Positive portrayals about Chinese or Asia are rarely found in literary works, mass
media, or popular culture, especially with the aim of the US or global audience. So
many stories have only been told from the point of view of well-known superior
controlling groups, the Westerns, which rises from what Edward Said called
Orientalism. Crazy Rich Asians is a novel by Kevin Kwan, in which there are rich
cultural and social aspects that are worth investigating and stands out from the rest,
because it presents issues that have rarely been discussed before; that is, the other,
opposite perspective of Orientalism. Therefore, by engaging with postcolonial
study and critical textual analysis, this research aims to investigate how the novel
challenges Orientalism through the Chinese-Singaporean characters. Results from
the data analysis reveals that the novel is proven to challenge Western superiority
in Orientalism by countering the common stereotypical traits of the Asians usually
presented, telling the readers that there is a side of Asia that has not been known to
the world. It is apparent in the way the novel depicts the Chinese-Singaporean
characters to be rich and powerful, which led them to have power against the West,
instead of poor, weak, and inferior from the West as in the concept of Orientalism.
Further, the novel shows the dominance of the Chinese-Singaporean characters as
the superior one to be able to rise from the downturn of colonialism of the West, to
reform Asia’s image and to develop more diverse, positive portrayals of Asians.

TS2101

TS BSI 2021 01

Perpustakaan FAH (Tesis BSI)

Tersedia namun tidak untuk dipinjamkan - No Loan

Share :