캐나다한인소설에 재현된 이민 가족의 황폐한 풍경

Abstract

This is a analysis of the desolate landscape of the immigrant family as represented in the Korean-Canadian novels. Immigration has changed the space for the Korean-Canadian family but the Korean familism and patriarchalism continue to haunt their life there. In other words, the novels show the conflicts in the family that are caused by the survival of specifically Korean values concerning family, which in turn, leads to maladjustment to the new social environment. We read the conflict between generations and desire to kill the father in “The Road to the Court”; the victimization of Paul by the family who died as a drug addict in “Paul and Jason”; the murder of father and mother and subsequent suicide as well as post traumatic stress disorder and suicide of the son in “Elder Brother”; compulsive hoarding syndrome, declaration of quasi-incompetence on the mother and incarceration of her by the daughter in the mental hospital in “Dream House”; the maladjustment of male immigrants and downfall of paternal authority in “Kite” and “Dream House”. The immigrant families in these novels are in fierce conflicts and on the brink of dissolution. Moving to a new society requires acceptance of the new culture as a citizen of the society and comparable resocialization of the family relationships. Nevertheless, immigrant families cannot adjust themselves to the new environment and suffer from culture shock. Parents enforce Korean values on the children, and this leads to conflicts between generations. And while women adapt to the new society comparatively well, men cannot easily cast off patriarchalism, which is a cause of familial conflicts, and find difficulty with adapting to the new society. In Korea too, overprotection and excessive expectations for children and forced obedience to parents arouse antipathy from children and give rise to generational conflicts. Further, patriarchalism, which is an institutionalized domination of women by men, can be a primary cause of marital discord. Moreover, in the North American society where individualism and democracy are in effect, Korean version of familism centered on blood ties and patriarchalism only become a cause of conflicts between parents and children or between husband and wife.