The Leavers
The Leavers follows Deming Guo, the son of an illegal Chinese immigrant, as he grows up in America. As his mother one day suddenly disappears and he's put up for adoption, Deming is thrust into a completely new environment. His transition from poverty in the Bronx to a privileged white family is largely facilitated by Peter and Kay, his new foster care parents. Peter and Kay play an instrumental role in Deming's integration into American society. Changing names from Deming Guo to Daniel Wilkinson, we see a shift in Deming's identity as the novel progresses.
Through this transition, the book highlights several key aspects of the racialized experience within America. As a couple who's never had a child before, Peter and Kay sometimes struggle when parenting. Wanting to improve Deming's English, Mandarin is discouraged from being used. However, hoping him to remain connected to his cultural identity, he visits Angel, a fellow Chinese adoptee, and is taken to Chinese restaurants. Like other parents, they push him to work hard in school, remaining involved in his education well into his adult years. However, they also push him in directions he feels is contrary to his dreams. Ultimately, serving as both facilitators and barriers to his self-exploration, they shape his future within America.
The "white savior" is commonly seen throughout literature, and Peter and Kay present a unique case of this. While it's clear they feel they're delivering him from his impoverished upbringing, the novel itself doesn't seem to push forward this idea, highlighting both their contributions and shortcomings.
Hi Sonnet!
ReplyDeleteIt's really interesting reading about The Leavers, because an almost identical thing happened in Americanah-- Aunty Uju, the aunt of the main character Ifem, reprimands Ifem for using Igbo (their native tongue) in front of her child (who she is hoping to raise American). The way that immigrants have to separate themselves from half of their identity in order to lose their accent/assimilate is clearly all-pervading, regardless of their country of origin.
Wow Sonnet! Even though I'm also reading the Leavers, I didn't focus as much on the white savior concept that you focused on, and how the novel doesn't really support it, but still mentions it. I used to see Kay and Peter as pretty unimportant, but your post changed my perspective of their affect on Deming! I also really like how you summarized the first part of the novel, making it easier to follow the rest of your post. Good job!
ReplyDeleteWow Sonnet, I never really began to think about "White Savior" aspect of The Leavers! Peter and Kay definitely provide Deming with a unique "save". Maybe the author is trying to portray them as the parents who aren't really parents?
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