The art of parody
Subtitle: Maxine Hong Kingston's use of Chinese sources
By: Yan Gao.
Series: Many voices : ethnic literatures of the Americas,; v. 2; Many voices (New York, N.Y.) ;; v. 2.
Publisher: P. Lang
Published: 1996
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 178
Subjects: Kingston, Maxine Hong -- Knowledge -- China.; Kingston, Maxine Hong -- Sources.; Women and literature -- United States -- History -- 20th century.; Chinese American families in literature.; American literature -- Chinese influences.; Mythology, Chinese, in literature.; Chinese Americans in literature.; Metaphor.; China -- In literature.
Description: Maxine Hong Kingston's use of Chinese sources is both controversial and intricate. This study, grounded in a crosscultural perspective, systematically analyzes Kingston's employment of Chinese sources and teases out a basis for a coherent, unifying reading of her three major works.

It discusses how Kingston's bicultural heritage enables her to observe life from the vantage of double consciousness, and how this vantage helps her travel freely across cultural boundaries to parody and play with both Chinese and American traditions in order to find a unique voice in her search of identity.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [167]-174) and index.