THEME OF MOTHERHOOD AND EXILE IN OCEAN VUONG NOVEL ON EARTH WE’RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS

Abstract

This paper deals with the writing of the theme of motherhood and exile in the novel On Earth we’re briefly gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. The key theoretical authors on whom the paper relies are: Edward Said, Jacqueline Rose, Arjun Appaudrai and Michel Foucault. In his first novel On Earth we’re briefly gorgeous, Ocean Vuong writes about the complex relationship of grandmother, mother and son and about the generational heritage inscribed in his body. The mother is the central face around which the novel is structured and in this paper Vuong’s concept of motherhood and the legacy of exile is analyzed according to the motifs: writing, space and body. Based on the analysis of the novel, the problems of exiled mothers in the new country and how their trauma is transmitted to the child are discussed. Analyzing his relationship with his mother, the concept-author of the alien that Ocean Vuong wrote in his novel is described.