Identity presentation in stories of past and present: An analysis of memoirs by authors of the 1.5 generation of Vietnamese Americans

• Main Author: Cao, Thanh Hai
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2009
• Subjects: American studies; Ethnic studies
• ISBN: 1109590431; 9781109590432

This paper investigates how authors of the 1.5 generation of Vietnamese Americans represent their identity in their memoirs. 1 The analysis shows that the condition under which each author came to the United States, either as an anticipatory or an acute refugee, influences the way each memoir is constructed in terms of timeline and content. In particular, this study shows that the authors choose different themes such as conversion, imagined space and food to talk about the process of adaptation in the new world. Along with the themes, either linear or disruptive timeline is deployed as a way to represent their refugee condition. Together, they constitute a diverse and unique identity representation of the 1.5 generation of Vietnamese Americans. 1Created by scholars of post 1965 immigrants, 1.5 generation is used to refer to immigrants who were born in a different country and came to the U.S at their early age. However, it still is a controversial concept in terms of what age span it should cover. For example, in their study, Zhou and Bankston (1998) classify foreign-born children arriving between 5 and 12 years of age as 1.5 generation children and those arriving as adolescents as first generation children. Meanwhile, Rumbaut's definition of the 1.5 generation included those arriving at adolescence. I tend to follow Rumbaut's classification because there is a qualitative difference between those who arrive as adolescents and those who arrive as adults (classified as first generation). Also, I use the term 1.5 generation of Vietnamese Americans to refer only to the people who arrived in the U.S right after the fall of Saigon in 1975 and during the 1980s and 90s (boat people). In my opinion, only those who had to suffer from the war and its aftermath in Vietnam and from the pressure of the dominant culture in the U.S are really 1.5ers. People arriving later, who qualify Rumbault's classification in terms of age, are not considered as 1.5ers in my research because they came from a united and peaceful Vietnam and arrived in a different U.S. with much more tolerance towards immigrants' cultures.