The Multicultural Dilemma and Meanings in America -- Analyze from The Reluctant Fundamentalist_英语论文

摘要

美国社会中的多元文化问题可以说是贯穿了整个美国发展史，激化和平复各文化间矛盾、冲突的事件也可谓是不计其数。但只要提到美国社会中文化冲突的诱因，就不得不提到9·11事件了。这一事件可以说是将矛盾推向了顶峰。《拉合尔茶馆的陌生人》一书的作者——莫欣·哈米德作为这一事件的切身经历者，深深地体会到了这一事件所带给整个美国社会的冲击，也深知这一事件所引发的矛盾如果被全面激化将会有多么的恐怖。因而，让他的读者能够客观、正确的看待当时美国社会的现状，正确处理各类关系，便成了哈米德的写作目的之一，也正是本文的研究目的之一。与此同时，本文还将以昌盖茨为例，探究当外来文化以个人形式进入美国社会后可能遇到的困境，以求得到一个客观、理性的结论。

关键词：美国社会，多元文化，困境，《拉合尔茶馆的陌生人》

Contents

Acknowledgements I

摘要 II

1 Introduction 1

2 Literature review 3

2.1 The origin and development of multiculturalism in America 3

2.2 The cultural fusion in the American society 4

2.3 Possible causes of cultural conflicts in the American society 5

2.4 Analysis of Changez in the Reluctant Fundamentalist 5

3.1 Analysis on the cultural background 6

3.1.1 General Analysis on multicultural situation in American society 6

3.1.2 The acceptance level of foreign cultures in the American society 7

3.2 Character analysis and discussion of Changez’s identity 8

3.2.1 The purpose of creating a character like Changez 8

3.2.2 Character analysis from the text 9

3.3 Identity problems in the American society in the post-9/11 era 12

3.3.1 Identity problems for the local Americans 12

3.3.2 Identity problems for people from other cultures 12

4 Conclusion 14

4.1 Major Findings of this thesis 14

4.2 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Researches 15

5 References 16