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摘要：Since America is regarded as a booming and free country filling with fantasies，a large quantity of immigrants with American dream crowd in America.Although anyone has the possibilities of realizing dream and achieving success theoretically，in reality，this is not the case.The same truth is also reflected in the novel of Typical American.Through the main chanters’ unique focalizations to find out what “America” is really like.
关键词：Defamiliarization；Focalization；Typical American
中图分类号：H31文献标识码：A文章编号：1009-0118（2013）01-0353-02
1.Introduction
Typical American was Gish Jen’s first novel and it was named “Notable Book of the Year” by The New York Times and was among the finalists for the 1991 National Book Critics Circle Award.Typical American is a novel about Chinese immigrants and their experience of adjustment to America.As for the title，according to Gish Jen(MELUS interview,1993：115)，it is an irony.“‘Typical American’ is a phrase that the Changs use to describe people who are not them，and yet by the end of the book，of course，they become ‘typical Americans’ themselves.Gish Jen wanted to challenge ideas of what a ‘typical American’ looks like，to put forward the idea that the Changs are not any less American than anyone else.” Just as she said that “I hope that Typical American is not only regarded as immigrant story but also as an American story.”(Jiang Daochao，2002：89)
2.Discussion
In this part，I will firstly give a brief introduction about the literary terms of defamiliarization and focalization.Then，I pick up some examples from the novel to illustrate how the employment of defamiliarization of focalization highlights the theme of fiction.
2.1 Defamiliarization and Focalization
2.1.1 Defamiliarization
The concept of defamiliarization was raised by Shklovsky.The primary aim of literature in thus foregrounding its linguistic medium，as Victor Shklovsky put it in an influential formulation，is to estrange or defamiliarize; that is，by disrupting the modes of ordinary linguistic discourse，literature “makes strange” the world of everyday perception and renews the reader’s lost capacity for fresh sensation.Defamiliarization，Shklovsky argues，is accordingly the basic principle of artistic “form” and it is used in literary works not only in literary devices but also in narrative techniques like focalization.The employment of a unique focalization will cast a strange and new light on familiar things.(Zhu，2002：9) 2.1.2 Focalization
The concept of focalization was raised by French narrative theorist，Gerard Genette，in his Narrative Discourse(1972，1980)and after that it was widely acknowledged and used by narrative theorists.
Shen Dan(2004，3：60)classifies the focalization into four categories：unlimited focalization(the omniscient narration)；internal focalization；first person external focalization；third person external focalization.The internal focalization includes the fixed limited focalization which refers to a specific figure’s focalization in fiction.In the novel，I will focus on the defamiliarization of fixed limited focalizations，here mainly including focalizations of Ralph，Helen and Theresa，because a unique focalization will cast a strange and new light on familiar things especial for fixed limited focalizations.
2.2 Defamiliarization of Fixed Limited Focalizations
This novel was written in third person.Here，focalizations of Ralph，Helen and Theresa are called third person fixed limited focalizations.I will discuss their unique focalizations one by one to find out what “America” is really like.
2.2.1 Ralph’s Focalization
In the first chapter section one，through Ralph’s focalization，the modernization of New York is clear in our mind.It is the prosperity of America that attracts many people with great “American dream” coming there.Like Ralph，he came to America with the dream of getting a doctor’s degree to win honor for his family.At the same time，in such a developed American society，we can imagine that one measure of success is money，which is proved right later.In the first chapter section three，when Ralph fell in love with Cammie and wanted to please her，an old man gave him suggestions that money is everything for Americans.In the same way，later when Ralph was planning to run a fried chicken restaurant to make the big money，he told her children that money was the most important thing in America; you can do anything with money but without money you are nothing.However，at the end of the novel，after Ralph failed to make a fortune，he realized that “A man was the sum of his limits; freedom only made him see how much so.America was no America.”(296)
Another example is in the fourth chapter section one.While Ralph was driving on the way home and complimenting the grandeur of America，he found that several ragged and poor men run to the streets and one of them lying on the floor before a door.He was wandering why those people living in such a great America which can launch a Satellite into the space were like that.Here，“America is not America” as Ralph imagined.
摘要：Since America is regarded as a booming and free country filling with fantasies，a large quantity of immigrants with American dream crowd in America.Although anyone has the possibilities of realizing dream and achieving success theoretically，in reality，this is not the case.The same truth is also reflected in the novel of Typical American.Through the main chanters’ unique focalizations to find out what “America” is really like.
关键词：Defamiliarization；Focalization；Typical American
中图分类号：H31文献标识码：A文章编号：1009-0118（2013）01-0353-02
1.Introduction
Typical American was Gish Jen’s first novel and it was named “Notable Book of the Year” by The New York Times and was among the finalists for the 1991 National Book Critics Circle Award.Typical American is a novel about Chinese immigrants and their experience of adjustment to America.As for the title，according to Gish Jen(MELUS interview,1993：115)，it is an irony.“‘Typical American’ is a phrase that the Changs use to describe people who are not them，and yet by the end of the book，of course，they become ‘typical Americans’ themselves.Gish Jen wanted to challenge ideas of what a ‘typical American’ looks like，to put forward the idea that the Changs are not any less American than anyone else.” Just as she said that “I hope that Typical American is not only regarded as immigrant story but also as an American story.”(Jiang Daochao，2002：89)
2.Discussion
In this part，I will firstly give a brief introduction about the literary terms of defamiliarization and focalization.Then，I pick up some examples from the novel to illustrate how the employment of defamiliarization of focalization highlights the theme of fiction.
2.1 Defamiliarization and Focalization
2.1.1 Defamiliarization
The concept of defamiliarization was raised by Shklovsky.The primary aim of literature in thus foregrounding its linguistic medium，as Victor Shklovsky put it in an influential formulation，is to estrange or defamiliarize; that is，by disrupting the modes of ordinary linguistic discourse，literature “makes strange” the world of everyday perception and renews the reader’s lost capacity for fresh sensation.Defamiliarization，Shklovsky argues，is accordingly the basic principle of artistic “form” and it is used in literary works not only in literary devices but also in narrative techniques like focalization.The employment of a unique focalization will cast a strange and new light on familiar things.(Zhu，2002：9) 2.1.2 Focalization
The concept of focalization was raised by French narrative theorist，Gerard Genette，in his Narrative Discourse(1972，1980)and after that it was widely acknowledged and used by narrative theorists.
Shen Dan(2004，3：60)classifies the focalization into four categories：unlimited focalization(the omniscient narration)；internal focalization；first person external focalization；third person external focalization.The internal focalization includes the fixed limited focalization which refers to a specific figure’s focalization in fiction.In the novel，I will focus on the defamiliarization of fixed limited focalizations，here mainly including focalizations of Ralph，Helen and Theresa，because a unique focalization will cast a strange and new light on familiar things especial for fixed limited focalizations.
2.2 Defamiliarization of Fixed Limited Focalizations
This novel was written in third person.Here，focalizations of Ralph，Helen and Theresa are called third person fixed limited focalizations.I will discuss their unique focalizations one by one to find out what “America” is really like.
2.2.1 Ralph’s Focalization
In the first chapter section one，through Ralph’s focalization，the modernization of New York is clear in our mind.It is the prosperity of America that attracts many people with great “American dream” coming there.Like Ralph，he came to America with the dream of getting a doctor’s degree to win honor for his family.At the same time，in such a developed American society，we can imagine that one measure of success is money，which is proved right later.In the first chapter section three，when Ralph fell in love with Cammie and wanted to please her，an old man gave him suggestions that money is everything for Americans.In the same way，later when Ralph was planning to run a fried chicken restaurant to make the big money，he told her children that money was the most important thing in America; you can do anything with money but without money you are nothing.However，at the end of the novel，after Ralph failed to make a fortune，he realized that “A man was the sum of his limits; freedom only made him see how much so.America was no America.”(296)
Another example is in the fourth chapter section one.While Ralph was driving on the way home and complimenting the grandeur of America，he found that several ragged and poor men run to the streets and one of them lying on the floor before a door.He was wandering why those people living in such a great America which can launch a Satellite into the space were like that.Here，“America is not America” as Ralph imagined.