29 pages • 58 minutes read
Gish JenIn the American Society
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1986A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Authorial Context: Gish Jen
A common theme in Chinese American literature, including in “In the American Society,” is the different experiences of Chinese immigrants and their American-born children. This dynamic played out in Gish Jen’s own life. Her parents were both born in China, her mother in Shanghai and her father in Yixing, and they immigrated separately to the United States in the 1940s. Jen was born in 1955 and was raised in different parts of New York State. Jen received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University. She attended Stanford Business School for a short time to pursue an MBA, but she quit to move to China and teach English. She then enrolled in the University of Iowa, participating in the famed Iowa Writers’ Workshop and earning her MFA in fiction.
Much of Chang’s literature revolves around the Chinese American experience, and multiple works focus on the fictional Chang family in particular. In her book, Typical American (1991), Jen writes about Ralph Chang coming to America. There, he meets his future wife, Helen, and the two set about achieving the American dream. Mona Chang’s story is told in Mona in the Promised Land (1996). This is a coming-of-age novel in which Mona converts to Judaism. Just like the characters in “In the American Society” attempt to determine what it means to be American, Mona’s book centers her assumption that being American means being able to be whoever you want.
Jen has published nine books and myriad short stories and articles. She has won awards like the Massachusetts Book Prize, and Typical American was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her 2022 short story collection, Thank You, Mr. Nixon, which focuses on the 50 years since the opening of China after the People’s Revolution, was nominated for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction.
Cultural Context: 20th-Century Chinese Immigration and Chinese American Literature
In 1882, immigration from China to the United States was limited by the Chinese Exclusion Act due to anti-Chinese bias. The Act was extended and altered over the years, but it was replaced in 1943 with the Magnuson Act, which allowed 105 Chinese immigrants per year into the United States. American immigration policy changed drastically after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was passed, which eliminated policies that prioritized immigration from white, European countries while excluding most other populations. Immigration from Asian countries boomed, and Chinese American literature started to garner attention in the late 20th century as the number of Chinese immigrants to America began to increase. The 1980s, when Gish Jen published “In the American Society,” was a particularly vibrant time for Chinese American women authors, and books like Maxine Hong Kingston’s China Men (1980) and Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club (1989) gained national acclaim.
“In the American Society” incorporates key themes that are found in many works of Chinese American literature. One is the different experiences of first and second-generation immigrants. Often, American-born children of immigrants assimilate into American culture better than their parents because they grow up immersed in the culture. Callie narrates this story with a casual tone, demonstrating her comfort with American culture. Likewise, tension surrounds the idea of assimilating into the predominately white, mainstream American society. The Chang family showcases different attitudes about assimilation; Mr. Chang wants to emulate his grandfather and stick to what he knows, while Mrs. Change aspires to American wealth signifiers like a country club membership.
A third theme often explored in Chinese American literature is the pull between tradition and contemporary Western ideas. As Chinese American women writers incorporated feminist themes into their work, some male critics accused them of cultural relativism and anti-Chinese sentiment. Jen references the patriarchal Chinese society “In the American Society,” though the text doesn’t advocate for one belief system over another. Mrs. Chang does not feel it is appropriate to do something against her husband’s wishes, and Mr. Chang aspires to be like his grandfather, who was a respected patriarch in his village. Rather than arguing in favor of any one character’s perspective, Jen highlights how this particular type of patriarchy does not fit within American society.
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