Identity display and transformation: A socio-cultural analysis of Suyin Han’s autobiography, A Many-Splendoured Thing

Abstract

This thesis is a qualitative study of Suyin Han’s identity display, transformation and negotiation as shown in her autobiography A Many-Splendoured Thing (Han, 1952). Informed broadly by a sociocultural perspective, the study examines three research questions: (1) What are the different layers of Han’s identity exhibited in this writing and how is each unfolded in her writing? (2) What are the factors that help contribute/ or not to the display and transformation of Han’s complex identity? (3) How is the complexity of her identity displayed in the process of Han’s writing of her autobiography? To address these research questions, mixed methods are used to analyse Han’s writing of her autobiography including narrative analysis (De Fina, Schiffrin & Bamberg, 2006) and critical discourse analysis (Blommaert & Bulcaen, 2000). Data are categorized according to four different facets of identity emerging in her writing: Han’s ethnic identity (more of one’s cultural heritage related to their ancestry); her racial identity (more of one’s appearance differing from people of other races); her cultural identity and her professional identity. A five-principle framework (Bucholtz & Hall, 2005) is employed to interpret Han’s different identity facets: Identity is an emergent product in language interactions; an individual’s identity positioning is realized by socially positioning both themselves and others in varied contexts; identity is an indexical process in which it is linked with specific linguistic forms; identity is an intersubjective phenomenon depending on social relations with others; identity is a partial account that is in part a purposeful self-performance and in part an unaware self-disclosure. This study is different from the prior studies of Suyin Han, and it is a detailed identity analysis of multiple identities of Han as unfolded in her autobiography. The findings provide a set of empirical evidence highlighting the dynamics and their interplay in the complex process of identity transformation and display related to the specific social and cultural circumstances. The study also broadens the applicability of the sociocultural five-principle framework in analysing one person’s multiple identity layers revealed in a time continuum as set out in an autobiography. Prior to bringing together the arguments by way of drawing conclusions, limitations to the interpretation of the conclusions because of the methodology of the study are also identified.