21세기 북미 화인화문소설의 추세와 특징-초국적 이주자문학으로서 화인화문문학의 문학적 가능성

Abstract

This paper examined the trend, characteristics, and literary possibilities of North American Chinese-language fiction that showed rapid development in the 21st century. 21th Century North American Chinese-language fiction shows the following trends. (1) While personal experience-oriented writing continues, there is a new tendency to explore the whole overseas Chinese or to compare and contemplate on Chinese and Western cultures. (2) It expresses the in-depth knowledge of North America and the in-depth psychology of North American Chinese. (3) There is an increasing number of works that express deep understanding and emotions about the identity of North American Chinese and the socio-cultural differences between China and North America. (4) More and more works reflect on the past China or observe the changing China based on the perspective and experience of overseas Chinese as transnational migrants. (5) More and more works reflect on overseas Chinese and mankind itself based on the transnational consciousness. (6) It often expresses the dual identity of overseas Chinese, and it even tends to express a variable and multiple identity. 21th Century North American Chinese-language fiction shows following characteristics. (1) It expresses the attempt to find a new "home" to which the body and mind can be depened on constantly through various events, situations, and emotional waves experienced by overseas Chinese. (2) It shows the life as a minority, economic difficulties, racial discrimination, and changes in gender status experienced by North American Chinese, as well as conflicts, adaptation, and hybridization resulting from socio-cultural differences between China and North America. (3) It deals with various aspects of life that do not exist or are rarely addressed in China, as well as issues that are avoided in North American English literature. (4) It shows the transnational consciousness of 21th Century transnational migrants and their variable and multiple identity. Overseas Chinese-language literature, including North American Chinese-language fiction, is a part of transnational migrant literature by transnational migrants who are emerging as a new human group today. It has multiple characteristics that are not limited to the literature of any particular country or region. It has the potential to lead to the creation of a new “world literature” that is not composed of a mosaic of national literatures.