Author Date

2020-08-07

Degree Name

Department

English

College

Humanities

Defense Date

2020-08-03

Publication Date

2020-08-07

First Faculty Advisor

Dr. Joey Franklin

First Faculty Reader

Dr. Kristin Matthews

Honors Coordinator

Dr. John Talbot

Keywords

biculturalism, biracial, identity

Abstract

This thesis examines what it means to exist as a bicultural being and how one approaches creating and negotiating a multicultural identity in terms of names, war, religion, belonging, and loss. In Narrow Road to the Interior, Matsuo Bashō embarks upon a journey of transcendence and self-discovery into the interior regions of Japan. In doing so, he establishes a Japanese writing tradition that centers around introspective journey-taking and writing oneself into truth and being. This thesis examines, participates in, and expands upon this writing tradition as it follows one Japanese American woman’s attempts to selfhood. Ultimately, it proposes the idea of wholeness through fragmented identity, supporting the theory that self-creation never concludes and resists the resolution of a blended being.