Typical American by Gish Jen

First published: 1991

The Work

Gish Jen’s Typical American tells the story of a Chinese family’s transformation from struggling immigrants into prosperous middle-class Americans. The family’s growing desire to assimilate into American society nearly destroys them as they struggle against the language barrier and against racist attitudes. Most destructive, however, is the pain they inflict on one another as they pursue individual ambitions.

At the outset of the novel, Ralph Chang and his sister Theresa are sent to the United States by their affluent parents to escape political turmoil in China during the late 1940’s. The two siblings, along with another Chinese transplant, Helen, whom Ralph eventually marries, form a tight family unit. Through difficult college years and a series of substandard apartments, the trio survives and even flourishes by their collective efforts. They are content with the modest tangible rewards their efforts earn in the United States—a television set or a used automobile. Holding up the Chinese values of their youth, they vow not to be changed by their new permissive, decadent environment. They use such derisive expressions as “typical American don’t-know-how-to-get-along” and “typical American no-morals” to describe the Americans they meet.

Over time, however, and despite lip service to ancestral tradition, the Changs, who compete and excel in America and are driven to acquire proof of their status—Ralph as an engineering professor, Theresa as a physician, and Helen as an exemplary homemaker—revel in the hallmarks of middle-class American success. They enjoy a well-appointed suburban home, a manicured lawn, and a family pet.

Ralph, in particular, has internalized the myth of Yankee ingenuity. Influenced by an American-born businessman of Chinese descent whose shady deals yield enormous profits, Ralph leaves his secure teaching position to venture into an American enterprise: He opens a fast food restaurant. He denigrates his ethnic heritage and vaunts his adopted culture with such statements as: “In this country, you have money, you can do anything. You have no money, you are nobody. You are Chinaman!”

Greed pulls the upwardly mobile family apart. Ralph falsifies his tax records to boost an already high income. Marital infidelity and near-fatal domestic violence come next. These tragic events chasten the Changs, forcing them to rethink their unrealistic notions of American opportunity and affluence. Whereas Ralph had previously quipped, “The sky is the limit,” he finally understands that regardless of nationality, “a man was the sum of his limits; freedom only made him see how much so.” By the end of this poignant and funny novel, the sobered Changs again draw close to one another with renewed faith that family is the bedrock of life. A sequel to Typical American, Mona in the Promised Land, appeared in 1996.

Bibliography

Gornick, Vivian. “Innocents Abroad.” The Women’s Review of Books 8, nos. 10-11 (July, 1991): 14. Discussing Typical American in the historical context of the immigrant novel, the reviewer points out the inadequacies and the conservatism of the novel.

Jen, Gish. “Gish Jen Talks with Scarlet Cheng.” Interview by Scarlet Cheng. Belles Lettres: A Review of Books by Women 7 (Winter, 1992): 20-21. Jen reveals her disappointment at the way the critics have treated her novel. She believes that the ethnic identity of a novel should not be used as the sole basis for judging a work. She also points out that she is careful in her use of humor because of the effect it may have on how people view the Chinese.

Jen, Gish. Interview by Yuko Matsukawa. MELUS 18 (Winter, 1993): 111-120. Jen discusses various authors who influenced her writing, including Jane Austen, Alice Munro, and Jamaica Kincaid. Although Jen sees her writing as humorous as well as somewhat indeterminate in its final message, she attributes these characteristics to be a result of her Chinese upbringing.

Jen, Gish. “Writing About the Things That Are Dangerous: A Conversation with Gish Jen.” Southwest Review 78 (Winter, 1993): 132-140. Jen talks about the biographical elements in her novel, including the pursuit of the American dream and the conflict with the elders of the Chinese community. While she appreciates the multicultural approach to literature, she realizes that it also could result in narrowed expectations for writers.

Mojtabai, A. G. “The Complete Other Side of the World.” The New York Times Book Review, March 31, 1991, 9-10. Mojtabai examines Typical American in terms of the themes of migration and mutation, the intelligence of Jen’s prose, and the questions posed by the book. The favorable review is accompanied by an interview with Jen by Laurel Graeber.

Simpson, Janice C. “Fresh Voices Above the Noisy Din.” Time 137 (June 3, 1991): 66-67. An article profiling four Chinese American novelists that places Jen alongside Amy Tan, David Wong Louie, and Gus Lee. Simpson briefly discusses each novel, quotes the authors, and attempts to link them to one another and to the context of Chinese American writing.

Snell, Marilyn Berlin. “The Intimate Outsider.” New Perspectives Quarterly 8 (Summer, 1991): 56-60. A thoughtful and extensive interview with Jen exploring the sociopolitical implications of Typical American. Jen discusses American values, the tradition of American literature, and her role as an immigrant writer.

Storace, Patricia. “Seeing Double.” The New York Review of Books 38 (August 15, 1991): 9. A review of Typical American focusing on the novel’s theme of duality. Includes a synopsis and an exploration of duality in both the joining of opposites and the coexistence of parallels.

Zia, Helen. “A Chinese Banquet of Secrets.” Ms. 12 (November-December 1991): 76-77. A review of nine novels by Chinese American women writers, with major focus on Jen, Amy Tan, Sky Lee, and Carol Tsukiyama. In discussing Typical American, Zia looks primarily at Theresa and Helen. The article effectively places Jen’s women beside other comparable female protagonists.