• American Studies
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.193-210
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• 2021

Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's Dictée proliferates with many pronouns. Whether the various subjects invoked in Dictée refer to a single common figure remains ambiguous. By paying close attention to the ambiguity of narrative voice, this essay examines how the creation of narrative ambiguity in Dictée is closely linked to the author's employment of the second person voice. This essay particularly attends to how Cha explores the narrative possibilities of the second person voice in the text's "Calliope/Epic Poetry" section in order to reflect upon experiences of exile and migration on a transnational scale. Through the intimacy and narrative ambiguity of the second person voice, Cha is able to create an epic on migration that is not only transnational in scope, but also invites the reader to engage with the self-alienating aspects of exilic and immigrant life in an unusually intimate yet powerful manner.