本文是一篇英语毕业论文，本文将女性成长与身份建构相联系，在文本细读的基础上，结合成长小说的相关理论，并借鉴文化研究、心理分析以及女性主义等相关理论，从成长困境、成长策略、成长结果三个方面探讨《摇摆时光》中无名女主人公和特蕾西的成长历程与身份建构。
Chapter One Initiation Dilemmas:Multiple Predicaments andIdentity Confusion
1.1 External Pressures:Predicaments from Society and Family
The novel Swing Time reveals that the unnamed heroine and Tracey,influenced by theirfamilies and social environments during their childhood,are confused about their own identitiesand grow up in a difficult situation of marginalization of self-identity.The quest for cultural identity emerges as a pivotal and challenging endeavor for individuals in the process of growingup.Ethnic women,particularly those navigating the intricacies of British society,encounterprofound difficulties in their pursuit of cultural identity.Beyond enduring racial discrimination,gender prejudices,and class oppression within society,they often find themselves deprived ofemotional fulfillment within their families and lack mentors to guide them through thetreacherous terrains of growth.Consequently,their journey toward maturity is fraught withexceptional challenges.
1.2 Internal Struggles:Confusion in Self-definition and CulturalBelonging
Swing Time adheres to the conventional narrative structure by emphasizing the initiationjourney of the two mixed-race girls,transitioning from their childhood years into adulthood.Nevertheless,for adolescents residing in post-colonial societies,their maturation process isdistinctly shaped by the complexities of their social milieu.This environment is not only fraughtwith the ubiquitous challenges inherent to adolescence but is further compounded by theperplexities surrounding cultural identity.The intricate interplay between homogeneity anddivergence within their identities,coupled with the cultural frictions between the black and whitecommunities,poses significant challenges in their efforts to ascertain their own culturalpositioning.
1.2.1 Identity’s Paradox:Collision of Similarity and Difference
At the beginning of the novel,it is revealed that the unnamed heroine is a person of mixedrace,born into an English family.Initially,she remains unaware of how her mixed heritagedistinguishes her from others,despite her parents’differing skin tones.This lack of awarenesspersists until she encounters Tracey,another mixed-race girl who shares a similar identity.Uponmeeting Tracey for the first time,she experiences surprise and confusion upon realizing theirstriking physical resemblance.The two meet in a dance class and quickly forge a strong bond offriendship.Although numerous young girls are present at the time,they gravitate towards eachother due to their remarkable similarities:“our shade of brown was exactly the same—as if one piece of tan material had been cut to make us both—and our freckles gathered in the same areas,we were of the same height”(Smith 9).In the novel,the skin tone of the two mixed-race girls isdarker than that of whites but lighter than that of blacks,clearly indicating a shared racialbackground that manifests in their appearance.
Chapter Two Initiation Strategies:Different Methods to Quest forIdentity
2.1 The Unnamed Heroine:The Return Model of Initiation
In classic Bildungsroman narratives,the protagonist typically emerges from a provincialtown or rural setting and undergoes maturation within the urban milieu,culminating in a momentof profound self-realization.However,historical precedents and cultural traditions often dictatedistinct migratory patterns for specific communities.For instance,Black people have historicallygravitated towards the north in search of greater freedoms and improved chances of survival.Diverging from this conventional growth trajectory,the unnamed heroine of Swing Time rejectsthe archetypal path of upward mobility and instead opts for a return model of initiation.Sheabandons the affluence of the white-dominated north to embark on a journey back to Africa,theancestral land of her forebears.The journey to the Gambia can be considered as the turning pointin unnamed heroine’s initiation.In a sense,it is a journey of return.First,the unnamed heroinereturns to her African homeland,where she learns about the history of her ancestors and finds asense of belonging as she spends time with the local people.Secondly,she returns to her Africancultural heritage,which awakens in her a sense of self-consciousness and eventually recognizesher black identity.
2.1.1 Returning to African Homeland
According to Hall,the true Africa is seen as the ultimate destination for black people toretrace their steps and embark on a journey back to their ancestral home.It is this return thattriggers the unnamed heroine to delve deeper into her own identity.While ostensibly,thebenevolent endeavor known as the“Illuminated Academy for Girls”,spearheaded by the unnamed heroine,seems to be the impetus behind her return to her ancestral land in Africa,theunderlying reality paints a more nuanced picture.In truth,her journey back to Africa is less of achoice and more of a necessary pilgrimage,a quest to reconnect with her roots and rediscoverher sense of self.
2.2 Tracey:The Mimicking Model of Initiation
As a mixed-race individual in Britain,Tracey does not experience the diversity inherent inher dual racial background but is instead perceived primarily as a black person and outsiderwithin society.She holds a distorted self-perception,characterized by a profound aspirationtowards white culture and values.Longing for white skin,she adores white dance and strives to utilize the medium of dance as a means of assimilating into white society.Throughout herinitiation journey,Tracey adopts an initiation strategy rooted in mimicry.Tracey not onlyactively pursues western culture and espouses white values but also deliberately aligns herselfwith the white community,seeking to distance herself from her black identity in the pursuit ofconstructing a British one.Ironically,this desire to attain authenticity through mimicryultimately results in the erosion of her unique identity,effectively destroying its remainingvestiges.
2.2.1 Pursuing Western Culture and Values
Temptation plays a crucial role in the narrative of an initiation story.Professor Rui Yupingstates that the protagonist in such stories undergoes temptation,resulting in a loss of innocence,and this temptation ultimately guides them to the crossroads of their initiation journey.In SwingTime,Tracey experiences this temptation through her encounter with the pervasive influence ofwhite norms and culture within the black community.These white norms are not merelysuperficial but are deeply ingrained in the daily fabric of life,manifesting in various forms suchas posters,movies,and white dolls.As adolescents,individuals often shape their worldviewsthrough the lens of adult behavior.
Chapter Three Initiation Results: Different Consequences of Identity Construction ....... 59
3.1 The Unnamed Heroine’s Decisive Initiation: From Confusion to Awakening .......................... 59
3.1.1 Reconciliation through Reflection ...................... 60
3.1.2 Acceptance of Fluid and Hybrid Identity .................... 63
Conclusion ...................... 72
Chapter Three Initiation Results:Different Consequences ofIdentity Construction
3.1 The Unnamed Heroine’s Decisive Initiation:From Confusion toAwakening
The most decisive initiations“carry their protagonists firmly into maturity andunderstanding,or at least show them decisively embarked toward maturity”(Marcus 223).Thistype of initiation story frequently revolves around the protagonist’s epiphany about life,self-discovery,and the attainment of self-awareness.
Growing up,as an important and indispensable stage,is also an eternal theme of humanbeings,implying the process from innocence to maturity and the construction of one’s worldview.Through the aforementioned analysis of the unnamed heroine’s growth process,it becomes evident that her quest for self-identity is subjected to both societal and familial pressures from itsinception.In a society where power is defined by race and skin color,the unnamed heroine feelconfused about her identity in her childhood.However,due to the lack of family care and properguidance,she cannot get rid of this identity confusion.Secondly,the collision of identitysameness and difference,coupled with the clash of black and white cultures further confused her.Confronted with the confusion surrounding her identity and the disorientation of growing up,sheembarks on a journey in search of self-identification.Upon her return to the African continent,she rediscovers her black identity and attains the awakening of her self-consciousness.Followingthis epiphany,the unnamed heroine ultimately breaks free from the shadow of“the other”,reconciles with her past,and asserts her subjectivity through the acceptance of a fluid and hybrididentity,thus achieving maturity.
Conclusion
According to Karen Horney,the meaning of“initiation”is the free and healthy developmentof an individual according to their common and individual potential.She states that“the humanindividual,given a chance,tends to develop their particular human potentialities”(17).Initiationis an inevitable stage in life,characterized by the acquisition of knowledge,skills,andself-assurance.In Swing Time,Zadie Smith,as a spokesperson for race,youth,and femininity,narrates the tale of two Jamaican-English“brown girls”spanning from childhood to earlyadulthood.This thesis examines the intersection of initiation and identity,applying theories ofBildungsroman,and illustrates the initiation journey and identity construction of the unnamedheroine and Tracey in the novel from the aspects of initiation dilemmas,initiation strategies,andinitiation results based on a close reading of the text.
As mixed-race girls,the unnamed heroine and Tracey face similar dilemmas.Bothindividuals’quests for identity are subjected to societal and familial pressures from the outset.In a society where power is defined by race and skin color,the unnamed heroine and Tracey feelconfused about their identities in their childhood.However,due to the lack of family care andproper guidance,they cannot get rid of this identity confusion.Secondly,the collision of identitysameness and difference and the clash of black and white cultures make it more difficult for thetwo mixed-race girls to define their own cultural identity.
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