論小說《愛的痛苦》中氣味的象征意義

祝鐵驪

【Abstract】In Pangs of Love， there are a lot of descriptions about smell. Does the author have any intentions for this conception？ This essay attempts to argue whether the tendency and pains of American born Chinese assimilation into the American society can be manifested by the clue of smell appeared in the text. The pains consist of two types. One is the pains of love between American-born Chinese and their parents under two distinctive cultural backgrounds. The other is that the effort of American-born Chinese assimilation is not well achieved.

【Key Words】smell；signification

Smell

— Important Clue Revealing tendency and pains of American- born Chinese assimilation into the US society.

Smell is a symbol that indicates American- born Chinese liking to assimilate into the American mainstream culture. At the beginning of Pangs of Love， there is a description that could associate the smell with the thought of assimilating inclination. The protagonist Ah-Wee is a chemist working for a midsize corporation that manufactures synthetic flavors and fragrance. The mission of him and his colleagues is to make the chemical world， an otherwise noxious， food-tasting， polysyllabic ocean of consumer dread， a cozier place for the deserving noses and tastebuds of American. Why does Ah-Wee work as a chemist who is expect in changing various strange or particular smells into those ones for the deserving noses and tastebuds of American. Why not choosing other professions for the narrator？ Does the author have other implicit meanings or aims for the design of Ah-Wee s career. To some extent， those unpleasant or particular smells maybe refer to those minor immigrant cultures and values existing in the American society. On the other hand， altering those smells to meet the demand or standard of American seems to be the metaphor of an effort to transform or assimilate those immigrant cultures into the dominant white culture. Therefore， the delicate design of Ah-Wees nature of work alludes to American-born Chinese mentality of assimilation into the American society.

In the process of the protagonists assimilation， smell is a symbol that shows American-born Chinese alienation from the traditional lifestyles and ideas of their parents with pangs of love. Although Ah-Wee and his mother live under the same roof， they stay in two totally different worlds. In his sons eyes， “She is a woman from another culture， of another time， at ease with needle and thread， around pigs and horses.” （Louie 1994， 259） According to translation theorist Wills， he believe “a successful translation would be creative and imaginative with active participation rather than passive or literal.”（Martha 2005） Applying the theory to the relation of Mrs. Pang and Ah-Wee， we can find that they remain locked in separate linguistic and cultural world with translating dilemmas.

Smell is a symbol that examines American-born Chinese effort to assimilate into the American Society is confronted with frustration and pains. Many American-born Chinese have good jobs and money as Mrs. Pang told. They are able to speak well English， live a typical American lifestyle and have romance with white women. （Cheung 2000， 195）However， their effort of assimilation into the American society usually faces frustration and pains since they could not keep a stable and long relationship with white woman.（David 2001）

This essay attempts to disclose the tendency and pains of American-born Chinese assimilation into the American society through the analysis on the clue of smell. They will experience two kinds of pains. One is their love with parents with misunderstanding. The other is their effort of assimilating into the dominant culture is not well identified.

Reference：

[1]David Wong Louie. 1991. Pangs of Love. New York： Knopf.

[2]David L. 2001. Racial Castration： Managing Masculinity. Durham： Duke University Press.

[3]King Kok Cheung. 2000. Words Matter： Conversation with Asian American Writers. Honolulu： University of Hawaii Press.

[4]Martha J. Cutter. 2005. Lost and Found in Translation： Contemporary Ethnic American Writing and the Politics of Language [5]Diversity. Chapter Hill： University of North Carolina Press.