinese

culture in her life. Therefore, she always tries to do what the society demands her

to do. For example, Pearl makes a great effort to give birth to son for fulfilling her

family’s demand to give birth to a grandson. She tries hard to give her husband a

son although she knows that her womb is really weak. She bears nine months

pregnancy in such a difficult condition just because she does not want her husband

to die sonless. It is supported by the following quotation.

I want my husband badly, but how can I face him? May you die sonless— the worst insult you can give. The doctor comes in to check on me. “I don’t know how you carried the baby as long as you did,” he says. “We almost lost you” (See, 2009: 379).

The above quotation shows that Pearl tries hard to do what the society demands

her to do. She tries hard to get pregnant and then bears the nine months pregnancy

in such a weak condition in order to give her husband a son. She is even willing to

risk her life just for the hopes that she may give birth to the baby boy they want.

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The above quotation also indicates that Pearl responds the demands of the society

attached to her obediently. She does everything the society demands her to do.

The response of Pearl here represents the response of the traditional type

of Chinese immigrant women towards the demands of the society. The traditional

type of Chinese immigrant women is the Chinese immigrant women who keep

preserving the Chinese culture in their lives. Even they hold it tightly in their

lives. Therefore, similar to the common Chinese women in China, they do not try

to disobey the demands of the society, but they accept it as it is and do it

obediently.

2. The Response of May towards the Demands of the Society

As what the writer has explained in the previous parts, May is depicted as

a selfish and disobedient Chinese immigrant woman. Her selfishness and

disobedience also play a role in determining her response towards the demands of

the society attached to the Chinese immigrant women. As explained before, the

demands attached to the Chinese immigrant women are various and burdensome.

Along with their inferior position in the society and in the family, a Chinese

immigrant woman has difficult demands to do as well. Here, May’s selfishness

and disobedience lead her to ignore the demands towards her. Since May is

selfish, she sees the demands of the society attached to her place her in such an

inferior position. Those demands even burden her life and they are nothing of her

interests. Therefore, her selfishness and disobedience nature then makes May

disobey what the society expects her to do.

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When other Chinese immigrant women try hard to be compliant wives

who apply “the three obedience and four virtues” in their lives, May tries to live

her life in an American way. As stated in Chapter II, an assimilation process may

occur in the lives of the immigrants. Assimilation process makes a change of

mental perspective in which the immigrant eventually perceives the world from an

American point of view, rather than from that of his or her national background

(Kitano, 1985: 11). Since living in America, May learns that women may work

outside the house to support the family business. As the result of the assimilation

process, she chooses to work outside the house too. When the other wives do the

house-works with their mothers-in-law, May prefers to get a job outside the

house. She wants to live the American way instead of the Chinese way since she

no longer lives in China. Besides, the American culture also offers women a better

condition. It makes May prefer adjusting to the American culture to holding the

Chinese culture, which placed her in such an inferior position. Therefore, she does

not preserve the Chinese culture in her life in America although her society, the

Chinese immigrant society, demands her to preserve Chinese culture.

Because of not preserving the Chinese culture in her life, May also does

not want to do the demands of the society attached to her. Although she does not

fight against the demands of the society attached to her, she simply ignores and

disobeys those demands. For instance, May disobeys the demand to be a

compliant wife in the family and the demand to apply the three obedience and

four virtues in her life. It is shown when her mother-in-law complains to her about

her too American appearance (See, 2009: 293). Instead of obeying her as the other

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Chinese daughters-in-law would do, May simply counters her complain and take

it as nothing important. May’s attitude here shows that May is not the typical of a

compliant wife since May does not obey her mother-in-law, who has higher

position in the family. Besides, it also shows that May does not obey the three

obedience and four virtues, which is also one of the demands of the society

attached to her. May disobeys the three obedience by not obeying her mother-in-

law and she also violates the moral and appearance virtues by wearing a

sleeveless-dress and stockingless-legs, and the proper speech virtues by

countering her mother-in-law’s complaint.

Toward the demand to give birth to a son, May also does not take it as an

important duty. May does not give extra effort to be pregnant. Even she keeps

complaining when her mother-in-law asks her to drink medicine to make womb

more fertile. It is supported by the following quotation.

The way she imitates Yen-yen’s high-pitched, squeaky voice makes me smile, but May doesn’t see the humor. “Why don’t they make you eat sparrow kidneys and tangerine peel? Why don’t they send you to the herbalist?” she demands (See, 2009: 231-232).

The above quotation shows that instead of obeying her mother-in-law by drinking

medicine to make her womb more fertile so that she will have a bigger chance to

get pregnant, May keeps complaining about her mother-in-law’s effort to help her

get pregnant which seems to be too ridiculous for her and keeps complaining that

Pearl does not have to do the same thing as her. It seems that May’s selfishness

and disobedience make her disregard having a son is really important so that she

does not respect her mother-in-law’s effort to help her get pregnant too. Thus, it is

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also clear that May disobeys the demand of the society that demands her to give

birth to a son.

Besides, instead of following the demand of the society to preserve the

Chinese culture, May sees the American culture better than the Chinese culture. It

is supported by the following quotation.

“I sat in a fake teahouse all night and nibbled on almond cakes,” she recalls dreamily. “The assistant director called me a cute tomato. Can you imagine?” For days she calls Joy a cute tomato, which doesn’t make much sense to me. The next time May works as an extra, she comes back with a new phrase: “What in the H,” as in “What in the H did you put in this soup, Pearl?” Often she comes home bragging about the food she’s eaten. “They give us two meals a day, and it’s good food—American food!” (See, 2009: 291)

The above quotation shows that because of adjusting with the American culture so

well, May sees the Chinese culture worse. The above quotation also indicates that

May disobeys the demand of the Chinese immigrant society toward her. Along

with her disobedience, May disobeys the demand to preserve her old culture as

well.

The response of May here represents the response of modern type of

Chinese immigrant women in America. The modern type of Chinese immigrant

women tries to escape from the demands of the Chinese immigrant society. They

try not to be burdened by the demands of the society which are burdensome,

especially for the young women. Therefore, the modern Chinese immigrant

women tend to disobey the demands of the society attached to them.

Thus, the writer can conclude that there are two responses of Chinese

immigrant women in America towards the demands of the society. The first

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response is simply obeying the demands as what Chinese women everywhere are expected to do. Then, the typical of Chinese immigrant women who obey the demands of the society is the traditional type of Chinese immigrant women. The second response is to disobey the demands of the society attached to them. The

Chinese immigrant women who disobey the demands of the society are mostly categorized in the modern type of Chinese immigrant women who live their lives in the more American ways.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

In this chapter, the writer would like to draw a conclusion from the

analysis which has been explained in the Chapter IV. Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls is

a historical-fiction which talks about the lives of two Chinese immigrants women

in America in the mid 20th century. The two women major characters here are

Chinese. Therefore, although living their lives in America, they still face the

various demands of the Chinese society toward Chinese women which

subordinated them. To be able to see the gender consciousness of Chinese

immigrant women at that time, the writer has observed the responses of the two

major characters towards the burdensome gender-based demands of the society

attached to them. The two women major characters of Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls

here are Pearl and May.

Pearl in Shanghai Girls is depicted as a beautiful, smart, modern,

responsible, and obedient woman. She was so modern during her life in Shanghai.

Together with her sister she worked as a beautiful girl in China although Chinese

society regards beautiful girl or calendar girl as a bad profession for woman.

However, facing a series of hard events she turns to be a modern but still

preserving the Chinese culture in her life in America. Then, she turns to be a

traditional type of Chinese immigrant woman.

Being similar to Pearl, May is also depicted as a beautiful, smart, and

modern woman. However, she is also a selfish and disobedient woman. May

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enjoys her modern life-style during her life in Shanghai. She always keeps her

modernity during her life as a Chinese immigrant woman in America in the mid

20th century. She even adjusts to the American culture easily. Therefore, she turns

to be a modern type of Chinese immigrant woman.

Both Pearl and May face some burdensome gender-based demands of the

society. Those demands can be categorized into two parts. The first is the

demands of the society toward woman in the family life. Those demands are to be

compliant wives, to give birth to sons, to apply “three obedience and four virtues”

in their lives. The second part is the demand of the Chinese immigrant society

toward women. This demand is to keep preserving the Chinese culture in their

lives in America.

However, Pearl and May respond differently toward the demands of the

society attached to them. Pearl who is obedient and responsible accepts those

demands as obligatory tasks to do. Besides, her nature which is modern but

preserving the Chinese culture also leads her to do so. It is different from May.

Along with her disobedient and selfish nature, May concerns only about herself.

She sees the gender-based demands of the society unbeneficial for her. Therefore,

she disobeys the demands of the society.

From the representation of Pearl (the traditional type of Chinese immigrant

woman) and May (the modern type of Chinese immigrant woman), the writer

could figure out that the mid 20th century is the transitional period for Chinese

immigrant women. Some of the Chinese immigrant women in the mid 20th

century still have no idea about having gender awareness. They still keep holding

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on to the Chinese tradition which subordinates them. It is represented by the

response of Pearl, the traditional type of Chinese immigrant women, toward the

demands of the society attached to her. She obeys and accepts the demands of the

society as the tradition which are also obligatory tasks to do.

However, some others start to have the gender consciousness. They start to

realize that the demands of the society toward them subordinate their position in

the society. It is represented by the response of May, the modern type of Chinese

immigrant woman, who refuses to obey the gender-based demands of the society.

This response makes the writer concludes that the modern type of the Chinese

immigrant women in America in the mid 20th century starts to have their gender

awareness by realizing their subordinate position. Therefore, the modern type of

Chinese immigrant women, then, starts to refuse to obey the burdensome gender-

based demands of the society which subordinates her.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Forth Wort: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1985.

Andersen, Margaret L. Thinking about Women: Sociological Perspectives on Sex and Gender. Needham Heights: Allyn & Bacon, 1997.

Bloomfield, Freena. The Book of Chinese Beliefs. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991.

Chow, E. Ngan-Ling. “The Development of Feminist Consciousness among Asian American Women”. In The Social Construction of Gender, ed. Judith Lorber and Susan A. Farell, Newburry Park: SAGE Publication, 1991.

Fitzgerald, C. P. The Chinese View of Their Place in the World. Plymouth: The Bowering Press, 1964.

Gallin, Bernard. “China: People and Way of Life”. In Encyclopedia of Americana Vol 6. Danburry: Americana Corporation, 1978.

Gallin, Rita Schlesinger. “China: Social Life and Custom”. In Encyclopedia of Americana Vol 6. Danburry: Americana Corporation, 1978.

Gelber, Harry G. The Dragon and the Foreign Devils. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2008.

Gill, Richard. Mastering English Literature. Houndmills: Macmillan Press, Ltd, 1995.

Hook, Brian. “The Status of Women”. In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of China, ed. Brian Hook. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.

Kitano, Harry H.L. Race Relation, 3rd edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, INC, 1985.

Langland, Elizabeth. Society in the Novel. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1984.

Latourette, Kenneth Scott. The Chinese: Their History and Culture. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1951.

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Mayhew, Leon H. “Society”. In International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences Vol 13-14, ed. David L. Sills, New York: The Macmillan Company & The Free Press, 1972.

Murphy, M. J. Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Novel for Overseas Students. Oxford: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1972.

Nimura, Janice P. “Too-Familiar Themes, History Threaten to Shanghai ‘Girls’.” 2009. (27 January 2010)

Pascoe, Peggy. ”At America's Gates: Chinese Immigration during the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943.” 2005. (8 March 2010)

Pfaelzer, Jean. “Chinese American Women, A History of Resilience and Resistance: Confucianism and Women.” 2008. (19 April 2010)

Pfaelzer, Jean. “Chinese American Women, A History of Resilience and Resistance: The Women of Angel Island.” 2008. (19 April 2010)

Read, Allen Walker., et .al. ed. Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary: Encyclopedic edition. Naples: Trident Press International, 1996.

Rohrberger, Mary and Samuel H. Woods Jr. Reading and Writing about Literature. New York: Random House, 1971.

See, Lisa. Shanghai Girls. New York: The Random House Publishing Group, 2009.

Wasserstrom, Jeffrey. “A Tale of Two Sisters.” 2009. (27 January 2010)

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APPENDIX

Summary of Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls

Pearl and May Chin are the daughters of a rich family in Shanghai in 1937.

As Chinese girls, they are raised in Chinese traditions. Their family also concerns

about Chinese myth, like the Chinese zodiac. As the older sister, Pearl who is a

Dragon sign believes that she should always take care of her sister, May, who is a

Sheep sign. She believes that as a dragon sign she is stronger than her sister who

is a sheep sign so she has the responsibility to protect May.

Both of them are modern and beautiful. They love to get people’s attention

as “beautiful girls” by becoming models in calendars or advertisements. Being

“beautiful girls” they could earn enough money to support their lifestyle. They

like to wear beautiful cheongsam (Chinese dress) which is expensive.

One day, their father tells them that their family has a lot of debts because

he has gambled away their wealth. To overcome this problem, their father decides

to arrange his daughters’ marriages with Californian Chinese men who are

looking for Chinese brides. They want to cancel their arranged marriages, but

since their position in the family is only as daughters, they cannot cancel it.

Pearl marries Sam, while May marries Vern. Sam is Vern’s elder brother.

Therefore, starting from their marriages, Pearl and May become sisters and

sisters-in-law at the same time. During their wedding night, as the other common

married couples do, Pearl and Sam have sex. However, May and Vern do not do

it. In the morning after the wedding night along with the Chinese tradition, Pearl

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and May’s father-in-law, Old Louie, checks whether or not there is blood on their

bed sheet. Old Louie is angry to find out that May and Vern have not done sex

yet, but he still forgives them and then he gives Pearl and May the tickets to go to

America.

Although they were told that they should follow their husband to go to

America in a week, Pearl and May do not want to do so. Therefore, on their

departure day they decide not to go. Unfortunately, Japan attacks China at that

time. The war forces them to flee.

In their escape, Pearl and her mother are raped by Japanese soldiers in

which also result in her mother’s death. In order to save her sister’s life, May gets

Pearl to a hospital in Hongkong to get some treatments. However, the rape

accident left Pearl’s womb almost no possibility to bear pregnancy.

After finishing her recovery process, they decide to go to America to start

their new lives. However, in fact they do not get what they expected there. They

get bad treatments during their immigration process in Angel Island immigration

centre. They have to face a long tiring immigration process, which is like criminal

interrogation process, for months.

While staying in Angle Island, May tries to detain their immigration

process. She intentionally answers the questions in every interrogation wrongly.

Knowing that her sister tries to detain their immigration process, Pearl then

demands May to explain why she does it. Having no choice, May then tells Pearl

that she is pregnant. Pearl is shocked since she knows that May did nothing with

Vern yet. However, then May smartly asks her to keep a secret about her

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pregnancy. May intends to make Pearl accept her baby since May knows that

Pearl did sex with Sam before so that if they come to their in-laws with a baby

they can accept them. To make her wish comes true, May even reminds Pearl that

she would never be able to get pregnant. Therefore, having May’s baby as hers is

beneficial for her position in their in-laws. At first, Pearl rejects May’s idea, but at

the end Pearl agrees that it is the only way to save May, Pearl then follows her

sister’s plan.

While staying in Angel Island, Pearl pretends to be pregnant. She manages

to deceive everyone there. After May gives birth to her baby girl, Joy; Pearl and

May report to the missionary ladies about the baby. The missionary ladies then

help them to find their in-laws. During that period, May no longer intentionally

answer wrongly in the interrogation. Finally Pearl and May pass the immigration

process and they are allowed to enter America as American citizens’ wives.

When they get to their husbands’ house, Pearl finds out that in fact

different from May’s husband hers is only a “paper son” who came to America

with false documents and lives with fear of being deported. All her hopes for a

better life ruin. Instead of being free women in America, Pearl and May have to be

unpaid labors of an illegal immigrant family, their father in-law’s family.

At first as a daughter-in-law who has not have a baby yet, May is allowed

to work in the family store in the Chinatown while Pearl has to take care of Joy

and helps the mother-in-law, Yen-yen, at house. However, later on May tries to

get her own job outside the family by being a figurant in Hollywood.

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For about 20 years, they run their lives as Chinese Americans. May could

enjoy her new life, but Pearl still longs for her hometown, Shanghai. In 1950s,

American governments spies Chinese immigrants as communists. They

investigate the “paper sons” and “paper wives”. Government deports those who

are caught guilty but they give amnesty to those who confess their status and give

information about other “paper sons”.

Believing that after reporting her family’s fake citizenships her family can

get the amnesty to get the legal ones, May decides to report Sam and Pearl’s status

as “paper son” and “paper wife” to the immigration inspector. It makes them have

to face an inspection. During this inspection, Sam has to face some investigations.

Afraid of being deported, he then decides to commit suicide. May’s action creates

big problem between the siblings. It makes them reveal all jealousies that they

have kept from one another since their childhood. However, at the end, both of

them realize that their sisterhood is really valuable.