Seventh and Final Step to Analysis: SYNTHESIS and Reflections

Finally, we have reached the final step of literary research analysis: Synthesis. We have accumulated many important facts that support what we initially noticed in patterns in Water Ghosts.

In the last post, as I found relevant evidence after sifting through hundreds of documents, I took the information a step further by connecting it to a large pattern I noticed in the novel. This “step further” is what I mean by synthesis. It is when you bring all of your ideas together into a pattern that you support using textual and resourceful evidence. As the analyst, if you found enough information to support your argument, synthesis will come easily because the arrival of evidence will spark further questions and thoughts regarding your topic.

Reflections during finding evidence stage:

I found information regarding a Chinese-American woman (Lei Jieqiong) that entered the field of academia during a period when even Chinese-American men were discriminated against. That was very interesting especially after reading Water Ghosts because the most of the Chinese women were in very traditional roles as homemakers. Lei and her other Chinese-American colleagues were a glimpse into the future (present day) where academia is filled with people of many ethnicities and cultures. I myself am an example of that given that I am an Indian-American in field of computer science.

The information about Lei brought up very interesting questions about how she was able to escape the traditional role of a woman in a society, as by the novel, limited women. Also a key theme I came across when reading the analysis of her thesis was that she advocated Americanization but remaining Chinese at heart. She wanted the new generations to keep hold of Chinese culture and values while assimilating into society that was predominantly white. This theme was addressed, but in an opposite way, with Corlissa and Chloe living as white women in a community run by Chinese people. That also brings up questions about assimilation in America during the 1920s when immigration was becoming a national issue.

What I realized after completing this research project was that as I was trying to answer questions about gender roles in Chinese-American communities, more questions arose than answered. That should not be seen as discouragement; personally, the discovery of culture and context for novels and stories we read in class or on our own puts a lot of things in real life in perspective. After completing this project, I have a lot of respect for my parents coming to a foreign land to have a better life and raise a family on the same values their ancestors raised them. At the beginning of this semester, no one would have caught me saying this, but I really enjoyed myself reading this novel and looking deeply into the lives of these characters through the lens of factual history.

As this research endeavor comes to a close, I would like to invite comments from my readers on their personal experiences of discovery in literary research or just reading in general.

Sixth Step to Analysis: What Useful Information I Found

From 1920 Census Data:

After sifting through several pages of documents, I came across a crucial detail that can explain Richard’s change in role. In the early 1900’s there was an increase in Chinese-American population but mainly in the population of Chinese-American men. The ratio between Chinese-American men and women went from 14:1 to 4:1 from 1910 to 1930, which clearly identifies why Richard was living alone for so long. Also this explains the men of Locke’s actions when the two boat women arrived at Corlissa’s home.

From The Identity Formation of American-Born Chinese in the 1930s: A Review of Lei Jieqiong’s (Kit King Louis) Master’s Thesis:

After reading this article, I felt that there were strong connections to make to Sofia’s role as a young-woman growing up in a Chinese-oriented family. Also she was half-Chinese which also is important to how she was growing up as a woman. Lei Jieqiong was a Chinese sociologist in the 1930s during a period when being Chinese was something to be ashamed about. Also Lei was a woman educated at the University of Southern California. This article analyzed her thesis discussing the emotional effects of segregation and discrimination against Chinese-Americans.

The article stated, “Lei observed that Chinese immigrant parents still lived in fear of intense racial hatred of them and remained China-oriented in their identity. “ Also Lei mentioned that second generation Chinese-Americans were more “American” at heart than Chinese. This is a very crucial detail that explains why Sofia was much more independent from her native culture. Instead of being aware that she will be married off to a suitor soon, she roams and is very independent from her parents.

Also another detail about Lei was that she was a teacher of Cantonese Chinese and her students called her “Kit King Louis” which was pronunciation of her name written in English. Because of this Americanization of her name, she gained the trust of the American-born Chinese youth and her being fluent in Cantonese made her trustworthy to the children’s parents. As a reader, we can connect this to Water Ghosts because Fong Man Gum changed his name to Richard Fong which could be associated with assimilating into American culture and disconnecting himself from China, which we would expect as a second generation Chinese-American. Also he disconnected himself by coming to the US as a “paper son,” which was a make-shift adoption allowing young men to come to the United States to work with a non-relative sponsor. He had no family in the United States so it would be expected that Richard take on the role of home-caretaker to provide for himself.

From Conceptualizing Chinese Diasporas, 1842 to 1949:

This article made sense of why Richard married early and “abandoned” her in China to come to the United States to find work. It was very typical that the migrant’s first marriage abroad was “not even considered a real marriage.” It was also suggested that primary wives who remained in China kept their home together and allowed their husband to marry in the US to keep him away from gambling and prostitutes. Richard had not followed what many Chinese men had done in the 1920s and 1930s, which could explain why his wife targeted him as a ghost. He abandoned her and had not sent for her like the other men who came to America for work.

The article also mentioned non-Chinese women marrying Chinese men. They had to integrate into a primarily Chinese society because they were not as well accepted into the rest of society (predominantly white). Also these wives were often regarded as second wives to their primary wives back in China. Corlissa, luckily, was never treated as anything but Howar Lee’s wife. To assimilate better into a society that viewed her as an outcast, she began to adopt Chinese ideals of having sons and was very nonchalant when it regarded her daughter, Sofia. Also to dampen the matter, Corlissa had bright red hair making her a symbol of difference in Locke. That very much explains why she had to struggle to assimilate into Chinese-American society, which plays a large role in her gender role definition.