일본계 미국인들의 분열된 자아 정체성: 모니카 소네의『니세이 딸』과 존 오카다의『노노 보이』를 중심으로 (Dissociation of Self-Identity in Japanese American: Focused on Monica Sone’s Nisei Daughter & John Okada’s No-No Boy)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국현대영미소설학회
· 수록지 정보 : 현대영미소설 / 21권 / 2호 / 131 ~ 156페이지
· 저자명 : 장정훈

초록

While drawing on Paul Ricoeur’s notion of ‘narrative identity’, this paper examines the aspects of dissociation of self-identity in Japanese American focused on Monica Sone’s Nisei Daughter and John Okada’s No-No Boy. In these two works, white Americans perceive the ‘different’ faces and skin color of Japanese American as a sign of ‘inferior’ cultural power. The white people who have the superiority of cultural power discriminate against or disregard the individuality of Japanese American. In their attempt to get over such a painful social reality, the two Japanese American protagonists try to narrate their self-identity and reach self-recognition.
Paul Ricoeur makes a distinction between ‘identity as sameness’(idem) and ‘identity as selfhood’(ipse) while discussing ‘narrative identity.’ The former is an unchangeable, definite identity and the latter is a dynamic and continuous identity involving Time and Others, on which Paul Ricoeur’s whole discussion is focused. In other words, Paul Ricoeur tries to explicate the nature of ‘narrative identity’ in terms of others within the variation of time. A narrative or retelling self can be served to confer a consistent unity on the self-identity of an individual.
If we borrow Paul Ricoeur’s notion of ‘narrative identity’, we can say that self identity can’t be achieved by any fixed set of criteria, such as race or ethnic group, but can be constructed by retelling the self in ongoing interaction with others within time. So, Nisei Daughter and No-No Boy are texts which describe the outrageous situation of Japanese-American against human rights derived from forcing ‘identity as sameness’ upon individual. This paper investigates the episodes of these two works in which the protagonists testify how the experience of Japanese-Americans’ internment during World War II had resulted in the infliction of human rights and dignity, not to mention the dissociation of self identity. This paper argues that self identity can be formed and constructed by so many aspects of experience, such as individual’s consciousness, the surroundings, and the connection with others as time progresses.

영어초록

While drawing on Paul Ricoeur’s notion of ‘narrative identity’, this paper examines the aspects of dissociation of self-identity in Japanese American focused on Monica Sone’s Nisei Daughter and John Okada’s No-No Boy. In these two works, white Americans perceive the ‘different’ faces and skin color of Japanese American as a sign of ‘inferior’ cultural power. The white people who have the superiority of cultural power discriminate against or disregard the individuality of Japanese American. In their attempt to get over such a painful social reality, the two Japanese American protagonists try to narrate their self-identity and reach self-recognition.
Paul Ricoeur makes a distinction between ‘identity as sameness’(idem) and ‘identity as selfhood’(ipse) while discussing ‘narrative identity.’ The former is an unchangeable, definite identity and the latter is a dynamic and continuous identity involving Time and Others, on which Paul Ricoeur’s whole discussion is focused. In other words, Paul Ricoeur tries to explicate the nature of ‘narrative identity’ in terms of others within the variation of time. A narrative or retelling self can be served to confer a consistent unity on the self-identity of an individual.
If we borrow Paul Ricoeur’s notion of ‘narrative identity’, we can say that self identity can’t be achieved by any fixed set of criteria, such as race or ethnic group, but can be constructed by retelling the self in ongoing interaction with others within time. So, Nisei Daughter and No-No Boy are texts which describe the outrageous situation of Japanese-American against human rights derived from forcing ‘identity as sameness’ upon individual. This paper investigates the episodes of these two works in which the protagonists testify how the experience of Japanese-Americans’ internment during World War II had resulted in the infliction of human rights and dignity, not to mention the dissociation of self identity. This paper argues that self identity can be formed and constructed by so many aspects of experience, such as individual’s consciousness, the surroundings, and the connection with others as time progresses.

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