Diasporic Tastescapes : Intersections of Food and Identity In
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Diasporic Tastescapes: Intersections of Food and Identity in Asian American Literature Os sabores da diáspora: comida e identidade na literatura asiático-americana Paula Torreiro Pazo Doctoral Thesis/Tese de doutoramento UDC 2014 Directora e titora da tese: Dra. Begoña Simal González Departamento de Filoloxía Inglesa A meus pais, por crer en min. Por acompañarme e darme forzas neste longo camiño. O meu agradecemento á miña titora, Begoña Simal González, pola súa inspiración e valiosos consellos. Abstract Diasporic Tastescapes: Intersections of Food and Identity in Asian American Literature This dissertation seeks to explore the culinary metaphors present in a selection of Asian American narratives written by authors such as Jhumpa Lahiri, May-lee Chai, Shoba Narayan, Leslie Li, Bich Minh Nguyen, Linda Furiya, Mei Ng, Lois-Ann Yamanaka, Patricia Chao, Shirley Geok-lin Lim, Anita Desai, Sara Chin and Andrew X. Pham. It is my contention that the intricate web of culinary motifs featured in these texts offers a fertile ground for the study of the real and imaginary [hi]stories of the Asian American community, an ethnic minority that has been persistently racialized through its eating habits. Thus, I will examine those literary contexts in which the presence of food images becomes especially meaningful as an indicator of the nostalgia of the immigrant, the sense of community of the diasporic family, the clash between generations, or the shocks of arrival and return. My approach to the culinary component will combine previous theorizations on the subject, such as Sau-ling Cynthia Wong’s or Anita Mannur’s, at the same time that I provide new points of departure from which to look into the trope of food against the backdrop of globalization and transnationalism. I argue that reading Asian American “edible metaphors” from these perspectives will prove particularly revealing in relation to the notions of “home,” “identity,” and “belonging”; all of them mainstays of the diasporic consciousness. Resumen Los sabores de la diáspora: comida e identidad en la literatura asiático-americana Esta tesis doctoral se propone explorar las metáforas culinarias presentes en una selección de narrativas asiático-americanas escritas por autores como Jhumpa Lahiri, May-lee Chai, Shoba Narayan, Leslie Li, Bich Minh Nguyen, Linda Furiya, Mei Ng, Lois-Ann Yamanaka, Patricia Chao, Shirley Geok-lin Lim, Anita Desai, Sara Chin y Andrew X. Pham. Como pondrá de manifiesto este trabajo de investigación, la intrincada red de motivos culinarios que aderezan estos textos ofrece un marco incomparable para el estudio de las historias reales e imaginarias de la comunidad asiático-americana, una minoría étnica a menudo racializada a través de sus hábitos alimenticios. Así pues, examinaré aquellos contextos literarios en los que la presencia del tropo de la comida adquiere matices simbólicos en relación con la nostalgia del inmigrante, el sentimiento de comunidad en la diaspora, los conflictos entre generaciones o el choque cultural de llegada y retorno. Mi aproximación al componente culinario combinará teorizaciones previas sobre el tema, tales como las de Sau-ling Cynthia Wong o Anita Mannur, a la vez que ofrecerá nuevos puntos de partida para interpretar el tropo de la comida en el contexto de la globalización y el transnacionalismo. Considero que el análisis de estas “metáforas comestibles” desde estos puntos de vista resultará especialmente revelador a la hora de ahondar en los conceptos de “hogar,” “identidad” y “pertenencia”; todos ellos pilares de la conciencia diaspórica. Resumo Os sabores da diáspora: comida e identidade na literatura asiático- americana Esta tese de doutoramento proponse explorar as metáforas culinarias presentes nunha selección de narrativas asiático-americanas escritas por autores como Jhumpa Lahiri, May-lee Chai, Shoba Narayan, Leslie Li, Bich Minh Nguyen, Linda Furiya, Mei Ng, Lois-Ann Yamanaka, Patricia Chao, Shirley Geok-lin Lim, Anita Desai, Sara Chin e Andrew X. Pham. Como porá de manifesto este traballo de investigación, a ensarillada rede de motivos culinarios que aderezan estes textos ofrece un marco incomparable para o estudo das historias reais e imaxinarias da comunidade asiático-americana, unha minoría étnica a miúdo racializada a través dos seus hábitos alimenticios. Así pois, examinarei aqueles contextos literarios nos que a presenza do tropo da comida adquire matices simbólicos en relación coa morriña do inmigrante, o sentimiento de comunidade na diaspora, os conflitos entre xeracións ou o choque cultural de chegada e retorno. A miña aproximación ao compoñente culinario combinará teorizacións previas sobre o tema, tales como as de Sau-ling Cynthia Wong ou Anita Mannur, ao tempo que ofrecerá novos puntos de partida para interpretar o tropo da comida no contexto da globalización e o transnacionalismo. Considero que a análise destas “metáforas comestibles” desde estes puntos de vista resultará especialmente reveladora á hora de afondar nos conceptos de “fogar,” “identidade” e “pertenenza”; todos eles piares da conciencia diaspórica. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 11 1. An Eclectic Theoretical Framework: Ethnicity, Diaspora, and Food ................... 25 1.1. Ethnicity and Race: The Asian American Case ................................................... 25 1.2. Diaspora and Multiculturalism in the Transnational Context ............................... 62 1.3. The Icing on the Cake: Understanding Food ....................................................... 83 2. Food and Memory in Displacement: Lahiri’s “Mrs. Sen’s” and Chai’s Hapa Girl ............................................................................................... 107 2.1. Feeding Memory ................................................................................................ 109 2.2. A Pungent Nostalgia .......................................................................................... 131 2.3. Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 137 3. Cooking up One’s Roots: Community, Commensality, Commemoration......... 141 3.1. A Culinary Lifetime: Narayan’s Monsoon Diary ................................................. 147 3.2. The Lunar New Year: Food and Agency in Li’s Daughter of Heaven and Nguyen’s Stealing Buddha’s Dinner .................................................................. 164 3.3. Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 186 4. Food and the Generation Gap: “Big Eaters” and Lunch Bags ........................... 189 4.1. “Necessity”: The “No Waste” Philosophy ........................................................... 195 4.2. “Finicky Palates” and “Candy Lovers”................................................................ 208 4.3. “Whatcha bring?”: Lunch Bags and Identity Conflicts ....................................... 220 4.4. Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 244 5. Food Goes Full Circle: The Shocks of Arrival and Return .................................. 249 5.1. The “Shock of Arrival”: Lim’s Among the White Moon Faces and Desai’s Fasting, Feasting .................................................................................. 253 5.2. The “Shock of Return”: Chin’s “It’s Possible” and Pham’s Catfish and Mandala ............................................................................. 280 5.3. Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 307 6. Conclusion: Food in Asian American Literature—An Unfinished Banquet ...... 311 Works Cited ...................................................................................................................... 321 Appendix: Resumen/Resumo ........................................................................................ 361 Introduction “Literary language can be mouth-filling or subtly flavoured, meaty or hard-boiled, spicy or indigestible. Words can nourish or poison, and somewhere beneath this figurative equation lurks […] a sign which is also a meal.” Terry Eagleton, “Edible écriture” Food. Beyond its strictly material sense, this four-letter word contains as many meanings and symbolic connotations as we can imagine. In fact, food is never just about physical nourishment, and we should not let ourselves be misled by its quotidian nature into thinking about eating as an unimportant and trivial activity. Borrowing Terry Eagleton’s words, food constitutes and “endlessly interpretable” object of “materialised emotion” (204). Everything that has to do with food needs to be read in between the lines, and it is often difficult to interpret its implicit meanings, as they pertain to the most intimate and impenetrable wells of human (ir)rationality. Not only do we eat because we are hungry, but also because we are anxious; we not always stop eating in the name of satiety, but because we are somehow emotionally starved. Similarly, while food often constitutes a—more or less conscious—tool for benign and voluntary self-definition and/or affiliation with a certain community, it can also work as part of the processes of stereotyping and oppression. As will be shown in the first chapter of this dissertation, food studies have mostly fed from anthropological