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328 328 six / Illusions and Delusions Some of literature’s most incisive commentaries on human abuse of the nonhuman arise in texts that appear to have very little to do with ecodegradation. Writings such as Bai Xianyong’s “Anlexiang de yi ri” (A Day in Pleasantville, 1964), for instance, would not seem to hold much of interest to the ecocritic. This short story describes the oppressive uniformity of American suburbia and the challenges faced by an immigrant Chinese housewife thrust into such a milieu. But conformity, this story suggests, harms animals, plants, and the abiotic nonhuman as much as it does people. Conformity also creates the illusion of environmental well-being: people in Pleasantville, as elsewhere, physically or discursively enhance the appearance of the natural world to give the impression of environmental health and in so doing both damage and mask damage to ecosystems. This chapter analyzes literary engagement with these and other conflicts between perceptions/outward appearances and actual environmental conditions, discussing creative texts where human perceptions , the nonhuman, or both are manipulated to enable people to disavow ecodegradation, especially its severity but at times its mere existence. “A Day in Pleasantville” draws on Bai Xianyong’s own experiences as an expatriate writer to address both the conceptual and the physical maneuvers that can lead to delusions of human and nonhuman well-being.1 This story takes place in the wealthy New York suburb of Pleasantville, a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, New York and a place of hermetically sealed airconditioned houses not unlike the refrigerators of Ch’oe Sŭngho’s “In the Refrigerated City,” discussed below.2 The narrative centers on Yiping, her husband Weicheng, and their eight-year-old daughter Baoli, a young Chinese immigrant family living on one of the town’s elegant culs-de-sac. Like many of the suburb’s middle-aged men, Weicheng works in New York City, where he is a successful stockbroker. In stark contrast with his wife, he has become thoroughly Americanized (yiqie de xisu dou caiqu le meiguo fangshi) and even speaks English with his daughter. Born and raised in the United States, Baoli considers herself American, a belief that deeply upsets her mother. As the only Chinese woman in an otherwise seemingly homogeneous town, Yi- Illusions and Delusions 329 ping insists that her daughter too is Chinese; the story concludes with a strident argument between mother and daughter and Weicheng chastising his wife for demanding Baoli conform to her expectations: “I want Baoli always to keep firmly in mind that she is Chinese. Baoli, listen, say this with me: ‘I am Chinese.’” “No! I am not Chinese!” Baoli’s feet were both kicking and her distorted body was struggling desperately. Yiping’s face turned pale, and with trembling voice she sternly shouted: “You must say this with me: ‘I—am—a—Chin—ese’” [我— 是一 個— 中國—人]. “I am not Chinese! I am not Chinese!” Baoli’s screams grew stronger . Yiping let go of one hand and fiercely slapped Baoli’s face . . . [Weicheng said] “We have to educate our child, but not like this. Baoli’s only eight. How can she understand the distinction between Americans and Chinese? In school all her classmates are American. So of course she thinks she’s also American. Rose [Yiping’s English name], to tell the truth, Baoli was born in the United States. She is being raised in the United States, and after she grows up all her habits will be American. The more she can adapt to her environment [neng shiying huanjing], the happier she’ll be. You’re afraid of her becoming an American because you don’t want to become an American, but this is your own anxiety. It’s not fair to transmit this to your child. Certainly you want Baoli to grow up to be a person who is psychologically sound, who can adapt to her environment [neng shiying huanjing], right?!3 Weicheng equates being psychologically sound (xinli jianquan; lit. mentally in perfect health) with the ability to adapt to one’s environment, a phrase repeated twice in the passage cited above; most likely thinking of his own situation, he believes that the more his daughter can adapt to her seemingly homogenous environment, the happier she will be (ta yu neng shiying huanjing , ta jiu yu kuaile). Highlighting both the prevalence and the importance of conformity/uniformity, “A Day in Pleasantville” wraps up several lines later with Yiping swallowing a tranquilizer and drifting off to sleep to...

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