Hyphenated Identity: A Postcolonial Study of Cathy Hong’s Minor Feelings

Abstract

This paper investigates the impacts of multiculturalism and increasing diversity in cross-national interaction. Hong's (1976) goal is to examine the world in which various civilizations coexist and either reject or assimilate with one another. The study particularly sought to concentrate on the notion of the us and them as superior and inferior in the context of post-colonialism (1978). The research encompasses the memoir Hong’s Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning (2020). The researcher has applied Homi K. Bhabha’s (1966) theory of Hybridity from the Location of the culture (1994). The findings show that Hong's memoir is filled with examples of her own internalized racial agony and challenges to the idea of ethnic authenticity. This memoir is filled with personal narrative, cultural exchanges, and the hurdles Hong faced as an Asian American. Voluntarily and involuntarily, she embraced some unfamiliar cultural norms despite having certain shared beliefs, she tries to maintain her unique cultural identity.