Exploring Hybridity and Alienation: An Analysis of Amy Tan’s The Valley of Amazement

ABSTRACT

The research paper entitled as “Exploring Hybridity and Alienation: An Analysis of Amy Tan’s The Valley of Amazement” explores the diasporic issues such as cultural clashes and belongingness in mother-daughter relationship. The diasporic characters who suffer due to cultural hybridity ultimately develops the feeling of alienation within the society. The characters experience estrangement, separation, isolation and hopelessness when they migrate from one place to another. In the novel, The Valley of Amazement,there are several characters who belong to different generations. Lucia Minturn belongs to first generation who is an American woman and becomes the victim of cultural hybridity. The second generation includes Violet who is the daughter of Lucia. She suffers from identity crisis because of hybridity. Flora belongs to third generation who is a daughter of Violet and she is victimized in-between the two worlds because of her unknown self. This has developed alienation and crisis in her life. All the three generations confront problems due to the cultural hybridity which ultimately makes the lives of these characters more pathetic. These characters of the novel struggle a lot in order to adjust ina new society. The paper will study the complications in the lives of the characters as a result of hybridity and migration from one place to another. This will be studied from the perspective of hybridity of Homi K.Bhabha.

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