Revisiting texts and defining cultural identity : exploring intertextuality in Chang-Rae Lee's articulation of the Korean-American cultural experience in native speaker

Abstract EN

Intertextuality equips writers with the power to revisit texts and to present them in a new attire.

The selection of the integrated texts and the transformation brought about them offer much insight into the writer's ideological agenda.

In this study, intertextuality is explored as a tool for investigating the cultural experience painted in Chang-Rae Lee's Native Speaker.

The novel explores the Korean marginalized identity within the white-dominated American society.

Lee's instances of intertextuality can be grouped under four main categories: The Whitmanian preface, Shelley's poem, the Korean folksong and the use of the Korean language.

The investigation of these instances attempts to shed light on the reasons for revisiting these texts and how they help in constructing the Korean-American cultural experience.

Results: Lee's revisiting of the American and the British canonized classical works, the Korean folksong and the Korean Language system reflect the struggle with hybrid identity.

At the end, the protagonist reaches the conclusion that he is a product of both cultures and that he needs to be accepted as a hybrid rather than a pure Korean or a pure American.