La figure du réfugié dans la littérature de la diaspora vietnamienne en Amérique du Nord : analyse des premiers romans de Lê Thi Diêm Thúy et de Kim Thúy
Research on Vietnamese diasporic literature from a North American perspective has long been neglected by literary critics. In the United States, writings of authors who originated from Vietnam are usually labeled as Asian-American literature, while in Quebec we prefer to use the term « migrant literature ». This is why this master thesis proposes an analysis of The Gangster We Are All Looking For (2003), from Lê Thi Diêm Thúy, and Ru (2009), from Kim Thúy. Aside from featuring a second generation protagonist, both novels question the way family and collective memory shape the relation to self and others. In The Gangster We Are All Looking For, the quest for identity is defined by the persistance of anonymity as well as by the desire to become a “gangster”, a rebellious figure. In Ru, the future is more related to the notion of integration : the narrator’s life trajectory can be described as an ascent towards the American dream. Many literary critics understood exile in terms of culture and hybridity, but few of them took into account its juridico-political aspect. Using Giorgio Agamben’s concept of “bare life” and Edward Said’s ideas in « Nationalism, Human Rights, and Interpretation », we will demonstrate that exile cannot be merely reduced to a compelling journey told from the perspective of privileged citizens (writers, artists, poets, intellectuals), since it also reflects the precarious status of those who are not recognized by the State (the refugees, the stateless, the undocumented workers).
boat people exil Asian-American literature refugee exile Vietnamese identity migrant literature