Conflicting Cultures in Gish Jen's Mona in the Promised LandNovels that depict a confrontation between disparate cultures provide a particularly straightforward overview of basic human behavior. Characters facing cultural conflict must explore basic human commonalities to bridge the gap between cultures. In doing so, one diminishes the differences between one's culture and the unfamiliar culture, ultimately bringing her closer to one's raw humanity. Simultaneously, this opens the way to countless sociological case studies that can shed light on important human behaviors that are otherwise obscured by the biases of the dominant culture. A prime subject for one of these exams is MonaChang, a native American who strives to overcome cultural pressure from her Chinese immigrant parents to be accepted by her peers. Appearing in Gish Jen's Mona in the Promised Land, Chang finds herself in a situation that tests her identity as an American. The test, which occurred during his adolescence, proved inconclusive. In turn, this motivates Chang to assert her identity at the expense of her maturity – a struggle that continues until she overcomes the factor that initially called her identity into question. Thus, the cultural context of Jen's Mona in the Promised Land provides an excellent basis for studying human character, from which it can be inferred that an incident that causes identity confusion in adolescent life must be resolved before one can reach maturity. In Chang's case, her oriental appearance connects her with Sherman Matsumoto, the new advertisement...... middle of paper...... one must rely mainly on the text itself as well than on the interviews with Jen. Although few scholarly resources are available regarding this novel, it is not difficult to make a substantial argument for the themes mentioned above. Naturally, these themes only apply to adolescents who have not yet reached full psychological maturity. In conclusion, the culture shock in Jen's Mona in the Promised Land makes it easy to discern that one must figuratively conquer that which troubles one's sense of identity, lest one's maturity remain underdeveloped. Works Cited April Guest: Gish Jen. Page McDougal Littell. 1999. Jen, Gish. Mona in the Promised Land. New York: vintage contemporaries,1997.

Essay / Conflicting Cultures in Gish Jen's Mona in the Promised LandNovels that depict a confrontation between disparate cultures provide a particularly straightforward overview of basic human behavior. Characters facing cultural conflict must explore basic human commonalities to bridge the gap between cultures. In doing so, one diminishes the differences between one's culture and the unfamiliar culture, ultimately bringing her closer to one's raw humanity. Simultaneously, this opens the way to countless sociological case studies that can shed light on important human behaviors that are otherwise obscured by the biases of the dominant culture. A prime subject for one of these exams is MonaChang, a native American who strives to overcome cultural pressure from her Chinese immigrant parents to be accepted by her peers. Appearing in Gish Jen's Mona in the Promised Land, Chang finds herself in a situation that tests her identity as an American. The test, which occurred during his adolescence, proved inconclusive. In turn, this motivates Chang to assert her identity at the expense of her maturity – a struggle that continues until she overcomes the factor that initially called her identity into question. Thus, the cultural context of Jen's Mona in the Promised Land provides an excellent basis for studying human character, from which it can be inferred that an incident that causes identity confusion in adolescent life must be resolved before one can reach maturity. In Chang's case, her oriental appearance connects her with Sherman Matsumoto, the new advertisement...... middle of paper...... one must rely mainly on the text itself as well than on the interviews with Jen. Although few scholarly resources are available regarding this novel, it is not difficult to make a substantial argument for the themes mentioned above. Naturally, these themes only apply to adolescents who have not yet reached full psychological maturity. In conclusion, the culture shock in Jen's Mona in the Promised Land makes it easy to discern that one must figuratively conquer that which troubles one's sense of identity, lest one's maturity remain underdeveloped. Works Cited April Guest: Gish Jen. Page McDougal Littell. 1999. Jen, Gish. Mona in the Promised Land. New York: vintage contemporaries,1997.

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