Caught between the East and the West

Catherine Lim on Singapores Cultural Dilemma

Name: Lim Zhi Wei
Faculty: College of Foreign Languages and Literature: English
Supervising Professor: Ms. Lian Lu

Identity Crisis

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the effects that East-West cultural conflict has on group ideology, an
individuals sense of belonging as well as societal impact through the literary works of Catherine Lim.
With globalization comes a clash of different cultures, and which brings about the problem of identity
crisis. It is without a doubt that this is a common problem confronting multi-cultural societies. Catherine
Lims literary works would hence be the foci of examination in this paper, and would be used to uncover
the psychological struggle that confronts overseas Chinese, especially that of women writers, in todays
world: how to establish an independent, unique cultural identity through ones struggle with East-West
cultural conflict.
Key Words: Identity Crisis

Introduction
The colonization of Asia marked the advent of cultural conflicts between the east and the
west at the beginning of the 19th century. The imposition of Western authority and its ideals left
indelible marks upon the many colonies across Asia, with long-lasting consequences the resultant
cultural tension has been made all the more palpable with the effects of globalization since the
late 20th century. Singaporeans are no strangers to this cultural phenomenon. What makes this
cultural phenomenon even more interesting is the city-states reliance on the English language as
an indispensable tool for survival, and its struggle to retain Asian traditions which are fast losing
their grips on the society.
Nevertheless, this is not an issue that can be easily dealt with. According to Homi
Bhabha, the study of a colonial subject is a complex issue that does not involve a simple
rejection of different but a recognition and disavowal of an otherness that holds an attraction and
poses a threat (Childs and Williams 1997, pg 125). This results in hybridization which
ultimately leads to the synthesis of two entirely different cultures. Nevertheless, Bhabha believes
that there is a tendency for one to return to the colonial way of subjugation, even by those who
have subconsciously adopted the ways of the West. As can be seen from her novels, Singaporean
writer Catherine Lim is conscious of this fact, and attempts to strike a balance between the East
and the West, to place the two polarized ends on a platform that allows assimilation and
communication. Therefore, the primarily purpose of this essay is to examine the issue of
hybridization between the East and the West through Lims works, and to probe into the effects
that hybridization has created upon the Singaporean cultural context. In addition, AsianAmericans would be roped in at the end of the paper to serve as a basis for comparison: to
compare the similarities and/or differences in cultural complexities that confront both
Singaporeans and Asian-Americans. It must, however, be noted that this would only be but a
minor addendum to the entire essay.

Catherine Lim in Singapore

Catherine Lim was born in Malaysia in 1942, and migrated to Singapore in 1967. Due to
her education in a convent school, Lim was deeply influenced by the English language and its
culture at a very young age. Her affection for the language prompted her to major in English at
the University of Malaya. She became a full-time writer in 1992, and has received accolades in
recognition of her literary efforts. She was knighted the Order of Arts and Letters by the French
Ministry of Culture and Information, having also earned the title of Honorary Doctor of
Literature accorded by Australias Murdoch University. In addition, she is an outspoken critic of
the current Singapore government, using the power of pen and blogs to lash out against its
autocratic rule.
During the course of my interview 1 Lim, the outspoken writer, claimed to have suffered
from colonial inferiority, and has been undergoing a process of cultural reclamation all these
years. It dawned upon her that the language which she was falling in love with the language of
Shakespeare, Milton, and Jane Austen, could not be used to describe (her) silly little stories
(Private Interview). These anecdotes of hers bore strong traces of Asian origins, and have no
affinity with queens, elves, snows, and strawberries which she was more familiar with. This
concurrent process of cultural reclamation and cultural inferiority has greatly affected her
narrative perceptive, sometimes with conflicting results. Mimicries of the West have been played
out on the one hand, while the attempt to celebrate traditional cultural legacy has been played out
on the other hand. Her familiarity with the English language and its ideals colored her perception
on how she describes and judges the Singaporean society. Yet she seeks to preserve the many
cultural heritages that are on the verge of being threatened and lost. Cultural overlapping creates
room for ambivalence in her novels, of which she exploited in her quest to reaffirm the
Singaporean cultural identity. How then does she seek to accept Western influences, retrieve lost
voices of those deselected and integrate elements from both the East and the West in the process
of hybridization?
It is essential for one to understand the political, economic and societal changes that mark
Singapores history before examining Lims novels. It was in the year 1965 that Singapore
gained independence from Malaysia a great challenge for a city-sate with no natural resource
to rely on for sub-subsistence, let alone economic development. It was a critical moment for the
then Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew, who once commented that Singapore with its
sovereignty was an absurd idea (Chua 1998, pg. 29). The People Action Party (PAP) with its
strong grip on Singapores political scene was thus obliged to make moves that led to farreaching consequences on the local cultural scene.
These moves were met with resistance and controversy. One must take into account the
deep, divisive lines that separated the four major ethnic groups a legacy left behind by British
1

Lim agreed to meet me for a personal interview in August 2008. During our conversation, I got to know more about her
educational background, her views on East-West cultural divide in Singapore as well her opinions on feminism.

colonial rule. Ghetto concentrations (OsterHammuel 1997, pg. 89) were created by the British
during colonial times to segregate four major ethnic groups in Singapore- the Chinese, the
Malays, the Indians and the Eurasians. Communities established along racial lines had been
inherently rooted in the society, creating problems for the government in the integration of
different collective units into one unifying force.
It was ironical that the solution to this problem came in the form of the English language,
a tool which was skeptically perceived as a form of colonist imposition. This tool became all
the more important in a fragmented linguistic landscape where different ethnic groups pledged
allegiances to different places of origins. (OsterHammunel 1997, pg. 103) English has since been
used as a unifying tool within the nation. Thus came the implementation of the 1966 language
policy, where English became the official teaching language for all subjects with the exception of
mother tongue classes. It was the governments intention to bind Singaporeans together in the
name of political stability so as to render economic progress possible.
Politics has thus been reduced to economics (Chua 1998, pg. 31), while the idea of
culture has been subsumed under the prerogative of economics. Voices of dissent were heard
amongst the people, especially amongst the Chinese who constituted the largest ethnic group in
the nation. A notable group of people welcomed this change though. Some had been educated in
schools set up by the colonial government and religious missionaries of former times, while
others were quick to appreciate the economic opportunities proffered by ones ability to master
the English language. It could usher ones way to prominent positions in much coveted positions
within the government service, and opened up doors for future business cooperation with the
richer West. As Lim aptly put it, English was seen as a language of economic advancement, not
least in the eyes of her parents (Private interview).
The degradation of ones native language to secondary position would, however, creates
a tension between the affirmation of indigenous culture and the adoption of foreign culture
(OsterHammunel 1997, pg. 103). It is no wonder that many experience the effects of such
changes. Moreover, this tension has been intensified by the governments attempt to distinguish
Western liberalism and Asian traditional values into moralistic, arbitrary and binarized
frameworks of good and evil. Conscious efforts have also been made to incorporate ideals from
both the East and the West to conjure up a uniquely Singaporean cultural identity that is
politically and economically self-serving. And so
[w]ithin the kinds of cultural discourses that have emerged in Western contexts, it
is believed that what has come to be called multiculturalism is a means for
empowering minority ethnic and other groups by redressing discriminatory
practices against them. In Singapore, on the other hand, what has come to be
called multiracialism functions effectively as a means of disempowerment

because it erases the grounds upon which a racial group may make claims on
behalf of its own interests without ostensibly violating the idea of group equality
that is the foundation of multiracialism itself. (Chua 1998, pg 36)
If culture and language are indispensable of each other, how then does the coerced
imposition of English, the conscious selection/discarding of traditional Asian ideals impact ones
view of his own roots and his willingness to embrace an alien form of thought which has been
made distant yet strangely familiar?
According to Homi Bhabha, the forceful integration and assimilation of different cultural
ideals and practices leads to ambivalence. The ensuing ramification is the formation of a Third
Space, where cultural overlapping creates grey areas which results in ambiguity. Such ambiguity
can be problematic as one confronts his own cultural identity. The existence of different racial
groups further amplifies the impact that this Third Space has on local Singaporeans. On the one
hand, Singapore tries to deny Western hegemony so as to preserve its Asian authenticity. On the
other hand, she seeks to negotiate existing cultural differences amongst different racial groups so
as to create a unifying identity in response to the contingencies of social demands. These cultural
signs are not fixated; they waver between radical imitation and extreme nationalism so as to
come out with alternative selves in this evolving process (qtd in Childs and Williams 1998).
As such, the process of integration and exclusion is fraught with difficulties and
dilemmas, reflective of a society deeply caught up in a struggle between the East and the West.
Greenbatt believes that history and literature are mutually intertwined; one cannot survive
without the other. History can therefore be verified through a critical analysis of Lims novels,
using them as a platform to better understand the process of cultural hybridization in the
Singaporean context. The Bondmaid (BM), Following The Wrong God Home (FWGH) and The
Song of Silver Frond (TSSF) will be the focus of examination and evaluation.

The Over-Romanticized West

Through her fictional description, Lim exhibits an understanding of the love-hate
relationship between the East and the West, and is conscious of the effects that Western influence
has over the Orient. Edward Said established the concept of Orientalism to counterattack the
discourse power of the West over the Orient. Orientalism was to him an enormously systematic
discipline by which European powers were able to manage and even produce the Orient
politically, sociologically, militarily, ideologically, scientifically, and imaginatively during the
post-Enlightenment period. It vacillates between the Wests contempt for what is familiar and
its shivers of delight in or fear of novelty (Said 2003 pg.3, 59), thereby accentuating the
difference between the East and the West. The doctrinal establishment of it all was, however,
built on unjustified grounds of Western superiority, rendering the Orient to an indisputable
position of inferiority.

Not only does the biased judgment of the East strengthened the sense of superiority
amongst the West, but also reaffirmed the inadequacy of the East. This sense of inadequacy was
strongly felt by those who came under its direct influence, and Lim is no exception to what she
deemed as colonial hangover. Despite the governmental doctrinal stance in holding Western
liberalism accountable for a lifestyle of decadence and the gradual collapse of the traditional
family nucleus, a prevalent yet unspoken view of Western superiority and Eastern inferiority
remains deeply entrenched within the confinements of Singapores socio-cultural context.
Lim explores this aspect in Following the Wrong God Home. Yin Lings love for Ben
Gallagher in the novel runs parallel to Cio-Cio Sans love for lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton in
Puccinis Madame Butterfly. Madame Butterfly is not only a tragic love story about the unequal
status quo of men and women in an Asian context, but also an indication of the West desire for
control over the supine East and the Easts willing supplication to the domineering West.
Like Cio-Cio San, Yin Ling traded much for her Western lover. She fitted into the picture
of a typical Asian lady forced into submission by an unhappy marriage; she traded her life for
Gallagher, an American professor, the moment he stepped into her life. Gallagher was often
portrayed as playing the role of a savior, chastising the locals for having been too weak to
follow the truth of their hearts (FWGH, pg 152). The desire of the West to control the East could
be seen from Gallaghers constant challenge against local authority, his forceful implantation of
the western mode of political consciousness into local societal context. Yin Lings love for
Gallagher reflected her subtle admiration for Western notions of individual rights and justice
which stood out starkly against her subtle condemnation of Asian collectivism and self-denial.
It is doubtless that Yin Ling came across as a typically subservient (Asian) wife of
enigmatic beauty, always ready to deny herself. She was, however, unhappy with the current
state of things. The cause of her discontentment was a self-serving, domineering husband who
saw material providence an end to marital love. Then came the all-knowing Westerner with the
courage to defy, the charisma to charm and the readiness to liberate Yin Ling from the throes of
oppression. Only a defiant hero from the West possesses the power to liberate, and only his love
can liberate the hapless, passive heroine from the mantles of an unhappy union. When Yin Ling
finally eloped with Gallagher and left her family upset and humiliated, an unconscious display of
power relations in its crudest form has been depicted: a silent concession to Western superiority,
and the reaffirmation of an orientals inability to defend for his/her rights and his predilection for
despondency.
Paradoxically, Yin Ling was not exactly a woman without strength. When prone to
sudden outbursts of rage and indignation, she can challenge men in public for their
discriminatory remarks against women. Yet she remained weak and suppliant in front of her
husband, Vincent, before she walked out from him. More often than not, Yin Ling was seen to
have wavered between supplication and independence; she experienced the fervent need to
uphold time-honored values, but wanted to reassert her rights at the same time. Much as she

loved and admired Gallagher, she did not submit to him immediately and easily. She was in
constant struggle to protect the name of the family and her desire for individuality. Bhabha
argues that individuals of a once colonized nation waver between polarized terms, and struggle
between belonging and alienation, custom and power, order and license as well as [Western form
of] justice and injustice. Yin Ling is an example of a person struggling between these
vacillations. Her story is reflective of a nation ambivalent in its constitution, split by otherness
within and hybridized at its every contact with the Other (over) lapping its borders (Childs and
Weathers 1997, pg. 140). It is without a doubt that this has been made all the painful and difficult
with the romanticization of the West.

Asian Mysticism a Voice for the Subaltern and the Dangers of Mimicry
Asian Mysticism colors Lims works as she seeks to reclaim her culture and give voices
to the subalterns. Her persistency in integrating these mystical elements into her stories came
more as aesthetic appeals to ones sensory pleasures rather than an attempt to clarify and
understand them. Were the stories of gods and goddess, which had been written in hard-headed
levelness, as inexplicable as it were to readers and perhaps to Lim herself as well? It bore traces
of eastern mysticism which appealed to an Orientalists mode of romanticism that leaves much
room for imagination and maneuvering. Had she then become an Orientalist who saw these
Asian practices within the spheres of the occult and the unknown?
Ponzanesi believes that the creation of mythologies in post-colonial novelists not only
explores cultural legacies that are under constant evolution, but also act as mechanisms to allow
the oppressed the opportunity to speak for themselves (Ponzanesi 2004). This argument can be
applied to Lims novels, for mythologies in her works not only provide an element of Asiatic
mysticism that reasserts her identity as an Asian writer, but also an avenue for those whose
voices have been suppressed by the powerful influence of Western discourse.
Ponzanesi believes that the presence of supernatural beings in such novels lie in the most
apocalyptic way, but are not defeated since they come into the text in the form of vacuum, of
silence, of perturbation (Ponzanesi 2004, 102). Hence, hapless mortals only came to power after
death, as was the case in The Bondmaid. The fight between gods and goddesses in The
Bondmaid is a further implication of a subaltern desire to fight back and establish her
independence. Han decided to befriend an abandoned goddess when hounded by womans spite
and mans lust. She redoubled her prayers, no longer to Sky God, but to the Forgetful Goddess
with no eyes or ears, in a change of allegiance as bold as it was risky, for Sky God, once
renounced, never forgave. (BM, pg 188) The presence of the Phallus rendered Sky God a
symbolic figure of male dominance, while Forgetful Goddess with no eyes or ears stood out as a
symbol of female subjugation. Hans allegiance with Forgetful Goddess was a subconscious
display of an oppressed womans desire to stand up against societal injustices during her time;
the need to preserve ones dignity in a male-dominated environment. Combats between Sky God
and Forgetful Goddess were often enacted in Hans dreams. She saw in her last stage of delirium

the attempt to save Forgetful Goddess from the painful jibes of Sky God, and prevailed. The last
act of victory was symbolic in a womans escape from the mantles of male domination her
final assertion of freedom.
These mythologies, however, remained symbolic and superfluous. In her analysis of
Guptas stories, Ponzanesi discovers that the contradictory elements of mythologies do not offer
a straightforward clarification of where [these] agency and empowerment are (Ponzanesi 2004,
pg 102). This could be used to explain the subalterns sometimes eccentric and sensory narrations
of the mythologies, for it enhances the haplessness of a subaltern to represent itself. In addition,
Yin Lings long time servant, Ah Heng Cheh, and her fatal obsession to place her god-like
figurine back to a downtrodden temple in rural China came as a fierce yet helpless longing for
cultural reclamation. Ghosts, Chinese legends in the novels became as elusive as it could get.
These narrations further enhance the sense of ambivalence and futility of ones attempt to
retrieve what have been long lost and gone.
There is also Lims tendency to create characters of grotesque deformities in her novels
as well. There was Spitface a beast-like creature afflicted with the utter dereliction of mind
and body (BM, pg 69). Not forgetting Ah Heng Cheh and her sinister menace in Following the
Wrong God Home. It was the presence of these characters that shrouded Lims novels in mystery.
Yet their deformities could be seen as Lims troubled attempt to truly represent the lost voices of
the subalterns in the best way possible. It would be a futile and hypocritical endeavor when one
attempts to represent the deselected, for these voices have been forever lost with the passage of
time and would be unfairly represented by a writers idea of what they should and could have
been (Childs and Weathers, 1997). Therefore, characters like Spitface and Ah Heng Cheh could
never be whole and complete; their grotesqueness a testimony to a writers failure, not least a
post-colonial writers failing attempt to truly represent the subaltern authentic selves and be their
genuine voices.
If Asian mysticism seeks to ascertain the lost identities of the subalterns, then the crude
imitation of Western practices as depicted in Lims novels reflects her underlying skepticism on
Western infiltration. Bhabha contends that mimicry involves assimilation that makes the
colonized like his colonizer, and this leads to the doubtful questioning of the originators identity.
Bhabha believes that with mimicry comes a threat to Western cultural identity (qtd in Childs and
Weather 1997). The reversal is true in ones textual analysis of Following the Wrong God Home,
for there is a slight indication of the greater harm done by mimicry if the imitators zealousness
for assimilation into a foreign culture runs into extremity.
Yin Lings husband, Vincent Chee, is one such victim of mimicry. It is notable how his
religious affiliation with Christianity developed throughout the course of the story. He started out
as a devout Christian who never ventured to trespass the threshold of chastity. He would check
himself at Yin Lings lower belly in the act of love-making, and was proud to have aligned with
Christian values which advocated sexual intactness until after the sacrament of holy matrimony

(FWGH, pg 78). Yet his self-restraint, which derived power from Judeo-Christian indoctrination,
seemed to have given rise to his despotic disposition. His jealous zeal for Christianity drove his
mothers worship of Chinese gods into hidden secrecy. But his discovery of Father da Costas
betrayal on the sanctity of marriage and sex made him vengeful. In a moment of intense hatred,
he took away Yin Lings chastity without her consent. Their consummation prior to marriage was
thus established upon an unequal power status quo that saw the objectification of Yin Lings
body one that was to be conquered.
The ability to rein in sexual drives within the realms of sanctified marriage was often
perceived as a form of civilized behavior. Said believed that the institutionalization of sex
accorded the West an overbearing sense of self-righteousness and an acquired air of arrogance
(Said 1973). Vincent became an apostate and believer as a result of traditional Judeo-Christian
influence, and was initially proud to have adopted the idea of chastity as coming from the West.
He felt that he was in a justifiable position to scoff at Gallaghers apparently wayward behavior.
Measured against this backdrop was Lims strong criticism against the tyranny of Western
religious ideals. Her distrust against a tradition marked by suppression and conquest is starkly
felt in this instance. In addition, the reversal of roles here reflects the dangers of mimicry and
blurs the differing lines between the colonizers and the colonized. Gallagher supported and even
participated in Asian worship. It was Vincent - a local elite who came under the Judeo-Christian
influence, became its proponent and was ultimately betrayed by its hypocrisy. He was,
paradoxically, a victim and perpetrator of such an influence. On the one hand, he himself was
restricted by Judeo-Christian doctrinal beliefs. On the other hand, he used these beliefs to
suppress the [otherness] of those around him. He struggled in the peripheries of cultural
overlapping. More often than not, Vincent was torn between filial piety and his adverse hatred of
idol worship practiced by his mother. Ironically, it was Gallagher who appreciated and
understood the meaning of idol worship, fought hard against local authority to protect Ah Heng
Chehs god-like figurine, and was persecuted for rebellion.
The fact that Vincent was capable of such despotic means, and that Gallagher became the
weaker link in this dramatic episode, contests the binary division between the colonized and the
colonizer. The erosion of such differences is an implication of the effects of hybridization.
Colonization has the power to bring out the worst in anyone, awaking the residing devil in his
soul. Rey Choy believes that when the oppressed imitates the habits of the colonizers, he no
longer is an untarnished epitome of the native and the oppressed (Gandhi 1998). Colonization no
longer remains an exclusive term for the Western counterparts. Hybridization, as Frantz Fanon
sharply observed, served as a catalyst for the accelerated mutation of colonized societies where
the privileged and elite further silenced the oppressed his right to rebuke and his right to speak
(Gandhi 1998, pg 138).

Feminism in the Asian Context

The idea of hybridization can be further explored from a feminist perspective. It is well
regarded that man plays a preceding role over that of a woman in major cultures and
civilizations. Eve has been created out of Adam, so Adam has the right to rule over her. The one
with the Phallus has the prerogative to conquer the one without the Phallus. This singular,
biological difference divides the performing roles of men and women in a society, and the
subsequent relegation of women into secondary positions. Judith Butler moves one step further
and seeks to expound the meaning of sex using Beauvoirs belief that one becomes a woman
rather than the belief that one is born a woman, Butler argues that it is cultural norms that shape
our idea of what constitute a woman. Below is an excerpt which further propounds her argument:
The cultural matrix through which gender identity has become intelligible
requires that certain kinds of identities cannot exist that is, those in which
gender does not follow from sex and those in which the practices of desire do not
follow from either sex of gender. Follow in this context is a political relation
of entailment instituted by the cultural laws that establish and regulate the shape
and meaning of sexuality (Butler 2007, pg. 24).
And so performing gender acts is , to a large extent, determined by cultural practices and
influences. To examine gender issue from a historically specific organization of sexuality
(Butler 2007, pg 125) is largely relevant in ones examination of Lims views on feminism. Lim
respects the historical specific organization of sexuality that shapes the ideas of what women
should have been, and values Asian cultural norms that have been accorded to the roles that
women have to play within the Singaporean context. Nevertheless, she believes that Western
feminist movements play important roles in liberating women from their dependant and
subservient positions. This has created positive impacts on how Singaporean women see
themselves. In addition, the governments need for human resources coerces the young nation to
open up its labor force to both men and women. Economic need and Western cultural influences
transform the performing roles of women in Singapore, and afforded them the opportunity to
fight for equality within the society.
Yet Lim also views feminism within the realms of gender equity rather than that of
gender feminism, and holds conservative views on the correlation between sex and gender. She
believes that biological characteristics determine the way women behave despite their strong
assertions on gender equity, but does not see any contradiction in the traditional roles play by
women in the East and their fight for equality (Private Interview, 2008). Kirsten Holst Petersen
believes that Third-World feminists could not position themselves between their fight for female
equality and their fight against Western cultural imperialism (Gandhi 1998, pg 93). However,
the characters in Lims story did not experience a conflict between liberal feminism and postcolonialism, between feminist emancipation and cultural emancipation (Gandhi 1998, pg 93).
This can be seen through the efforts adopted by Han and Silver Frond in earning social
recognition. Han, for instance, worked in resolute silence and hard diligence so as to gain respect

in the House of Wu. She waited in supplication for the young master to witness the full-fledged
radiance of her beauty. Similarly, The Venerable Ones affection for Silver Frond in The Song of
Silver Frond was built upon a womans integrity rather than her tactless aggressiveness. The two
protagonists knew what was demanded of them as women in the traditional Asian society, and
played along these lines. Han never thought of usurping Li-Lis position as first wife in the
House of Wu, but was contented in taking up the role of secondary wife (BM, pg 300). Silver
Frond never tried to be at odds with any of the other three wives in the Great House, and fought
hard to establish good rapport with them despite her strong love for The Venerable One.
These acts could have been perceived by Western feminists as signs of weakness. There
were no combative actions, no displays of fierce independence against the iniquities of gender
injustice. Especially when wrongs had been forgiven, lovers reunited under the auspices of fate
and time. They would have been more sympathetic towards assertive characters such as Third
Wife from The Great House who displayed acts of aggression and belligerence in her fight
against iniquity and injustice. Yet her fate was sealed in tragedy, while those who complied with
traditional virtues of patience, complementary modesty were ultimately awarded. It is an eclectic
combination of Asian values and Western ideals of self-preservation that made the protagonists
heroines within the local context. As Uma Narayan puts it, it is the hybridized form of feminism
that
mitigates the tendency of intellectuals in former colonies who are Westernized
through their education to think that anything Western is necessarily better and
more progressive These enterprises are analogous to feminist epistemologys
project of restoring to women a sense of the richness of their history to mitigate
our tendency to see the stereotypically masculine as better or more progressive,
and to preserve for posterity the contents of feminine areas of knowledge and
expertise Nonwestern feminists may find themselves in a curious bind when
confronting the interrelations between positivism and political liberalism
(Narayan 2003, pg 309).
In a bid to accept Western ideals of self-sufficiency and independence, women in
Singapore have to recognize the effects of hybridization and come to accept the larger scheme of
things -- To accept the West and appreciate the East for making Singapore a place of cultural
assimilation and integration.

Cultural Complexity: Catherine Lim vs. Gish Jen

How then do Asian-American writers reflect the East-West cultural complexity in their
works? The advent of 1960s saw the advent of Asian-American contemporary literature. In a
country of immigrants, nationalization becomes a paramount issue for discussion. No matter how
reluctant these immigrants are in conforming to the dominant Anglo-Saxon culture, they have to

participate in the naturalizing process to become an integral part of the society. Nevertheless,
each individual has been burdened with a historical, emotional baggage that could not be easily
discarded. They are simultaneously alien yet American, only [conscious of] one or the other
at any one time (David Leiwei Li 1992, pg 22). Asian-Americans are definitely no strangers to
such cultural complexities.
American-born writer Gish Jen sought to examine this issue in her works Typical
Americans and Mona in the Promised Land. Typical Americans bespeaks of cultural assimilation
and alienation, of how newly arrived Chinese immigrants Ralph and Helen Chang struggled to
conform to the local American cultural scene. And so
By portraying the Changs embodying the tenets of American character
especially so mythologized in the national literature the narrative suggests that
the Changs would be considered all-American if not for the colour of their skin...
(yet) Changs prodigious copying of American behaviour (coerces Jen to)
question the American myth of a nameless society. Helen performs what first
appear to be innocuous cultural texts popular Broadway tunes yet in doing so,
she unconsciously endorses both the alien difference and cultural inferiority
attributed to Orientals in these stage dramas. (Rachel C. Lee 1999, pg 48)
Jen goes on further to explore this issue in her next novel Mona in the Promised Land. It
is a coming-of-age sequel to Typical Americans, exploring how younger Asian-Americans seek
to redefine the cultural roles that their parents once played within the American society. The
focus has given shift to Mona and Callie, Helens and Ralphs very own daughters. It is not
surprising that marriage becomes the foci of cultural conflict in this instance.
(at) once irreducibly private, intensely communicative, and fraught with public
implications, sexuality is invoked and endlessly modulated by writers to enact a
number of conflicts between private tendencies and social influences conflicts
not peculiar to immigrants but certainly exacerbated by their precarious economic
and cultural situation. Gender roles, invested with strong emotions concerning
what is naturally fitting, become a convenient locus for testing out and
codifying cultural meaning. Thus the characters actions, depicted along a
spectrum of gender appropriateness, are assigned varying shades of
Chineseness or Americanness to indicate the extent of their homeness in the
adopted land. (Sau-ling Cynthia Wong 1992, pg 113-114)
And so Monas gradual attachment to Judaism and Seth the American Jew builds up the
tension in the already strained mother and daughter relationship in the novel. Nevertheless,
everything ended in a hopeful note with Monas marriage, and Helens final acceptance of her
daughters cross-cultural union with Seth. The question of assimilation has finally shifted from

ones assimilation into the larger, dominant Anglo-Saxon culture to the role played by minorities
in re-establishing the new American identity. Jen has readjusted its focus on how weaker ethnic
minorities have redefined the idea of assimilation by inter-marrying one another, and of how they
have come to reassert their distinct identities within the larger domains of Western discourse. It is
without a doubt that Callies adoption of a Chinese name and her reversion to Chinese culture
accorded her the strength to reassert ones identity and dignity as an individual.
It is not difficult to discern east-west cultural conflicts that have been confronting AsianAmericans and Chinese-Singaporeans in this instance. The stark difference lies in the degree of
ambiguity that confronts the two different communities. The Anglo-Saxon culture remains in
dominance it is the indispensable backbone on which cultural integration and assimilation
occurs, and on which the ever-revolving American cultural identity establishes itself. On the
other hand, the basis on which Singaporean cultural identity establishes itself is a lot more
ambiguous. Traditional Asian values served as the official stance to which the Singaporean
society has been established, but this official stance adopted is much more politically and
economically self-serving. Political and economic variables remain changeable, creating more
ambiguity in a Singaporeans journey towards cultural self-realization.
It is, however, notable that the new synergy created by ethnic minorities in American
could bring about double-edged consequences to the local cultural scene. Ethnic minorities such
as the Asian-Americans and increasing cases of inter-racial marriages are redefining the
American cultural identity. One must nevertheless be careful that too many voices could
someday erode the once dominant stronghold that the Anglo-Saxon culture always holds, and
with its dismantling comes ensuing confusion. On the other hand, the local, Singaporean culture
identity remains comparatively amorphous. It is in ones hope that time will sharpen its blurring
contours, and with right political guidance, collective synergy and individual effort can
Singaporeans establish their very own cultural identity.

Conclusion: Transcendence of East-West Cultural Divide

No one could understand the pain brought about by better than Lim herself.
The writer writing in English in Singapore is totally permeated by all the
contradictions of his setting: he is at once a threat because he is allied to a
language and lifestyle that continues to be repudiated, and a promise because it is
only he, and no the writer writing in Mandarin, Malay or Tamil who can truly
reflect the Singaporean way of life. The greater challenge to the writer writing
in English at the present time, however, is not overcoming any psychological
problem in a continuing process of laying to rest the colonial ghosts once and for

all, nor any linguistic one in the forging of new uses of the English language. It is
a largely developmental one, related to the earlier observation of a Singapore in
transition with all the insecurities and unresolved tensions that this implies. (Lim
1991, pg 37 & 39)

Similarly, to get caught up in ones past, romanticize it and block further communication
with the outside world will definitely bring more harm than good to any nation in todays
globalized world. It is
Not the closing of a door to communication [for] philosophic thought teaches
us, on the contrary, that it is its guarantee[It is] the colonial encounter in order
to bridge the old divide between Westerner and native through a consideration less
embattled if more politically amorphous account of colonialism as a
cooperative venture (Gandhi 1998, pg 124).
Neither is the blind imitation of everything Western a viable way to bridge this difference. It is
only with the presence of a Third Space can one truly seek to reconcile these differences and
with the aid of time, give shape to uncertainties and put an end to conflicting dilemmas. Lim
concludes that
History and circumstances could make us a mix. Forget about being completely
Chinese. I am a realist, how can we Chinese resemble the mainland Chinese?
Forget about it. In fact, in terms of mindset, I am more in line with the Westerners.
What I would like to see is the spontaneous, organic growth of the Singaporean
culture (Private interview, 2008).
This spontaneous, organic growth will not be a result of imitation or self-delusion, but
one that is conscious of its uniqueness, one which does not lose sight of universal, humanitarian
values. Narayan warns of the impending danger of rejecting practices of ones context so as to
get the best of both worlds (the East and West), resulting in conflicting isolation. But she
pointed out that this sense of alienation may be minimized if the critical straddling of two
contexts is part of an ongoing critical politics, due to the support of others and a deeper
understanding of what is going on (Narayan 2003, pg. 316).
What exactly do these humanitarian values entail then? It remains dubious and
ambiguous, one which requires us to walk through a painstaking, arduous journey of discovery
within the muddled boundaries of ambivalence. Perhaps Lims courageous attempt to unite the
rich and the poor (The Bondmaid), the east and the west (Following the Wrong God Home), the
old (past) and the young (present) (The Song of Silver Frond) in her novels is a first step to cross
division of any kind, and to give the world a unique blend of the Singaporean identity.

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Acknowledgement
I would like to thank Associate Professor Lian Lu for her unfailing guidance, as
well as her firm determination in pushing me to reach the highest potential that I can ever
attain. Not forgetting Singaporean writer Catherine Lim for having graciously granted me
the opportunity to interview her, and Chun-Tsung Undergraduate Research Program for
having funded this project. This paper would not have been possible without the
endorsement of the individuals/organizations mentioned above.