MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS' HYBRID IDENTITY IN AMY TAN'S THE JOY LUC CLUB (HIBRIDITAS IDENTITAS IBU DAN ANAK DALAM NOVEL AMY TAN THE JOY LUCK CLUB)

Abstract

The Joy Luck Club is an exploration of the different identities that are experienced by mothers and daughters in the United States. Mothers, in this novel, are portrayed as characters who keep their Chinese culture although they have lived in the United States. It causes mothers feel that they have not sense of cultural belonging when they have just lived in the United States. On the contrary, daughters are illustrated as characters who assimilate their identities following American culture. Therefore, daughters often, experience many conflicts with their mothers. I assume that the source of conflict experienced by mothers and daughters is different identity. The topic about hybridity in this study is interesting to discuss because this condition relates to the phenomenon happens in diasporic communities. The problems in this study are to discuss the factor that influences mothers and daughters to be hybrid characters and the way they engage to solve their different identities. After analyzing how the process of hybridity happens to the mothers and the daughters, this study continues to discuss the result of hybridity toward both mothers and daughters. The problems are analyzed in this study is using theory of hybridity proposed by Homy K.Bhabha. This theory is applicable to the topic because the concept of hybridity based on Bhabha is the construction of culture and identity. Therefore, the study of hybridity will automatically discuss deeply related to structure of culture and identity that stress on the inequity. The results of this study shows that mothers and daughters become hybrid characters after both of them pass many conflicts in their daily life. The way that they use to solve their conflict by adopting their different identities is the main factor that lead mothers and daughters to be hybrid characters. Furthermore, this study also shows that mothers and daughters' hybridity bridge the differences of culture between Asian-American and American in the United States in 1989.