Assimilation and Rebellion:on the Growingup Theme in American Young Adult Historical Novels on Immigration

Zhu He

School of Foreign Languages,Northeast Normal University,Changchun,China

Email:845756337@qq.com

[Abstract] Whether the stories focus on the motivation,journey,arrival or the placement of immigrants,American young adult historical novels on immigration enable the readers to have more understanding of the history of American immigration and the psychological journey of the immigrants.This paper illustrates the assimilation and rebellion of the young immigrants,especially the moral confusion of teenagers caused by immigration and the psychological and moral growth of young people in American young adult historical novels on immigration.

[Keywords] immigration;growing-up theme;young adult historical novel

Since ancient times,immigration has been a common human historical activity,and it is also a process of strengthening the exchanges between various ethnic groups and regions and of promoting the combination of human beings.For every immigrant,it is a process of transformation and change.Various changes brought about by immigration,such as new languages,new cultural customs and changes in the relationship between family members,will force immigrant families to try to make necessary adjustments so that their children can make a difference in the future.Of course,sometimes it will also have an impact on immigrant families,causing children to be hurt by various pressures.Some of them will strive to forge ahead,some will become rebellious,and some will even get into trouble.

America is a nation of immigrants.American young adult author Alden R.Carter comments that historical fiction explains"how we and our kind became what we are".(Cole,2009,p.238)This paper illustrates the assimilation and rebellion of the young immigrants,especially the moral confusion of teenagers caused by immigration and the psychological and moral growth of young people in the immigration narratives in American young adult historical novels.Due to the space constraints,this paper mainly takes two novels,Cursing Columbus and A Step from Heavenas examples in analysis.

Cursing Columbus

The American young adult historical novels on immigration discuss not only the survival problems and psychological adaptation problems encountered by the young protagonists in the process of immigration as inMaggie's Door(Giff,2003)orThe Dragon's Child(Yep,2008),but also the problems of challenging authority,whether parents or other authorities.In addition to providing support and protection for their children,immigrant families are also the birthplace of the conflict between parents and children.Cursing Columbus(2009)by Eve Tal describes the difficulties encountered by the Balaban family after they finally escape from a village in the Ukraine and reunited in the Lower East Side of New York City in 1908,as well as the consequences of the tension between the parents and the children in this family.The story is narrated alternately by Raizel and her brother Lemmel.They are in the same immigrant family but have different reactions to the pressures brought by immigrant life.

Raizel likes her life in the United States because she can finally go to school and have the opportunity to realize her dream of becoming a teacher.However,her 13-year-old brother Lemmel is dissatisfied from the beginning of his arrival in the United States.Lemmel not only experiences the cultural shock of emigrating from rural Ukraine to big cities in America,but also encounters difficulties in learning.He doesn't like school.In fact,he has learning disabilities.However,his parents have unrealistic expectations for him,which traps him in a dilemma.

It is also difficult for Raizel's mother to adapt to the new environment.She is extremely shocked when she finds her once-Orthodox husband has cut his beard and stops attending synagogue,and she is not satisfied that her husband who used to be a scholar works as an ironer in a garment factory.

Raizel and her mother represent two typical attitudes of immigrants towards their new life in the United States.Raizel represents these mild and idealized immigrants who strive to assimilate into American society.In order to become Americans,they try to separate from the culture they have accepted in the past from the moment they set foot on American land,even if they have to discard some"good"things they are used to.Raizel is willing to give up the most meaningful marks left by her hometown life,such as language,customs and values,because these things make her different or even antagonistic to "real" Americans.It can be seen that this process is full of contradictions and conflicts of transformation,tearing,abandonment,change and rebirth,reflecting the real social transformation of individuals.Therefore,the artistic description of this growing-up process is the most prominent and significant theme of American young adult historical novels on immigration.

Raizel's mother,on the contrary,wants to completely retain those things which Raizel wants to keep a distance.Mama adheres to the customs of Jews in Eastern Europe.When Raizel's English became more and more fluent,her ability to express the subtle thoughts and feelings in her mother tongue deteriorates accordingly,while her mother can only speak her mother tongue,which results in"subtleties of meaning are likely to be missed and miscommunication may result in complex discussions between parents and children." (Suarez-Orozco &Suarez-Orozco,2001,p.74.)When immigrant parents and children are in two different language worlds,they will fall into poor communication and even remain silent,and the cultural,ideological and emotional barriers can only become stronger.

Such a situation is common in the description of family life in this novel.For example,when Raizel is excited that her article about Columbus wins the prize in school,her mother doesn't understand her,and her brother Lemmel refuses to go to the contest to listen to Raizel read her article about Columbus,and he even curses Columbus.This is also the origin of the novel's title"Cursing Columbus".

Soon after,Raiezel's father loses his job and his mother is pregnant.Her brother Lemmel steals the house rent and runs away because of the studying problems at school.Later Lemmel joins a gang of juvenile pickpockets and names himself Louis in order to get rid of the past and gain a new identity,but he fails.He is arrested and he realizes that he can escape from home,but he can't forget his family.Lemmel crosses multiple boundaries.He not only immigrates from Ukraine to America,but also changes from a promising Jewish teenager to a bad teenager and social outcast,and from the pride of his parents to their shame.All these are inseparable from the situation of immigrants and the special situation of each individual.It shows the widespread crisis and cost of the immigration process.

At the end of the novel,the Balaban family finally reunite to celebrate the Passover.Lemmel's father's new boss is also present and promises Lemmel a job.Lemmel no longer curses Columbus,and the family's life has a new hope.

Cursing Columbuswell explains the influence of the past experience on the present in the immigrant life.When immigrants arrive in the United States,they bring not only their own property and parcels,but also the burden of their former life.For the Balaban family,the past seems to have disappeared,but their future will still be affected by their past life.Raiezel's father used to be a Talmud scholar,but he can't find a suitable job when he comes to America,and her mother is reduced from a scholar's wife to a housewife living on her husband's unstable income.In the story of her brother Lemmel,his past life has a greater impact on his current situation and even determines his future.His reading disability from the other side of the ocean makes him a juvenile delinquent.In the future,it seems that he can only become a blue-collar worker with low salary and criminal record.Only Raizel's future seems promising.

From these ups and downs,Raizel and Lemmel face the moral confusions.Raizel challenges the authority of her parents.She refuses to quit school and work,and decides to be a teacher in the future.She becomes more confident and optimistic.Lemmel fights against the pressures from school and family in a wrong way,but when he protects the little boy in the gang from being injured and gives up the chance of running away from the police,he makes an ethical selection and chooses to be good and honest.It shows Lemmel has grown up psychologically and morally.

A Step from Heaven

Although there are many difficulties in the journey and the adaptation of immigrants,the purpose of most immigrants is to stay and live in America.An Na's novelA Step from Heaven(2001)tells the experience of Young Ju Park,a Korean immigrant girl,from her childhood to adolescence.The novel is narrated in the first person from the perspective of Young Ju,with a few Korean sprinkled in the English narration.The author extracts materials from her Korean immigrant experience and transmits her feelings of longing,joy and shame in trying to integrate into foreign culture through Young Ju's story.The novel develops along two story lines,one is Young Ju's process of growing from an obedient Korean outsider to a strong Korean American girl,and the other is her father's increasingly serious alcoholism and degeneration.

When Young Ju was four years old,her parents decided to immigrate to America and take refuge in the family of Young Ju's aunt.At this time,the wave of Korean immigrants to the United States was coming to an end.The earliest group of Korean came to Hawaii to work as laborers in sugar cane plantations in 1903.The biggest wave of South Korean immigrants occurred after the passing of the Immigration Act of 1965,which shifted the focus of immigration from European countries to non-European countries,especially the third world countries.Many South Koreans took this opportunity to immigrate to America.Because Young Ju's aunt has immigrated to the United States,and the Immigration Act of 1965 took family reunion as the basis for choosing immigrants,the Young Ju family's immigration application was successfully approved.Young Ju's father believes that everyone can make a lot of money in America and tells the girl that she can have the very best education here.

Young Ju feels that America is heaven.But her aunt tells her that although America is very good,it is still a step away from heaven.The first thing that bothers Young Ju is the language problem.In order to reflect Young Ju's response to English in this novel,the author Anna transliterates some English Young Ju hears.When she goes to school on the first day,the students say "Wah-Ko-um,Yung" (Welcome,Young) at the suggestion of the teacher,but she doesn't know what it means.

Her father's bad temper does not change after he immigrates to America.Shortly after arriving in America,he insists on moving out of the house of Young Ju's aunt for his convenience and privacy.When Young Ju's mother raises an objection,he slaps his pregnant wife.Young Ju shrinks in a corner and recites the alphabet silently so that she won't cry.She realizes that America is more than one step away from heaven.

Young Ju is disappointed with many things at home.After the birth of Young Ju's brother,his father is very proud and happy,and he predicts that his son will become a doctor or a lawyer or even a president in the future.When Young Ju says"I can be president",her father laughs at her and says it is impossible because she is a girl.(Na,2001,p.38)Her father's preference for her brother Joon Ho makes Young Ju jealous.She can't understand why boys and girls should be treated differently,but she realizes that it's unfair for her father to do so.

Young Ju's father has always been bad tempered.When Young Ju grows up,she witnesses and experiences more abuse by her father to the family members,especially her mother.Although the border between countries has been crossed,Young Ju's mother is still a victim of domestic violence,and it seems that her husband does not know that domestic violence is illegal in America.

Young Ju feels depressed at home and is often forced to lie to escape her parents'bondage.She becomes friends with her classmate Amanda,but the friendship brings more conflicts to her family.When Amanda invites Young Ju to her birthday party,Young Ju's mother does not allow her to go,because Amanda is too"American"and she will bring Young Ju bad influence.In the views of the elders of the Park family,American girls don't study and are very selfish.The motivations of Young Ju's parents to stop their children to make friends with American teenagers are different.Her father wants to have absolute control over his children.He does not allow his children to challenge his authority.He once pushes Young Ju to the floor and warns her not to get up until she understands "how to be a good Korean girl".(Na,2001,p.110)Although her mother is not so controlling,she is afraid that American culture will have a negative impact on her children.

In this environment,it is hard for Young Ju's brother Joon Ho to grow up healthily.He used to be the pride of his father,but later he often skips school,hiding in his room,drawing comics,or hanging out with his friends.In some ways,Joon Ho is similar to Lemmel inCursing Columbus.They all want to try their best to get away from the tension in immigrant families,although Lemmel's response is out of his reading disability,and Joon Ho's stems from an abnormal family environment caused by his father's domestic violence.

Young Ju's father begins to come home later and later.He gets drunk more and more often and has a worse temper.Once,when her father is committing domestic violence,she heard her mother's scream from the kitchen.she realizes that she is no longer a child and can no longer expect God to save her mother.She finally calls 911.After a long silence,she tells the police who answers the phone,"My father is killing my mother".(Na,2001,p.139)

The behavior of Young Ju's father is not uncommon among male immigrants."When their children are increasingly influenced by the values and the behavior of the new culture,which makes parents feel frustrated and threatened,they often try to'tighten the reins'."(Suarez-Orozco&Suarez-Orozco,2001,p.78.)The domestic violence and alcoholism of Young Ju's father are the extreme embodiment of parents'frustration in immigrant families.

A few months later,Young Ju's father returns to Korea,while Young Ju's mother and the two children choose to stay in America.In fact,without their father at home,the families are indeed fine.Each of them works and studies hard.At the end of the novel,Young Ju is about to become a college student.She has won a scholarship and been admitted to a university with excellent results.After experiencing various events,Young Ju and her families finally understand that they really have a choice and can choose the right path in moral confusions.They can fight against the authority of man and family violence and get Young Ju's father punished by law.During the process of assimilating into the American culture,Young Ju rebels against some traditional moral values of Korea,such as the sexist attitude toward females,and becomes stronger.

Of course,not all immigrant children will rebel against their parents.Some cultures advocate children to be filial to their parents.However,when immigrants arrive in America,parents often work hard to ensure that their children can succeed and achieve a higher socio-economic position in this country.At the same time,no matter how closely parents guard against the impact of American culture on their children,the culture into which their children are assimilated is usually a world far away from them.These children easily cross the boundaries of language,religion,society and culture that confuse their parents,which makes parents proud of their children's progress.But the rapid changes brought about by this progress also make their children more and more alienated from their parents.This is an irreconcilable contradiction between parents and children in immigrant families,and it is also the main reason for children's rebellion in immigrant families.From these contradictions,it is not difficult for people to realize that some generation gaps come from the inherent contradictory movements of families,and some intergenerational conflicts have a very complex immigrant living environment and attendant challenges.

Whether the stories focus on the motivation,journey,arrival or the placement of immigrants,American young adult historical novels on immigration enable the readers to have more understanding of the history of American immigration and the psychological journey of the immigrants.They describe these barriers that hinder new immigrants from adapting to American society.In the face of these problems,the young protagonists in these novels have made great efforts to rebel the pressures from parents or other elements and assimilate into of the new country.Nevertheless,when the young immigrants in these novels arrive in America,they are eager to participate rather than change the American way of life.Their personal victory takes place within what they think is the mainstream American culture.Their stories are more about "how America changed me" than "how I,or my ethnic/religious/racial group,changed America."

On the whole,although most American young adult historical novels on immigration reflect the exclusion,humiliation and discrimination experienced by immigrants,the endings of these novels are usually positive and optimistic,which is determined by the optimistic tone of young adult literature.The joys and sorrows and the moral and psychological growth and progress experienced by the young protagonists will also bring reflection and encouragement to the readers.

Acknowledgements

A research paper of the"13th Five-Year"social science project of Jilin Provincial Department of Education No.2015523.