![]() ![]() Thus, all Chinese Canadian writing is inevitably hybrid" (174). As Maria Ng notes, "Whether the Chinese Canadian world is written about by an outsider or an insider, it remains undeniable that the Chinese Canadian experience is written in a non-Chinese language. As a theme, assimilation is also reflected in Choy's choice, as a Canadian-Chinese individual, to write his novel predominantly in English. Since the characters who are most eager to assimilate are children, Choy may be hinting that assimilation is an idealistic or even short-sighted project, and that, as individuals grow and mature, they gain a deeper appreciation of their traditions and heritage. The parents are where the meeting of the past and the future coincide, and they experience the most conflict about assimilating versus maintaining cultural traditions. The grandmother represents the desire to hold onto the ancient traditions of China, while the children who narrate the novel represent the willingness to embrace Western cultures even at the expense of losing those traditions most cherished by their grandmother. Because the novel focuses on the experiences of multiple generations of an immigrant family, assimilation and resistance to cultural assimilation become important themes. ![]()
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