“America was no America”An Analysis of Defamiliarization of Focalization in Typi

摘要：Since America is regarded as a booming and free country filling with fantasies，a large quantity of immigrants with American dream crowd in America.Although anyone has the possibilities of realizing dream and achieving success theoretically，in reality，this is not the case.The same truth is also reflected in the novel of Typical American.Through the main chanters’ unique focalizations to find out what “America” is really like.

关键词：Defamiliarization；Focalization；Typical American

中图分类号：H31文献标识码：A文章编号：1009-0118（2013）01-0353-02

1.Introduction

Typical American was Gish Jen’s first novel and it was named “Notable Book of the Year” by The New York Times and was among the finalists for the 1991 National Book Critics Circle Award.Typical American is a novel about Chinese immigrants and their experience of adjustment to America.As for the title，according to Gish Jen(MELUS interview,1993：115)，it is an irony.“‘Typical American’ is a phrase that the Changs use to describe people who are not them，and yet by the end of the book，of course，they become ‘typical Americans’ themselves.Gish Jen wanted to challenge ideas of what a ‘typical American’ looks like，to put forward the idea that the Changs are not any less American than anyone else.” Just as she said that “I hope that Typical American is not only regarded as immigrant story but also as an American story.”(Jiang Daochao，2002：89)

2.Discussion

In this part，I will firstly give a brief introduction about the literary terms of defamiliarization and focalization.Then，I pick up some examples from the novel to illustrate how the employment of defamiliarization of focalization highlights the theme of fiction.

2.1 Defamiliarization and Focalization

2.1.1 Defamiliarization

The concept of defamiliarization was raised by Shklovsky.The primary aim of literature in thus foregrounding its linguistic medium，as Victor Shklovsky put it in an influential formulation，is to estrange or defamiliarize; that is，by disrupting the modes of ordinary linguistic discourse，literature “makes strange” the world of everyday perception and renews the reader’s lost capacity for fresh sensation.Defamiliarization，Shklovsky argues，is accordingly the basic principle of artistic “form” and it is used in literary works not only in literary devices but also in narrative techniques like focalization.The employment of a unique focalization will cast a strange and new light on familiar things.(Zhu，2002：9)

2.1.2 Focalization

The concept of focalization was raised by French narrative theorist，Gerard Genette，in his Narrative Discourse(1972，1980)and after that it was widely acknowledged and used by narrative theorists.

Shen Dan(2004，3：60)classifies the focalization into four categories：unlimited focalization(the omniscient narration)；internal focalization；first person external focalization；third person external focalization.The internal focalization includes the fixed limited focalization which refers to a specific figure’s focalization in fiction.In the novel，I will focus on the defamiliarization of fixed limited focalizations，here mainly including focalizations of Ralph，Helen and Theresa，because a unique focalization will cast a strange and new light on familiar things especial for fixed limited focalizations.

2.2 Defamiliarization of Fixed Limited Focalizations

This novel was written in third person.Here，focalizations of Ralph，Helen and Theresa are called third person fixed limited focalizations.I will discuss their unique focalizations one by one to find out what “America” is really like.

2.2.1 Ralph’s Focalization

In the first chapter section one，through Ralph’s focalization，the modernization of New York is clear in our mind.It is the prosperity of America that attracts many people with great “American dream” coming there.Like Ralph，he came to America with the dream of getting a doctor’s degree to win honor for his family.At the same time，in such a developed American society，we can imagine that one measure of success is money，which is proved right later.In the first chapter section three，when Ralph fell in love with Cammie and wanted to please her，an old man gave him suggestions that money is everything for Americans.In the same way，later when Ralph was planning to run a fried chicken restaurant to make the big money，he told her children that money was the most important thing in America; you can do anything with money but without money you are nothing.However，at the end of the novel，after Ralph failed to make a fortune，he realized that “A man was the sum of his limits; freedom only made him see how much so.America was no America.”(296)

Another example is in the fourth chapter section one.While Ralph was driving on the way home and complimenting the grandeur of America，he found that several ragged and poor men run to the streets and one of them lying on the floor before a door.He was wandering why those people living in such a great America which can launch a Satellite into the space were like that.Here，“America is not America” as Ralph imagined.

2.2.2 Helen’s Focalization

In all appearance，Helen is an ideal traditional Chinese woman.However，her outward fulfillment of the traditional role is merely a manifestation of a vanity.Helen’s apparent fulfillment of the submissive Chinese woman is actually motivated by self-centeredness.

For example，in the second chapter section nine，Helen had a new and dangerous secret in her mind that although she knew that Grover is a villain，she also fell love with his riches and chic.In the fourth chapter section six，Helen is submissive with Grover “A man with monogrammed shirts，a maid，a mansion，and all he wanted was to finger her belly button.She felt herself to be someone else，someone much prettier.”(214).From Helen’s focalization，Grover becomes a charming and ideal man and even Helen is proud of having affairs with such man for feeding her vanity and narcissism.

At last，Helen comes to a painful realization that the simplistic view of life she held in the past was nothing but a great fallacy：“she had considered the great divide of her self’s time to be coming to America.Before she came to America，after she came to America.But she was mistaken.That was not the divide，at all”(288).For Helen，“America is not America” as she had imagined in which without parental restriction she can do anything she want to do.

2.2.3 Theresa’s Focalization

Theresa is a dutiful，family-oriented Chinese woman and the independent，assertive American doctor.Her intelligence，career success，and large physical stature defy the ideal image of the submissive and demure Chinese woman.Such an intelligent and submissive woman is supposed to have a happy family and live independently in a country of freedom and hope like America.In the third chapter section five，“Was this ’getting to know someone? How little she’d understood the joy of it! Here she could envision a man’s skeleton，his musculature; she could describe the workings of his lymph nodes.……She did not consider passion”(154).Here，Theresa’s focalization about a man shows that she does not know anything else about a man except from the medical aspects.Her feeling of love is repressed in such a free and open country.

She does not know how to love，or even how to live：“All her years，it seemed to her now，she had stood against life.She had studied it; she had made forays into it; but mostly she had stood by while others braved the field.Did she love Old Chao? She didn’t know how to love anyone…”(173).Later，when she had an affair with Old Chao，a married man，her family discarded her.For Theresa，she can not love and live freely and independently in such a democratic and independent state.

3.Conclusion

It is well known that literary studies explain universal truth.If a work lacking of universal truth will not be a great work.Through the experience of Chinese American in the novel，Gish Jen fades the Chinese American nature of main characters and emphasizes the universal meaning in multicultural context.Just as Gish Jen said that “I hope that Typical American is not only regarded as immigrant story but also as an American story.It makes us to reflect our myth and reality because we are not willing to talk about our limits; we are always pleased with ourselves.”(Jiang Daochao，2002：89)

Since America is regarded as a booming and free country filling with fantasies，a large quantity of immigrants with American dream crowd in America.Although anyone has the possibilities of realizing dream and achieving success theoretically，in reality，this is not the case.The same truth is also reflected in American literature works.Typical American is also no exception.Just as Ralph realizes that a man was as doomed here as he was in China…He was not what he made up his mind to be.“A man was the sum of his limits; freedom only made him see how much so.America was no America.”(296)

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