Moral value of Juniper Hayward's strategy to achieve fame in R.F. Kuang's Yellowface

This research aims to explore the character Juniper Hayward as the protagonist of R. F. Kuang's novel Yellowface and to examine how her personality, actions, and morality are portrayed in the narrative. The researcher finds three problems arise: 1. How is June Hayward characterized in the Yellowface novel?, 2. How does the incident endanger her fame as a writer? 3. How does moral value come from June's experience in the Yellowface novel?. The researcher adopts a qualitative approach, employing descriptive analysis to examine the novel closely. All data were collected through close reading of relevant dialogues and narrative passages concerning June Hayward’s character and characterization. By focusing on her experiences, decisions, and conflicts, this research reveals that June Hayward's failure to accept fame leads to immoral actions. Through analysis, the study contributes to an understanding of the moral values embodied by the main character. This study reveals that Juniper Hayward's characterization and her immoral action to achieve her dream of being a famous writer. After the failure of her debut novel, June felt increasingly incompetent, jealous, and resentful toward Athena Liu's early success. In the end, Athena Liu's death made her emotions even more uncontrollable, greedy, and drove her to make bad decisions, such as stealing novels, plagiarism, and manipulation. However, ultimately, her career fell apart when critics found inconsistencies and evidence of her unethical strategies. Here, the researcher finds a moral message in the story: to remain true to oneself without comparing oneself to others, to appreciate even the smallest abilities or achievements, to act respectfully and positively toward everyone, and to remain self-aware.