The Woman Warrior
During early centuries, men received better treatment than women in terms of status socially and politically. Men have political position and runs a business while women stay behind or their home. Maxine Kingston “The Woman Warrior” novel is influenced by this historical event. Her book was an autobiography, and a compilation of folk story told by her Chinese mother. It was a representation of her life, her mother, and aunt in America. Maxine Kingston is a feminist author translating her ideas through written words. Maxine Kingston’s novel “The Woman Warrior” highlighted how the historical, cultural, and political problem in china contrive her life in the new world.
The Woman Warrior has five chapter discussing the lives
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Her aunt was no name because it was forbidden to them to say her name. She was disgusted by her own family because of the ignominy she caused. In the story by her mother, Brave Orchid, Kingston aunt gave birth in the open field because she fled home afraid of the villagers that raided their house. Unfortunately, Kingston aunt and her baby jump and died in the family water well because of how miserably life treated them. The second part was fictional using a character of Fa Mulan; however, towards the end she compared herself to this character. Fa Mu Lan is a Chinese folk story who trained in the mountain and replace his father place in the battle. A two-old man and woman taught her how to fight and be brave from the enemy, and when the time she is ready Fa Mu Lan came back to her village and gather her army to leave for a battle. Compare to her life Kingston went to Chinese school and getting educated. The third part was about Brave Orchid. Her life in the medical school in China, and how she defeats the ghost in their dormitory that medical students feared. The fourth chapter referred to Brave Orchid sister, Moon Orchid, who was encouraged by Brave Orchid to come to the America and find her husband who left them. However, Moon Orchid husband have a new family, and new life that he
``The woman warrior`` written by Maxine Hong Kingston is a collection of memoirs. It has a hybrid form: it is a myth, fiction, as well as autobiography. ``The woman warrior`` is a book about finding and discovering yourself in the circumstances of a Chinese family and an American upbringing, always fluctuating between the two worlds, wondering about your true self. In ``A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe`` a very important theme is the Identity Plot.
Women are viewed as fragile and delicate, but strong enough to keep a house clean, kids in line and a happy husband. Women are expected to be stay at home moms and depend on their husbands for everything while having no opinions of their own. However, there are women who have overlooked those expectations and proved that women are capable of doing anything. Deborah Sampson and Elizabeth Van Lew are just two women who have helped break the norms of women’s roles in society. Sampson’s impressive braveness and loyalty to fight for her country against all odds have proved that women are capable to endure harsh horrors.
Maxine Hong Kingston's use of talk stories in The Woman Warrior emphasizes that individuals will find a more fulfilling life if they defy the traditional gender norms place on them by society. While contemplating beauty standards in Chinese society in “No Name Woman” Maxine Kingston thinks, “Sister used to sit on their beds and cry together… as their mothers or their slaves removed the bandages for a few minutes each night and let the blood gush back into their veins” (9). From a young age girls are expected to be binding their feet and are told that it is to look beautiful, but in reality that is not why. When a womans feet are bound they are restrained and silenced. These girls could be free and happy but they are restrained by men through this binding.
The Woman Warrior Survival In 20th Century Maxine Hong-Kingston’s novel/autobiography The Woman Warrior uses fictional female characters that depict her own struggles. Many of these women are empowered and give Kingston confidence that she can succeed in the male dominant world she lives in. The less powerful women give her a chance to learn from their mistakes. Both groups of women enable Kingston to what traits to value and mistakes to avoid when growing up in America. Kingston uses the character Fa Mu Lan as a role model for young Chinese woman like her self.
In short, Kingston feels angry, confused and detached at times upon her aunt’s story as she does not completely understand
Exploring Identity Through Silence: The Role of No-Name Woman in Woman Warrior Maxine Hong Kingston opens The Woman Warrior with the tale of her nameless aunt, a woman who has been silenced and forgotten by her village after giving birth to an illegitimate child, known only as the “no name woman” (Kingston 7). On the night that “no name woman” gives birth, villagers raid her family house to “show her a personal, physical representation of the break she had made in the ‘roundness’” (13). She later commits a “spite suicide” (19), drowning both herself and her child. The No-Name Woman serves as an embodiment of silence that allows the narrator to imaginatively develop her story, as well as her identity.
This “organization” of the first half of the story is key to allow the reader to really delve into each character’s story, personality, traits, and their cultural aspects. Now, what this essay will focus on will be the effects that these character’s different cultures take on each other (mothers versus daughters, Chinese culture versus American, respectively), something that a reader might understand and accept as a legitimate question, seeing as all mothers were born and raised in Chinese culture and all daughters had the same experience but with American ways. In the first chapter, “Jing-Mei Woo: The Joy Luck Club”, of the first section of the book, “FEATHERS FROM A THOUSAND LI AWAY”, the reader can identify a not-so-crucial but still noticeable clash between cultures. This is found in a line said by Jing-Mei Woo about her mother Suyuan Woo.
Imagine a world where people look down on a person based off gender. Where everything a person does is constantly objectified, sexualized, and restrained from doing what is in their will. In the memoir The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, a girl is trying to find her identity in the midst of two completely different cultures. Each myth that is included in this memoir, has a meaning, they inspire Kingston to want to do better. In the Chinese culture, women are things, not people, it is believed that they are a female should always have a male by her side to be able to do something.
Americans are constantly “just talking” and value the individual and expressing one’s self. In contrast, The Chinese culture values secrets and introvertism. In Maxine Hong Kingston’s Woman Warrior, Maxine must find her way through America while pleasing her Chinese family. She struggles to categorize herself into either society and finding a sense of identity. Kingston uses Maxine’s struggle to illustrate that when one is stuck between two cultures, one tends to have a harder time finding a sense of identity.
Each and every character in Yu Hua’s To Live is a catalyst through which the author explores human nature. The novel itself follows the life of Fugui, whose narrative is framed by pre-communist, Maoist, and post-communist China. Though he chronicles a long period of time, Yu Hua effectively uses characterization to present and prove his claims on human nature. Throughout Fugui’s journey, each character he encounters reflects on an aspect of humanity, through an event or group of people. For example, Long Er symbolizes the death of feudalism, while Fengxia symbolizes the Chinese people under a fascist, nationalist government.
The militaristic culture effected the woman’s role in a positive view. The warrior society allowed woman to have power and be able to do plenty of things for themselves. Both males and females were raised to become independent. But it is only in a woman’s case were the militarism did something helpful all the other results were
Patriarchal Oppression Since the 19th century women have always been treated differently than men. Feminist analysis is the examination of the different standards of a woman 's role in the social empowerment. Throughout centuries, women have been stereotyped as these stay at home “slaves” to take care of their husband and children. The patriarchal oppression often led women to suffer from physical and mental disorders.
The narrator and main character, Kingston, underwent a huge arc throughout the book, especially in the last chapter " A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe. " In the beginning of the story, Kingston talks about how her mother cut her tongue in order to avoid her getting tongue tied and keeping her quiet. Throughout her childhood, Kingston was a very shy and reserved girl.
She conspires to find and kill John James Mauser, the grandson of Jack Mauser, the man who stole her land. Before she leaves, she claims a tribal name for herself, Four Souls. This name carries the weight of ancient history and her ancestors before her that will alter her journey, and herself. Fleur sets out on her journey, and enters the city where she finds Mr. Mauser’s house. Luckily enough, Polly Elizabeth, John James’ sister-in-law, hires Fleur to be their laundress maid.
Xie is a mother, a sister, and a grandmother to 4 children and 13 grandchildren. She was born in the winter of 1953 at a local province where the majority of the people are farmers. Till her mid-40s she immigrated to the US, in search of a better opportunity for her and her family. Xie was born to a dependent mother and strict father. Being the oldest of the five, Xie carried a burden for setting up correct role models for the rest of her siblings.