Silence with Teeth: The Operations and Implications of Silence in Gish Jen’s Typical American

Abstract

Silence has been viewed by critics of Asian American literature as either a means of resistance or accommodation, but I argue that silence is a flexible strategy to heighten the presence of racism. Specifically, in Gish Jen’s Typical American, the narrator’s silence about the character’s thoughts and emotions toward racism raises the readers’ awareness about racism. Silence about racism in the text functions as a cautionary device, highlighting its potential as both resistant and accommodative, and therefore, strategic. As such, the silence in Typical American operates with flexibility. By examining and extending the arguments of King-Kok Cheung and Patti Duncan’s conceptualization of silence, this study navigates the manner in which silence can be unearthed from its traditional perception of being a sign of accommodation, a stereotypical portrayal of Asian Americans. Simultaneously resistant and accommodative, the silence in the text is both a reflection of the reality and a means to convey the unfathomable impacts of racism. Without being explicitly narrated, the silence of the narrator operates on different levels.