이창래의『원어민』에 나타난 한국계 미국인의 정체성: 남성 인물들을 중심으로

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Korean American Identity in Chang-rae Lee's Native Speaker: Focusing on Male Characters

The aim of this thesis is to analyze Korean American male characters in Chang-rae Lee's debut novel Native Speaker, focusing on their complex identities in the white-dominated American society. The Korean American novelist Chang-rae Lee published Native Speaker based on his identity confusion from his own immigrant experience. In Native Speaker, there are Henry Park who is the main character and second generation Korean American, Henry's father who is a first generation immigrant, and John Kwang who is a successful Korean American politician. I first examine the ways in which Henry's father uncritically subscribes to the 'model minority' myth and ultimately fails to provide his son with a positive model of a Korean American man. And then, the thesis analyzes the significance of the political downfall of John Kwang and argues that Kwang's downfall speaks to the limit of American multiculturalism. Lastly, I discuss how Henry comes to re-conceive his identity and redefine the concept of 'native speaker.' Through the three Korean American male characters, Native Speaker criticizes racial and cultural exclusivity, offering us the opportunity to think about what it means to live as a hybrid.