Native Speaker by Chang-rae Lee

Thesis

Native Speaker stresses the author's point that mainstream politics are jealously guarded by the establishment that is unwilling to accept democratic competition from recent immigrants. His portrayal of Kwang is that of an ambitious but ultimately flawed man, one who is partially responsible for his own downfall that is cheered on by his rivals.

Introduction

One theme, captured simply and eloquently by the title, has to do with differences in the way language is used. Another much more disturbing and original metaphor is that of spying.

The nonlinear narrative of the novel begins on an intimate, personal note, as Lelia, married to Henry for several years, is leaving him (Klinkenborg, 76). In a muted parody of a list of goals and achievements to strive for, she leaves Henry instead with a list of his characteristics, most of them flaws, that she has compiled over the previous year. The list, it turns out, represents an intersection of the personal and professional in his life, including such descriptions as “emotional alien,” “Yellow peril: neo-American,” “stranger/follower/traitor/spy.” Later, he discovers another scrap of paper with the phrase “False speaker of language.”

Discussion

The theme of the incredible challenge and power of language is handled with deft skill throughout the novel. Lelia becomes a speech therapist, making it her life's work to help children learn to speak English and thereby participate in the culture. The Parks' marriage is rocked by at least one obvious tragedy, the accidental death of their only child, Mitt, but flounders because of Henry's inability to articulate his devastation in a way that Lelia can understand. He, meanwhile, struggles with the cultural and generational difficulties of language use (Goldberg, 42).

The portrayal of Henry's parents, particularly his father, blends into what might be described as the sociological coloring of this novel. His father, a highly educated Korean, comes to the United States, joins a Korean money club, opens a fruit and vegetable stand, works long and hard hours, uses his family to help him, prospers and expands, and provides generously for his family's comfort. Yet he must be watchful and suspicious of members of other ethnic groups who come to his stores, and the more he prospers, the fewer close friends he has.

Oddly, this father and Henry's love-hate feelings toward him sound like literary clichés even before there is enough fiction about Korean American families to allow for any portrayal to be a cliché. In part, such familiarity is a tribute to the universality of the father-son theme, the immigrant-making-good theme, and, more unhappily, the unfavorable media attention focused on the conflict between Korean American and African American communities (Klinkenborg, 77).

Ironically, the father himself recognizes the extent to which his account of his personal story may simply pander to or reiterate the public narrative: “Knowing what every native loves to hear, he would have offered the classic immigrant story, casting himself as the heroic newcomer, self-sufficient, resourceful.” Within the family, language is used to conceal and lie, with the deadliest affection. The mother's liver ...