Discovery of Two Generations of Chinese Americans’ Cultural Identity—Search of Balance between Contradictions and Conflicts

Abstract

Through the depictions of several episodes in the daily life, there seems to be irreconcilable disputes and conflicts between the mother Mrs. Pang (a first-generation Chinese immigrant to America) and her son Ah-Vee (a second-generation Chinese American born in America). These are caused by language barriers, different living habits, values, beliefs, and attitudes toward life that the two faced, based on the two generations’ distinctly different cultural backgrounds, but eventually will be balanced and resolved with the attempt to establish their own independent and unique cultural identity—Chinese American dual cultural heritages via a positive acculturation.