Chinese American Literature Jean Kwok's Girl in Translation: A Diasporic Reading

Abstract “A Diaspora” is one who lives in two countries but belongs to none.”- Salman Rushdie. Mobility of animates from one place to other, either forced or willful, is called “migration" and it is an age-old phenomenon. This migrated population is known as Diaspora. Diaspora Studies have become an important topic of concern in the modern era, especially after 1990s. However, it has undergone tremendous changes in the modern times. Diaspora means a man or a group of men living on a land outside their homeland. Dominancy of the natives over the Diaspora is a frequently recorded fact. Diaspora experience is not limited to the conflict between the natives and the outsiders living on that land. In the course of time, the scenario changed and the old members of the Diaspora, who have spent a considerably longer time on the new land started thinking of the new members of their own community as Diaspora and they think of themselves as the natives at least in front of the new and fresh offs. This thinking gives birth to a new concept Diaspora within Diaspora. Jean Kwok is a new generation American Born Chinese novelist with her novel Girl in Translation. It displays Diaspora experiences within the peer groups. This paper explores the same.