Cultural Globalization in Anne Tyler’s Digging to America

Abstract

At the turn of the twenty-first century, globalization becomes one of the most contested topics in literature. It not only brings about independence and integration of economic process but also makes a tremendous impact on the literary and cultural fields around the world. It helps in spreading the Western culture and beliefs. Moreover, it is specially linked to the rise of the American influence and Western hegemony. Emanating from Europe and the West, it is a theory of ‘Westernization’ replicating all the problems associated with ‘Eurocentrism’. The aim of this research paper is to explore the concept of cultural globalization in Anne Tyler’s Digging to America (2006). This paper stresses that if there is ever to be a global society, its basis is likely to be on Western socio-political culture which can lead to a backlash of non-Western cultures. This paper provides an overview of globalization and then gives a cogent anti-imperialist analysis of the phenomenon. Within the frame of globalization, it pursues a close reading of the novel which deals with two families meeting at the airport for the first time. Each of them anticipates the arrival of an adopted infant daughter from Korea. Over the years, the American family, The Donaldsons, and the Iranian-American, The Yazdans, become more entwined. As a result, cultures clash, values are challenged and the American way is seen from different perspectives. The novel also examines family ties, cultural identity, hybridity and the universal struggle towards the American Dream..