Assimilation Through Self-Discovery: The Function

Assimilation through self-discovery: The function of religion in developing Mona's identity in Gish Jen's "Mona in the Promised Land" The propagation of immigrants in the United States at the start of the 20th century marked the increasing cultural diversity in its society. With the influx of people entering the country carrying with them their cultures, beliefs, and heritage, people of European or African or Asian heritage, it became inevitable that both immigrants and American society would experience a 'mixture' or hybrid process of assimilating each other's cultures.

This is the scenario presented in the novel, "Mona in the Promised Land" by Gish Jen. Set in the year 1968, the novel reflects Mona's search for identity in the midst of a culturally diverse society. As a second-generation Asian-American, Mona confronts the reality that she is both different and integrated with her society: her being born in the U.S. made her feel she was part of American society, but her physical appearance and Chinese parents remind her society that she is different, and should be treated as such.

Jen presents Mona's character in one of its crucial stages -- an adolescent, young woman who sought the approval of her friends by fitting in, i.e., doing things 'her friends' way.' While the novel illustrates the protagonist's search for identity, Jen's focus deviated from the usual depiction of teenage second-generation Asian-Americans interacting with other members of the American society that are equally diverse and different. The author instead utilizes religion as Mona's 'medium' through which she had sought to establish her identity as an Asian-American.

This paper posits that religion is but one of the primary instruments through which Mona had tried to create and develop her identity, a preparation towards her path to self-discovery and development of a personal philosophy. The texts that follow provide evidence that indeed, religion is only one of the ways wherein Mona channeled her determination to pursue her identity in a multi-culturally diverse American society. The most pivotal moments of Mona's life as an Asian-American were reflected in her school years as an adolescent.

As a teenager, Mona reveled at her being Chinese-American, and used this difference to catch the attention of other people. Jen provides a detailed description of the social environment where Mona's life takes place: during the year 1968, the civil rights movement was at its height of popularity and acceptance, wherein the women, youth, and various race sectors in the society fight for equal rights in the society.

Mona, who lives in a neighborhood that was dominated by the Jewish community, felt awareness that she lives in a society where differences were inevitable and had to be accepted. As Jen narrates, "...lots of Jews could take them or leave them same as the Christians...Mona shouldn't generalize. So let her not generalize, except to say pretty soon she's been to so many bar and bas mtzvahs..." (6).

From this passage in the novel, it was evident that Mona's exposure to Judaism had allowed her to create a multi-perspective of how she must interpret her reality: through an American's, Chinese's, and Jew's eyes. Indeed, religion may have been dominantly used in the novel as Mona's self-expression or -profession of her beliefs and opinions, but Judaism was just the appropriate way that Mona found through which she can express her beliefs in life.

In fact, the society she lives in during the year 1968 proliferates with numerous 'religions' -- that is, philosophies and ideologies that reflects an individual's or group's identity, develops and eventually affirms it, and acknowledged by the society. In Mona's case, although it was not explicitly expressed in the novel, Seth (or Sherman), her Japanese friend-turned boyfriend-turned fiance had been one of her 'religions.' The hard realization she got from Sherman during their adolescent years, where she had been told that, "You just want to tell everything to your friends.

You just want to have a boyfriend to become popular" (21). Saying this, Seth/Sherman made Mona acknowledge that despite her being American, she also seeks to identify herself, in the same way that he tried to assert himself as a Japanese. Indeed, Seth became Mona's religion, because he helped primarily in shaping her personal philosophy in life.

Through Seth, "...she finds that she owns a whole self inside the self that she knows, someone sharing her skin....How common she is! For how else can it be that on early acquaintance, someone can know her so much better than she knows herself?" (109). Through Seth, she realized she can be integrated in her society without trying hard to assimilate herself. In fact, she can easily assimilate in her society just by being herself.

Seth's abandon of society's norms and pursuing instead what he wants and believes in made him feel comfortable and less confused and unsure of his life. Mona, whose life was dictated by so many 'ideals,' ideals that her parents, friends, and indirectly, the society in general, became overwhelmed and could no longer decide for herself what indeed she should be.

Thus, Seth confirmed what she is, accepted her for what she is, and brought about in her the realization that difference is not so much based on race or religion but on the individual himself or herself. Mona expressed this much when she tried to enlighten her friends and family with her basic notion of Judaism: "The whole key to Judaism is to ask, ask, instead of just obey, obey...You've got to realize you're a minority" (137).

This meaningful passage must not be taken in a socio-political context; instead Jen wants her readers to interpret this philosophically. From Jen's standpoint, Judaism had helped her confirm for herself that self-reflection were the keys toward achieving self-discovery. The Jew's endless need to question things.