This dissertation examines representations of the Pacific theater in World War II in ethnic American literature, with a focus on its rendition of US and Japanese racism and imperialism in the mid-twentieth century. Reading a range of African, Asian, Jewish, Mexican, and Native American literary writings, I investigate their modifications of the American master narrative that the Second World War was "good" and "necessary," a war fought against fascism and for democracy, justice, and freedom. Instead of such a simplistic and reductive view, ethnic American writers envision the Pacific theater as a race war between whites and persons of color and as a conflict between two imperialist nations, the United States and Japan. Ethnic Americans' racial double consciousness functions to resist an oversimplification of the Pacific theater. In these ethnic writers' work, American characters from diverse backgrounds create friendships with those of Asian nationalities, including Chinese, Filipinos, Koreans, and Japanese. These texts are necessary because ethnic Americans' experiences are underrepresented in the traditional WWII narrative of Western masculinity, originated by Ernest Hemingway and completed by President Truman and Douglas MacArthur. As opposed to the typical white American literary and cinematic treatment of the war as fought in the land of the diabolical and inscrutable enemy, ethnic American authors depict diverse experiences of both soldiers and civilians in the Pacific theater. While rendering Asia as a multifaceted but close and relatable place, they depart from both the Orientalist concept of Asia as a single entity and the Eurocentric production of WWII knowledge in the US.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1944274 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Matsuda, Takuya |
| Contributors | Foertsch, Jacqueline, Finseth, Ian, Davis-McElligatt, Joanna |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | Text |
| Rights | Public, Matsuda, Takuya, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved. |
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