No Name Woman By Maxine Hong Kingston

No Name Woman By Maxine Hong Kingston
The literary piece that I chose is the short true story 'No Name Woman' by Maxine Hong Kingston
and 'Sweat ' by Zola Neale Hurston.
Thesis & Summary: 'No Name Woman' by Maxine Hong Kingston
The submissive role of women in the society and being declared as an outcast for adultery in the
Chinese society is the main theme of the article. 'No Name Woman' describes the gender conflict
present in China during the 1920's. Women at this point were not considered to have freedom of
choice in the then conservative Chinese society. The author's aunt is a newly wedded girl whose
husband immigrated to the United States seeking for greener pastures. This period marked a long
period of famine where most families had a hard time getting basic amenities.
The woman is brought up in a paternal society where the men have the say while women should just
accept whatever is asked of them. She is submissive and it is during her stay at the village that a
man probably without her consent gets her pregnant. The article also reviews the societal conflict of
cheating and adultery for married couples (Kingston, 2010). The nameless woman gets impregnated
years after her husband is in the US becoming an outcast in the village. The village later organizes
for a raid after home where people destroy property and kill animals in the girls' home. She commits
suicide as a result of this societal conflict by drowning herself and her newly born on the family
well. Since she lowered the family's respect for
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Analysis Of The Poem ' The Woman Warrior ' By Maxine Hong...
The Unescapable Net:
Tradition vs Transformation in Kingston's Ideology The Woman Warrior, written by Chinese
American author Maxine Hong Kingston in 1976, blends traditional Chinese folktales and memoir,
and portrays the early 20th century Chinese history in a Chinese–American perspective. For
Maxine, it seems Chinese "history" means social and cultural constrains from conventional Chinese
doctrines, especially regarding the social status of womanhood, the blind collectivism, and
superstition in old China. Maxine's negative depiction of Chinese "history" partially reflects the
bureaucracy of patriarchal and feudal system in old China, but more importantly, reveals Maxine
herself, a third culture kid, as a paradox: she is eager to incorporate into the American mainstream
society by resisting her Chinese cultural background, but at the same time, her unconscious actions
imply that her Chinese background is a historical baggage that she could never discard of. By
retelling experiences and legends from her mother and even her grandmother's generation, Maxine
suggests how she as a Chinese American woman is in a awkward state between tradition and
transformation, and presents a cultural clash between America and China. Maxine's portray of
women's role under the male–dominated society and feudal system suggests the first paradox in her
ideology – protesting male dominance, but at the same time admitting it. Women, in ancient China,
are usually treated as lower social status and

No Name Woman, By Maxine Hong Kingston
In "No Name Woman", Maxine Hong Kingston discusses a story her mother shared with her. It is
about Kingston's aunt who, while her husband was in America, became pregnant and committed
suicide the day of her illegitimate child's birth. Also included in the story is a raid, undertaken by
neighbors and other villagers, on the aunt's family and home. In order to fully understand the story,
it is necessary to know the historical context. Taking place in 1920s China, the instability,
importance of the family, and attitude towards women impact the final essay. Without taking those
three things into account, one cannot properly analyze Kingston's work.
Before 1924, when the incident takes place, China suffered numerous hardships. There was, for
example, the first Sino–Japanese War, which was followed by the Boxer Rebellion only a few years
later. Then, in the span of only a couple of years, the Manchu Restoration and the May Fourth
Movement begin and end. Both of these are attempts at creating a new form of government and are
two of several examples depicting the instability of that time. In addition to that was the rise of the
Communist Party and the constant political infighting within the Republic of China. Overall, ...
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Confucian beliefs placed women as subservient to men overall. They were meant to obey others in
their family unit, especially their husband, and this belief was only strengthened with the rise of
neo–Confucianism. Because the villagers held these ideals, and Kingston's aunt was married, the
reaction to her infidelity was harsh. It also explains why everyone in the family treated the story of
Kingston's aunt as inherently shameful. Kingston's mother, for instance, insisted that nobody else
should know what happened for fear of judgment. The attitude towards women is also why
Kingston assumes that her aunt's child was a girl– if the child were a boy, there would have been
"some hope of

Maxine Hong Kingston Understanding Her Life through The...
Maxine Hong Kingston Understanding Her Life through The Woman Warrior Maxine Hong
Kingston's "The Woman Warrior" is novel composed of myths and memoirs that have shaped her
life. Her mother's talk–stories about her no name aunt, her own interpretation of Fa Mu Lan, the
stories of ghosts in doom rooms and American culture have been the basis of her learning. She
learned morals, truths, and principals that would be the basis of her individuality.
Since her mother's talk–story was one of the major forces of her childhood and since she herself is
now talking–story in writing this book, stories, factual and fictional, are an inherent part of
Kingston's autobiography. Finding one's voice in order to talk–story, a metaphor for knowing ...
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Kingston wrote, "The fear did not stop but permeated everywhere. She told the man, "I think I'm
pregnant." He organized the raid against her." Another major point Brave Orchid makes from the
story is not to let someone that is untrustworthy get the upper hand in a situation where they would
have the power to take advantage of her, to save themselves from shame and humiliation. She is
trying to make Kingston deal with honest people and make good friends through a rather frightening
story of humiliation and deceit.
In the re–telling of the Fa Mu Lan myth, Kinston shows the strengths and warrior like abilities of
her character, rather than the weaknesses her mother scares her with, in the story of the "No Name
Woman." "When we Chinese girls listened to the adults talk–story, we learned that we failed if we
grew up to be but wives or slaves." Fa Mu Lan helps her get out of the circle of the average
subservient Chinese woman and strive to be something better than a housewife or a slave. She gets
an abundance of inspiration from the heroine in the myth, pretending the hero is she. Kingston is
inspired to break the mold of the typical Chinese woman. From this myth she learns that it is ok to
be different, to be a Chinese–American woman. She proves to herself that she can be whoever she
wants

The Woman Warrior Summary
In Maxine Hong Kingston's "The Woman Warrior", in chapter 2 "White Tigers" Kingston says that
Chinese immigrants say things such as "better to raise geese than girls". They also say "Chinese
executed women who disguised themselves as soldiers or students, no matter how bravely they
fought or how high they scored on the examinations". I argue that in doing this, the texts suggest
shockingly, that Chinese immigrants continue to treat woman as if they are worthless, which is why
Maxine Hong Kingston compares herself to Mulan. She just wants to honor her family and feel
accepted. Kingston wants to honor her family once and for all. In order to do so, Kingston
completes fifteen years of training. At the age of fourteen she wants to save her Brother and
Husband but her mentors tell Kingston she is not ready to fight, that she is too young. What was so
intriguing about this situation was when Kingston said "When I could point at the sky and make a
sword appear, a silver bolt in the sunlight, and control its slashing with my mind, the old people said
I was ready to leave". This shows that the sword flying in the air represents Chinese culture.
Kingston then continues to say "I saw the baron's messenger leave our house, and my father was
saying, "This time I must go and fight", taking her father's place. Kingston then pretends to be a
man, becoming a great warrior, wearing male armor and commanding men who fight under her.
What was most shocking

Analysis Of 'White Tigers' By Maxine Hong-Kingston
One of my first impressions of the story "White Tigers" by Maxine Hong–Kingston is that the story
that she shares with the reader is what I believed to be a dream that she had. I thought that this
dream was inspired by the times her and her mother spoke their own language, talk story. Talking
story is a dialect that transcends our basic comprehension of communication. It is the hybrid of our
own language, and the power of storytelling fused upon one another. I thought that Kingston told us
this story because it was the best dream that she has ever imagined. This story was so moving for
her since she felt a deep connection with it. However, I assumed that this story was just generic. I
overlooked the familiarity that this story had. I envisioned that Hong Kingston was telling us her
own version of the tale of Fa Mu Lan. Thousands of years ago, The Ballad of Fa Mu Lan, written by
Tzu–Yeh is about a woman, Fa Mu Lan. Mu Lan was extraordinary because she took her father's
place in battle when he was chosen to fight. Not only was she brave, and thoughtful, she was the
first ever woman to go to battle and live. Then I went back to White Tigers, and saw that after the
fantasy that she created was stated, she reflects back on her childhood which was just merely
depressing. After reading both the Ballad, and White Tigers, I realized that she injected herself into
this fantasy because she wanted to rebel as did Mu Lan. Being female for Hong–Kingston was a
living nightmare,

The Woman Warrior, By Maxine Hong Kingston
There is great plasticity in the self perception and identity of immigrants and even more so in their
offspring. The memoir, The Woman Warrior, by Maxine Hong Kingston, does a good job in
highlighting this statement. Her memoir shows the struggle of the older generation to adapt to
American culture after migrating, it shows how the second generation comes to terms with their
dual identity, and how their unique perceptions emphasize the gap between the two generations.
Thesis tying identity crisis and the gap
Identifying as an immigrant means that you left your old home to start elsewhere. The
circumstances vary for everyone, but it is possible that for many immigrants part of the person that
they once were got left behind and they are forced to mold a new identity. Some people start a new
life in America by choice, they have or want better opportunities for themselves and their children.
On the other hand, some people are forced to leave their homes due to war and excruciating
circumstances. Unlike the immigrants who come here as little kids and go to American schools, the
older immigrants seem to hold on to their traditions and culture the hardest. They do not want to
forget who they are. They hold on to their superstitions, stories, customs and native tongue.
Kingston demonstrates how the Chinese hold on to their culture and sustain it. When her aunt first
arrived to the United States, they took her to Chinatown and she said " It certainly looks different
from China. I'm

Maxine Hong Kingston By Maxine Kong
Maxine Hong Kingston prides herself on her personal strength and character, as well as the ability
she developed to assert herself into a culture that is not accepting of her differences. As the daughter
of Chinese immigrants living in the US, she was tasked with living a double life, straddling the line
between her traditional Chinese upbringing and the environment outside of her home in 1960's
California. She was in many ways a perfectly normal and intelligent child. Through her writing she
is able to describe complex interactions from her childhood, detailing her reasoning and
understanding of the world. Despite this cleverness and flexibility, she begins her account by
describing herself as voiceless, seemingly dumb, and explains how it was that she failed
kindergarten. Through this story we get a view of how an intelligent young person might experience
difficulties caused by cultural differences, a unique perspective from a first generation American. In
this excerpt from Woman Warrior, Kingston recounts her experiences as a young person without a
voice. Her struggle is deepened by the culturally engrained xenophobia and misogyny that existed in
her diverse neighborhood, as well as pressures and extreme obstacles thrown at her by her own
mother. The child whom Kingston describes goes through continuous growth in finding her own
identity and strength in character, but it is clear that she still carries the fear and pain created by her
uniquely difficult

Analysis Of Chinese, Woman, By Maxine Hong Kingston
Throughout reading this entire booked, I was engaged and interested, and really enjoyed the first
chapter. The author Maxine Hong Kingston is simply an incredible writer that has the ability to say
a lot in a single phrase and so vividly at the same time. I really like the structure of her book and
how it pinpoints to three different audiences, Chinese, Woman, and American. I really love how the
author merges fiction and non–fiction together which makes the text more engaging and interesting
and gives you the best of both worlds in a book almost; 2 in 1. I enjoyed the many themes
incorporated in the book, one of my favorites being how merging cultures can be difficult.
Something I disliked about the book was at times, some parts were a bit

Analysis Of Maxine Hong Kingston 's ' The Woman Warrior '
Kejsi Drenova
Paper 2
In The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston makes her narration compelling and relatable to the
audience through her unique style of storytelling. The ever–present changes in perspective lead one
to see how each event eventually affects Kingston. Her comparison of her life to that of Fa Mu Lan
brings out the difficulties in her living in America while her mother had grown up in China. This
hero myth allows her to connect to those values that Brave Orchid holds which make her so hard on
her daughter. The telling of Brave orchid's talk–stories in first person makes their events more
relatable to Kingston, which makes the 4th chapter's telling in the third person all the more jarring
and thought–provoking. All in all, Kingston's writing style in this novel serves to make it evoke a
powerful sense of relatability and understanding of her plight. The novel is constantly changing
perspectives in such a manner that a reader feels as though all of the events transpiring are all part of
Kingston's lived experience. The main perspectives present are those of Brave Orchid, Kingston's
brother, and Kingston both as herself and as Fa Mu Lan in her fictional narrative. These perspective
changes serve a number of purposes. The first, of course, keeps the story very interesting. The
changes in narration keep the story from feeling too stale. The main purpose of these perspective
changes is, however, to highlight the "feelings of displacement and alienation from both

Article Analysis: No Name Woman By Maxine Hong Kingston
The first article 'No Name Woman' is written by Maxine Hong Kingston. The article describes the
gender roles and responsibilities expected by the Chinese Society for the women and girls during
the 1920's. The author narrates about heard aunt and how she lived during the 1920sin a
conservative village in China. The main conflict in this piece is man versus society where the young
girl is viewed as an outcast by the community she lives in. the major conflict is based on gender
disparity at the time.
The Chinese women at the time were expected to be humble and submissive to their husbands and
male members of the society. The aunt was thus married out at a tender age without her consent or
choice, and the man immediately immigrates to the US in ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net
...
"Delia. Delia!" she also uses situational irony in her narrative. Sykes brings home a rattlesnake in
order to infuriate Delia. The snake is supposed to keep Delia frightened and in her place. Instead the
snake breaks free, bites and kills Sykes (Goody, 2013).
Similarities and Differences
Both texts show the gender disparity that was evident in the two situations. Women in both cases are
treated as unequal and denied of basic freedoms. The two characters being mistreated are both
women suffering in a paternal society. Both stories are also based on conservative societies from
long time ago.
The main differences are that the aggrieved in the first story, the author's aunt committed suicide
after the societal treatment while Delia is avenged by the snake killing her aggressor. The first story
ends in tragedy as the aunt commits suicide, while in the second it ends with justice on the
aggressor.
The first story uses a first person form in narration as the author talks about her family and Chinese
traditions, while the second is a narrative by an outside observer to narrate the story. The first story
is based on true events based on the author's family life, while the second is

Dragon 's Identity By Maxine Hong Kingston 's 1976 The...
Dragon's identity
Having two identities is like mastering the dragon ways. In Maxine Hong Kingston's 1976 The
Woman Warrior, she retells about her autobiography in a fictional way and greatly magnifies the art
of storytelling. Maxine introduces with the story about her unknown aunt and then transitioning to
her favorite story about a woman warrior, Fa Mu Lan. Then she explores about her mother's past,
sister, and interaction with herself. She truly connects every part of the story and creates an identity
for herself. The dragon passage illuminates Maxime's identity and brings her stories into a whole
where one must understand one part to find person's identity.
The passage of dragon illuminates her identity because it explains the only way to recapture
Maxine's identity throughout the narrative. On page twenty–eight, Maxine narrates the Fa Mu Lan's
story in the first person to relate to herself:
After I returned from my survival test, the two old people trained me in dragon ways, which took
another eight years. Copying the tigers, their stalking kill, and their anger had been a wild,
bloodthirsty joy. Tigers are easy to find, but I needed adult wisdom to know dragons. 'You have to
infer the whole dragon from the parts you can see and touch,' the old people would say. Unlike
tigers, dragons are so immense, I would never see one in its entirety. But I could explore the
mountains, which are the top of its head. 'These mountains are also like the tops of other

Women’s Power to Change in No Name Woman, Maxine Hong...
Throughout the years poverty has played an important role in changing traditions and cultures.
Poverty has changed the role of women and their ways of thinking. In "No Name Woman", Maxine
Hong Kingston showed an example of how poverty changed the responsibilities of women in a
small village in China. According to the narrator's mother, the women in this Chinese village, during
the twentieth century, were to get married for one night and then all the men leave to America, to
work there and send money home. The need for money gave women no choice but to obey. They did
not choose whether they want their men to leave them or not. They were not asked if they wanted to
get married or not. Because women could not go through the pain of hunger, ... Show more content
on Helpwriting.net ...
She did not want her child to turn out and be like her family or the villagers. If the child was a boy,
he might have turned as every other man in the village and if the child was a girl, she might have
had to face the consequences of her mother's problems. No Name Woman killed her child because
she was worried that the child might have to face the same destiny as her "She had taken the child
with her into wastes" (32). She decided that the best thing for the child is to die with her, instead of
living and facing what the mother could not go through. No Name Woman's fear affected her
decisions and destroyed her life. No Name Woman had a duty towards her family and child, but
unfortunately she ran away from it. No Name Woman was an irresponsible person, who avoided
defending her child and herself. According to the narrator, No Name Woman was the only child left
in her family after all her brothers and her father traveled to America, "She was the only daughter;
her four brothers went with her father, husband, and uncles "out on the road" and for some years
became the western men" (27). Since she was the only child left, she a duty towards her mother. She
had to stay by her mother's side, help her, and make sure she had what she needed, but she ran away
without telling her mother anything to comfort her. No Name Woman's family had the right to know
what happened to their daughter. No Name Woman also had

Maxine Hong Kingston 's `` No Name Woman ``
Being an author of several praised works, Maxine Hong Kingston has been deemed a noteworthy
American writer since her first book debuted. Her unique style and interesting blend of myth and
truth in memoir form garnered her international attention and won her several awards. Kingston's
works have put heavy emphasis on her family history and her experiences as a Chinese–American,
so it is no surprise that she has been received well by many and misunderstood by others at the same
time. A discussion on one of her most popular works, "No Name Woman", and a look at the
different ways Kingston's works have been interpreted should reveal how literature can have
different meanings depending on what one is looking for.
Kingston was born in October of 1940 in the Californian city of Stockton and since her parents were
Chinese emigrants to the United States, Kingston became a first generation Chinese–American
("Maxine Hong Kingston"). Coming to the United States changed the career situation for both of
Kingston's parents, as her father went from teaching to working in a gambling house and her mother
went from being a doctor to a stay–at–home mom raising six children (Baym 1567). After attending
the University of California in Berkeley and graduating in 1962, Kingston spent many years
teaching through various jobs before getting published in 1976 ("Maxine Hong Kingston"). Once
her initial book came out, her career as a writer took off as many critics gave raving reviews of her
first

The Language Of Silence By Maxine Hong Kingston
Language is much more than a method of communication. Permeated within it are traditions,
customs, and legacies of one's culture. The identity of an entire population is in the distinct
vocalizations of their native language. Unfortunately, as a wave of immigrants enters the United
States at young ages, many face language barriers that pose significant challenges. Language
barriers affect a multitude of immigrant populations to different degrees. This, in turn, causes many
of them to abandon not only their native tongue but a piece of their ethnic identity, as well. In
Maxine Hong Kingston's personal narrative,"The Language of Silence," she describes the
difficulties she experienced throughout her childhood with a language barrier as a ... Show more
content on Helpwriting.net ...
Spanish is my native language, however, my mother advised my siblings and I to speak only
English. This was because she was afraid that we would be rejected from professional careers if our
English wasn 't unaccented, fluent, and similar in refinement to the working class whites. With time,
I became a fluent English speaker with a developed Central American accent but like, any other
young girl, I thought nothing of it. That is until one event, in particular, occurred that would cast a
shadow of embarrassment onto my Spanish language. This event not only led me to desert my entire
native language but a sense of my cultural identity, as well.
Every afternoon, my mother would take my siblings and I down to the community park. It was a
tradition of sorts. The leaves on the trees were brown, only days past Halloween. I sat under the
dappled afternoon sun and played in the sand. On this particular day, however, a young girl
approached me. Confused, I offered her a friendly smile but was, instead, greeted by the sand she
kicked in my direction. Once my mother took notice of this, she came forward and placed a hand
over the young girl's leg without physically touching her. "Stop," she said. With this one word, the
girl ran off. After a minute or so, an older woman approached my mother and I, with a string of
curse words. It was the parent of the girl from earlier. Her husband attempted

Memoirs Of Maxine Hong Kingston
Maxine Hong Kingston connecting her family to the story of her no name aunt, Kingston learns
about her family secret. In china, 1924 Kinston's mother begins to explain the mystery in Kingston's
father's side. Kingston's father supposedly had only brothers because they made sure not to mention
anything about the no name aunt. She killed herself and her new born baby in the family well.
Reminiscing back in time Kingston's mother explains how she suspected the aunt to be pregnant.
She remembers one day when her and the aunt were undressing and she realized how bulging the
aunt's belly was. Kingston's mother couldn't believe she was pregnant because all the men in the
family sailed to America a year before she was due to have the baby. Suddenly, villagers ... Show
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Spreading blood all over there walls and doors, one women threw a chicken's head to represent the
aunt. When the villagers were in the house the destroyed everything in it; the kitchen was filled with
shatter glasses from the bowls and throwing the pots. The women next door entered their house with
a broom swiping the negative dust above Kingston's families head giving those negative spirts and
every one of the villagers looking down upon Kingston's family. When leaving their house, the
villagers made sure that they took sugar and oranges and rubbed it upon the selves; it made sure
they weren't cursed from the disgrace the family had. Some stole the rest of the bowls and clothes
that were not broken or torn. It was time for the baby to arrive and the no name women gave birth to
her new born baby in a pit. Kingston's remembers the next morning going to the family well
noticing that it was plugged and noticed that the aunt had killed herself and her newborn baby in the
family well. Making sure that Maxine Kingston doesn't say a word to her father, her mother repeats
again to her to not say a word to her father or to

Maxine Hong Kingston 's `` No Name Woman ``
Maxine Hong Kingston has many unanswered questions about her father's sister. Kingston explores
all the possibilities of her aunt's life and personality through her essay, "No Name Woman." Her
aunt profoundly disgraced her family by becoming pregnant out of wedlock. Although the aunt is
punished by the family's refusing to remember her, this punishment is entirely unwarranted because
not only was the aunt clearly raped, she was raped by her husband's father. Kingston's forgotten aunt
could not have loved the man who impregnated her. The villagers in Old China lived a very frugal
lifestyle, which is something that had been so strongly ingrained into their lives that even as
Kingston was growing up, her family would make her and her siblings feel guilty about spending
money on "frivolous things" (257). "Adultery is an extravagance" (257). The likelihood that her aunt
was having an affair is extremely small. Her aunt committing adultery does not match up with her
suspected strict upbringing where being carefree was frowned upon. The chance of the aunt
becoming pregnant out of lust is also very small. This idea fits in accordance with the idea of having
a strict upbringing. If having an affair out of love was an extravagance, an affair out of lust could
only be seen as even more extravagant. Also, Kingston "[doesn't] know any women like that [who
would view sex so freely], or men either" (259). Kingston imagines her aunt to be somewhat similar
to her, coming from

Fa Mu Lan, Brave Orchid
The Women Warriors
Warriors come in all shapes and sizes, including Chinese women. Growing up in America, Maxine
Hong Kingston does not know what kind of Chinese girl to be. She is conditioned to expect to be a
wife or a slave, but she dreams of the warrior she knows she could be. The warrior motif is an
extremely important part of Hong Kingston's memoir, referring as it does to Fa Mu Lan, Brave
Orchid, and Hong Kingston, herself. All three of these women display their inner warrior by defying
the traditional cultures of what is expected of Chinese women.
Fa Mu Lan is a genuine woman warrior because she proves that Chinese women can be capable, and
at the same time, fulfill the duties of a traditional Chinese woman. Hong Kingston is careful to point
out that Fa Mu Lan is a warrior and a woman, not one or the other. By becoming a war hero, Fa Mu
Lan has not given up being a woman. She "put[s] on [her] men's clothes and armor ... Show more
As a little girl, Hong Kingston has trouble speaking, but throughout the book, she eventually finds
her voice. This is most apparent when she is finally able to stand up to her mother and declare her
"list." Hong Kingston writes that once she started speaking, the words "kept pouring out" (200). Not
only does Hong Kingston have an epiphany regarding her power of speech, but she also proves that
she will not grow up only to be a wife or slave, she too is a warrior. Also, Hong Kingston uses her
power with words to write her book, The Woman Warrior. Through selectively compiling stories,
Hong Kingston has the power to choose which stories define her. She can write her own story
differently, to give a different spin on it, and to remember it as she wishes it were, like she did with
Fa Mu Lan. In conclusion, Hong Kingston realizes, as much as longs to be a ferocious warrior, she
conscious that her true power is in her

The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston Essay
In the novel The Woman Warrior Maxine Hong Kingston uses ghosts to represent a battle between
American and Chinese cultures. The two cultures have different views of what a ghost is. The
Chinese believe the ghost spirits may be of people dead or alive. Chinese culture recognizes
foreigners and unfamiliar people as ghosts because, like American ghosts, they are mysterious
creatures of the unknown. Americans view ghosts as spirits of the dead that either help or haunt
people. American ghosts may or may not be real. There spirits are there but physical appearance is a
mystery. Chinese culture has many interpretations ghosts. One way they are seen as is people who
have disgraced their family or country. An example of this in the ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
This quote shows how the Chinese viewed Americans as ghosts. This quote shows how even the
husband, a Chinese man, could look like a ghost. Once he was Americanized he easily blended in
with all of the other Americans. The people look unfamiliar and are mysterious and have an
unknown culture. In the poem "Hunger", written by Lee Samantha Chang, the author shows how
lost the Chinese characters feel in an American setting. Min, a Chinese woman who is stuck in the
alien setting of America, tells one of her experiences: "Now I sat alone, I was overtaken by fear. I
longed to be back home in Brooklyn, curled up in Tian's big chair, with a Chinese story book in my
hand." (Hunger) Min was anxious because she was in a new environment and was surrounded by
what Kingston would call ghosts. "And you—and eye not an I—/are walking through it."(Moon and
Outgrass lines 6–7) In this line from the poem, Moon and Outgrass shows how the Chinese were
viewed by the American "ghosts". As part of her culture, Maxine's mother tells her stories about
ghosts giving her false impressions like when she was telling Maxine, "Once upon a time the world
was so thick with ghosts, I could hardly breathe; I could hardly walk, limping my way around the
White Ghosts and their cars. There were Black Ghosts too, but they were open eyed and full of
laughter, more distinct than White Ghosts."(Kingston 97) Leaving Maxine baffled as to whether

Analysis Of The Piece, No Name Woman By Maxine Hong Kingston
The role of the woman has said to serve a humble and very significant aspect in tradition and
ritualistic beliefs in Chinese culture in pre–modern times. Traditionally, woman were to stay loyal to
the man they were married to and were required, by custom, to stay in the household of "the–in–
laws" as a sign of respect to the family. We consider the words loyalty, respect, and submission a
numerous amount of times when analyzing the women's role and how it pertains to Chinese culture
when we read about it in articles, newspapers, and novels. In the piece, "No Name Woman," Maxine
Hong Kingston insists on clarifying the ignorant notion that women were always acquiescent to the
word of the man. Kingston reflects on her adolescent fascination about the aunt she never knew by
engaging in heavy discussion to examine the for that not all women shared those values. Using the
story of a speculated aunt that the narrator was told she had by her mother, Kingston asserts that
even if the story of her aunt may not be factual, the message of the piece is to communicate that
women were both obedient and strictly submissive in Chinese culture.
The characterization of the female roles in the text is used to assert that the narrator not only
possesses a compliant behavior toward her father, but also engages in defiant acts to analyze the
similarities between her and her speculated aunt. In the piece, Kingston describes how the aunt was
oppressed by social obligations of being a woman, where as

Maxine Hong Kingston Illustrates The Theme Of Alienation
Desma Hamilton Mrs. McNeese ENG 123 1 October 2017 Life in Isolation I. Introduction
Paragraph / Usually 3–5 sentences. Ends with the 2–Part Thesis as the last sentence. ENG 123
Thesis Example: The Non–Fiction stories, "No Name Woman" by Maxine Hong Kingston and
"American History" by Judith Ortiz Cofer, illustrate the theme of alienation. II. Topic Sentence:
Point #1 of Body EX. ENG 123: "No Name Woman" by Maxine Hong Kingston illustrates the
theme of alienation. "We say that your father has all brothers because it is as if she had never been
born" (744). "She often worked at herself I the mirror, guessing at the colors in shapes that would
interest him, changing them frequently in order to hit on the right

Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior
Initial Understanding. What are your thoughts and questions about the story? You might reflect upon
characters, their problems, the title, or other ideas in the story.
Maxine Hong Kingston's "The Woman Warrior" was a wonderful book.
Intense, fierce and disturbing but very original.
I was intrigued by the title of the book: "Memoirs of a girlhood among Ghosts"
"The Ghosts" represent the people she grew up around which were the Americans, but throughout
the book there is mentions of ghosts from her past.
She grow up around the ghosts from her past and present.
The first chapter of the book I found to be the most enjoyable. It introduced all major themes of the
book. Including: Chinese culture and tradition, Women's voice, and silence.
The ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
2. Interpretation. Choose two passages from the book that you think indicate an important change in
the main character from the beginning of the story to the end. What do you think causes this change
and how do the passages show this change?
Throughout the book Kingston struggles to associate herself with a certain culture. Across the novel
she uses "talk stories" to communicate her emotions. After certain major events we can see how she
is feeling based on the stories chosen to be in the book. These stories also have a big influence on
how she views her own culture and herself.
In this chapter Kingston's mother would tell her stories of famous warriors but then contradict
herself by saying that she would end up a housemaid and slave.
Kingston daydreams of being a legendary woman warrior. She is led by a bird into the mountains
where she encounters an old couple who agree to train her. Throughout the story she becomes a
famous woman warrior but when she refocuses on reality she is disappointed.
She says that she " was eager to find an unusual bird"
Kingston felt the need to be more than a housewife or slave, against the wishes of her

As an American Chinese Maxine Hong Kingston tries to find...
As an American Chinese Maxine Hong Kingston tries to find out what defines her The Search for
Human Identity All humans encounter the search for personal identity at some point in life. As an
"American Chinese" Maxine Hong Kingston tries to find out what defines her. Let them be her
mother's traditional world, her new American home, or herself as an individual. Undoubtedly,
Maxine is strongly interested in the margins between certainty and falsehood, remembrance and
tradition, honesty and deceit. As she grows up, she realizes that indeed, part of becoming a young
mature woman is figuring out what makes up her own individual. She also questions who she really
is, and where she belongs in her family. Maxine Hong Kingston ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
Even though Kingston tries hard enough to make sense of what her mother tells her, she is still
undetermined as to how real the facts surrounding her aunt's suicide are. Maxine's mother believes
that the story will stop Maxine from having sexual relations outside marriage. However, Maxine
interprets the story according to the values she can relate to: individualism, and a strong sense of
independence. The question then arises: How is Maxine able to tell from her mother's "talk–stories,"
what is atypical about her own family, and what is factual for all Chinese people in making sense of
her own life? In No Name Woman, Maxine can see herself as a product of her mother's influence,
for she tells Maxine a story about her aunt and how she struggles after being cast out by her village.
With this story, Maxine attempts to learn more about her family's old customs and traditions, which
she knows solely from her mother. The "talk–story" about her aunt's life also servers as the scenery
for Kingston's own experience growing up as a Chinese–American. This is because, Maxine feels
cut in half as if her new American world were to pull her apart from her original Chinese customs
and traditions. As her mother describes Chinese society, Maxine imagines an austere and strict way
of

Maxine Hong Kingston No Name Woman
"No Name Woman," an essay by Maxine Hong Kingston, examines the intricacies of culture and
identity. The essay centers on the story of when Kingston's mother first told Kingston about her
deceased aunt, the no name woman. In "the old China" (310), Kingston's aunt became pregnant out
of wedlock. The villagers, furious at her betrayal of their way of life, raided no name woman's
family's home. No name woman's family preceded to shout at her for bringing such misfortune upon
them. Terrified, no name woman flees the home and gives birth in the family's pigsty. The next
morning, with newborn in arms, no name woman jumps down the family well to her death. Through
much of her essay, Kingston speaks of her aunt with a tone of forgiveness. She first explores the
possibility that another villager raped her aunt. Though she also wonders whether her aunt "kept
rollicking company," Kingston partly dismisses the theory because she "does not know any women
like that" (311). Additionally, Kingston, many times, addresses the oppressive gender inequalities
that her aunt faced. For example she describes how her grandparents "expected [her aunt] alone to
keep the traditional ways, which her brothers, now among the barbarians, could ... Show more
And [she] has" (315). Her terse last sentence reveals her displeasure of having taken part in such
punishment. However, in the final paragraph of her essay, Kingston abruptly shifts her perspective.
She begins to wonder whether her aunt "always means her well" (315). By making this shift,
Kingston acknowledges that one's own understanding of another culture inhibits his or her ability to
fully understanding the experience of another. She chooses to offer her aunt forgiveness in the only
way she knows how. Yet, Kingston cannot be sure that she accomplished that for her

Maxine Hong Kingston No Name Woman
No Name Woman
In Chinese traditional culture, since women had lots of limitations in gender role, they have no
power to influence their future. In the essay "No Name Woman", the author Maxine Hong Kingston
shows a tragedy of her aunt in the traditional Chinese society and it emphasizes how it is necessary
to change men and women's status. Her aunt got pregnant after her husband left home. It was not
accepted by villagers and her family because they thought she do not follow the traditional women
rule. The whole family considered aunt as the shame and they kicked her aunt out of the family.
Villagers tried to destroy her house, when she gave birth to her baby. At the end, her aunt killed
herself with the baby in the well. In order to prevent ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
According to Confucian ideas, "families were to be strictly hierarchical: old over young, and male
over female. In addition, Confucianism idealized the extended family, and encouraged families to
favor sons over daughters." This rule creates the most extreme division of men and women. Since
man is the only productivity in the society, they have the power to control everything. In contrast,
women are treated as accessories and they cannot influence anything rather than rely on their
husbands and families. Even though, some women realize that they should change their social
status, but they have no power against the ethical ideas. Based on the division of jobs, the whole
society puts men in the first priority, even they do bad things, they will be forgiven by everyone.
Women are posited as housewives and do not have any contributions to the society. As a result, no
one cares their life. Women are willing to accept this unequal position and they get used to be
obedient because of survival. Women are not allowed to be educated and cannot be independent of
that period, so families are the only factor to make them survive. In conclude, being alive is the key
reason that women prefer to obey their families and follow traditional rules, died is considered as a
way to empower for women's status. The author's aunt suicide is not unique in that period. Chairman
Mao had written an essay called "Miss Zhao's Suicide" to argue that the Confucian ideas provide
wrong concepts of the social structure in China. Miss Zhao's family forced her to marriage with
someone, who had power in local place. She rejected this because she thought she should have a
true love marriage. However, her family ignores her request. At the end, she killed herself to against
the traditional rule. Both of the author's aunt and

Essay on The Woman Warrior, by Maxine Hong Kingston
The theme of "voiceless woman" throughout the book "the woman warrior" is of great importance.
Maxine Kingston narrates several stories in which gives clear examples on how woman in her
family are diminished and silenced by Chinese culture. The author not only provides a voice for
herself but also for other women in her family and in her community that did not had the
opportunity to speak out and tell their stories.
The author starts the book with the story of her aunt. This story was a well–kept family secret being
that her aunt's actions were of great disappointment to the family. The "no name woman" as the
story names her, was forgotten by all her family because she had a child that was not from her
husband. This story gives a clear ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
After so many years of being subjected by other people, she finally took her life into her own hands
and made an attempt to be happy.
According to the book, this woman gave birth to a baby which was a symbol of embarrassment and
humiliation not only for the villagers but for all the family. Even though this baby did not have any
notion of what was going on, she was still a victim of Chinese norms. This baby also became
forgotten being that she was not given the opportunity to be alive. Kingston's aunt decision of
killing the baby, had to do greatly with the fact that she was girl. As the book states "it was probably
a girl; there is some hope for forgiveness for boys". Without any doubt, if the baby was given the
opportunity to live she would have been mistreated and condemned all her life. She would not have
had the opportunity to developed her own identity or raise her "own voice".
Additionally, another example that implies that Kingston aunt had no "voice" is when the author
states, "The work of preservation demands that the feelings playing about in one's guts not to be
turned into action. Just watch their passing like cherry blossoms" (Kingston 8). This sentence can be
interpreted that a women's feelings and wishes were not allowed to be turned into reality or to be
expressed. On the contrary, their feelings and wishes were only allowed to be kept to their selves as
if

Summary Of ' The Woman Warrior ' By Maxine Hong Kingston
John Hilcher
English Comp 122
Professor Ivalotis
20 January 2016
Subjugation of Women in "No Name Woman"
The Story "Woman Warrior" written by Maxine Hong Kingston in 1975, is a great representation of
what woman are characterized as in regards to being submissive or rebellious in their society, and
how, even though they are harshly treated, the women fight back instead of letting themselves be
subjugated, it exemplifies the hardships women face in their lives. In The Woman Warrior: Memoirs
of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, Author Maxine Hong Kingston brings to the table a bunch of
allegorical and life stories that bring upon the hardships in which she, herself, must deal with the
sexist ideology and prejudice growing up young Chinese American girl. Throughout her life she was
called such racist and stereotypical names such as "gook" and is repeatedly told such chauvinist
Chinese sayings like "girls are maggots in the rice" by her own flesh and blood; her parents. Maxine
Hong Kingston feels isolated from modern American culture and from the patriarchal Chinese
culture.
In her recollection of her memories she reminisces of her search for female archetypes, while
involving some imaginative stories associating Chinese characters as Fa Mu Lan, a woman warrior
known to China; with thoughts of her own obstinate mother, Brave Orchid. Through these numerous
accounts, the narrator searches to proclaim her identity as a Chinese American female in her own
bicultural world. Amidst

The Woman Warrior, By Maxine Hong Kingston
For centuries, people faced prejudice and struggle to live the "American Dream". Thousands of
people come to the U.S. to live a better life for their family. Instead they face racial seclusion,
struggle to survive, and consequences of American's fear. In the memoir, The Woman Warrior, by
Maxine Hong Kingston, a girl who discloses stories about Chinese myths, families, and events in
the U.S. that has shaped her identity. In the historical fiction novel, When the Emperor was Divine,
by Julie Otsuka, is about a Japanese American family sent to an internment camp in Utah during
WWII written in children's lens. In both novels, silence is viewed as gender and ethnical oppression.
In Maxine's novel, silence is presented through encounter with other characters. For example, she
attempts to talk to a girl in her school, Kingston states, "If you don't talk, you can't have a
personality. You think someone is going to take care of you all your stupid life? You're not the type
that gets dates, let alone gets married (180)." Kingston uses symbolism as a form of expression to
indicate that she is forcing herself to speak instead of the girl she's talking to. She is infuriated that
she has a squeaky voice and is unable to fully pronounce sentences. She doesn't want to be a
minority among her peers and wants the ability to speak her mind which Chinese culture deprived
her. In a way she is talking about her own physical insecurities, how fragile she feels, and what she
is going through

Mark Twain And Maxine Hong Kingston
In the mid 19th century, America was viewed as a hotspot for freedom and wealth. When the noise
of the gold rush flooded the world, immigrants started to see America more appetizing than ever.
The Chinese saw America as a place to have a fresh start and as a place of refuge because of it's
generosity, so they immigrated to the west in great numbers. There was a large Chinese population
in Virginia and all along the Pacific coast. Writers Mark Twain and Maxine Hong Kingston both
wrote in great detail about the Chinese Immigrants. They went into detail about the immigrants and
how they came over and why. Although Twain and Kingston both wrote about the immigrants in a
positive light, Twain was sympathetic of the immigrants and Kingston focused more on their image
and her ancestors. Mark Twain and Maxine Hong Kingston are both influential writers when it
comes to the history of the Chinese Immigrants. Bother of them showed a great amount of detail on
their journey to America. Mark Twain actually pities the "friendless Mongol," there were many
superficial stereotypes of the Chinese immigrants (Ou 33). Twain ridicules the American's racist
attitudes against the Chinese. For example, in Roughing It, he wrote, "In every little cooped–up,
dingy cavern of a hut, faint with the odor of burning Josh–lights and with nothing to see the gloom
by save the sickly, guttering tallow candle, were two or three yellow, long–tailed vagabonds, coiled
up on a sort of short truckle–bed, smoking

No Name Woman, By Maxine Hong Kingston
Many consider America to be the melting pot, and they're not wrong. It houses members of many
nations ranging from Mexico to Russia. Surrounded by foreign influences and numerous other
cultures, they struggle to determine which traditions from their heritages they should hold onto and
which foreign customs they should embrace. A Chinese–American, Maxine Hong Kingston is
familiar with this dilemma. In her piece "No Name Woman", Kingston explores this struggle by
sharing the tragic story of her aunt's pregnancy. Within her piece, she journalistically reports her
aunt's story in her mother's words and fictionally narrates some of her aunt's possible behaviors
because of its lack of detail. She also explains several Chinese customs and ... Show more content
on Helpwriting.net ...
To fill in missing details of her aunt's story, Kingston decides to craft a possible reality for her aunt
in a narrative mode that resonates throughout the rest of the piece. As a possibility, she writes that
her aunt might have been obsessed with her appearance in order to please her lover. Kingston
proposes, "To sustain her being in love, she often worked at herself in the mirror, guessing at the
colors and shapes that would interest him, changing them frequently..." (Kingston 328). She
continues expanding upon her aunt's beauty rituals by describing how she might have plucked hairs
or gotten rid of an unwanted mole. Kingston has no way of knowing whether or not her aunt really
did obsess over appearance. Kingston also addresses the origin of her aunt's relationship with her
lover. Thinking aloud on paper, Kingston explores the possibility that her aunt "encountered him in
the fields or on the mountain where the daughters–in–law collected fuel.... He was not a stranger
because the village housed no strangers. She had to have dealings with him other than sex"
(Kingston 326). Kingston continues by suggesting that maybe this "lover" raped her aunt. While the
instances she is presenting may not be true, Kingston's narration succeeds in providing readers with
a context of what her aunt may have experienced. The aunt might have entered into the

Maxine Hong Kingston is a Chinese author who became successful for her book about women
power and the strength of women all over the world. This book inspired many people all over the
world. Kingston takes a look further into her family history and learns some important things from
it. She learns some things about her aunt that unfortunately commit suicide long ago. Like any
person would, Kingston begins to think of different scenarios on what could've caused her to make
this decision. When Kingston asks her family for more information about her aunt, the tell her not to
speak of it. This makes her more curious. Maxine Hong Kingston has always had a big imagination,
so this made her wonder. Hearing these things about her aunt from her family and later on figuring
out more inspired her. When she finally puts some pieces together, she puts it into her book.
Kingston impacts many readers of her book The Woman Warrior. Maxine Hong Kingston's story
effected many and even helped some people to ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Her passion for writing started when she was attending Edison high school. She had always been a
good writer, and she finally started She wrote her first big story here in 1995. On October 27,2016,
A&E wrote a Biography about this extraordinary lady and stated, "Kingston attended Edison High
School and during this time, her first published work appeared in the Girl Scouts' magazine The
American Girl"(web). This story was called "I am an American" This paper she wrote was chosen to
be published in the Girl Scouts Magazine American Girl and won her a five thousand dollar prize.
These things helped Kingston as a Chinese American woman to break the stereotype and show
people that Chinese woman can be successful too. Maxine Hong Kingston is a brave woman. She
knows what she was meant to do based on her parents beliefs, yet she still decided that she was
much more than

Maxine Hong Kingston 's No Name Woman
Maxine Hong Kingston, a first–generation Chinese–American, searches for her identity by
comparing her own American traditions with her parent's old–China traditions. Although Kingston
grew up in California, her family roots remain deep within her culture. She is an active feminist and
the author of two well–known books, The Woman Warrior (1970) and China Men (1980). In No
Name Woman, Kingston explores the treatment, values and life of the women of old–China in the
1920s.
In "No Name Woman," which is Chapter One of The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood
among Ghosts, Kingston learns from her mother that she once had an aunt who killed both herself
and her newborn baby by jumping into the family drinking well in China. Kingston relates that the
woman's husband had left the country years before to provide for the family in America, so the
villagers knew the child was illegitimate. The night that the baby was born, the villagers raided and
destroyed the family house; consequently, the woman gave birth in a pigsty. Kingston's mother
further explains that the next morning she found her sister–in–law and the baby had plugged up the
well. The woman had brought such disgrace upon her family that they decided to pretend that she
had never been born.
Kingston's mother tells the story as a cautionary tale to her daughter, in the years Kingston begins to
menstruate. Her mother warns her to be careful lest the same fate fall upon her. Kingston, looking
back on the story later,

The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston
In The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston crafts a fictitious memoir of her girlhood among
ghosts. The book's classification as a memoir incited significant debate, and the authenticity of her
representation of Chinese American culture was contested by Asian American scholars and authors.
The Woman Warrior is ingenuitive in its manipulation of the autobiographical genre. Kingston
integrates the value of storytelling in her memoir and relates it to dominant themes about silence,
cultural authenticity, and the cultivation of identity. Throughout her work, Kingston reaches a
variety of conclusions about the stories her mother told her by writing interpretations of her mother,
Brave Orchid's, "talk–story". Brave Orchid's talk–story is a form ... Show more content on
Helpwriting.net ...
She considers that "some man had commanded her to lie with him and be his secret evil." (Kingston
6). Kingston writes her initial version of the "No Name Woman," who was raped, raided, and died
an outcast, but Kingston determines that this telling does not fit her understanding of China.
Therefore, Kingston entertains another hypothetical, that her aunt took a lover and saved him from
shame by giving "silent birth" and not revealing the lover's identity (Kingston 11). Here, Kingston
critically examines the inherited talk–story of her mother to determine the meaning she should
obtain from the death of her aunt. Her mother's conclusion is that she must not become pregnant, but
Kingston is uncertain about the simplicity of her mother's story. In the "No Name Woman,"
Kingston introduces the fictitious memoir structure that she utilizes through the variety of
interpretations of her aunt's story. Consistently through the memoir, Kingston writes contrasting
accounts of the same stories and imagines the stories of others to further her themes about silence,
authenticity, and identity formation.
Kingston begins The Woman Warrior by writing a story which started with her mother insisting that
she "must not tell anyone...what I am about to tell you." (Kingston 3). Kingston's first written words
are a defiance of this silencing. Silence is a motif that permeates the entirety of The Woman Warrior;
Kingston

The Western Place By Maxine Hong Kingston
When Two Different Worlds Collide
Throughout the book, "The Western Place" , by Maxine Hong Kingston, there is a differential gap
between the two sisters who come from two different sides of the world. A lot of differences
between the two sisters and their personal lifestyles comes from one sister living in America as a
Chinese–American and the other sister living in China. In the story Brave Orchid who is the sister
that is brave, outspoken, and sometimes cruel sees life as a bundle of opportunities to take with no
regret. However, it is different when her sister Moon Orchid comes into town from China because
she is the complete opposite. Moon Orchid is rather humble, timid, and quiet while she observes the
lifestyle of her sister and nieces and nephews. In the chapter , at "The Western Place" , Brave Orchid
sends for her sister Moon Orchid to come to America and to confront her husband who is living
another life and is remarried. However, conflict arises as the two sisters have complete opposite
thoughts and personalities. Brave Orchids whose name completely describes her – urges her sister to
visit her husband. However, while Moon Orchid is completely fine without her husband, she feels
pressured by her sister to do what was asked of her. While Brave Orchid is the complete package of
what a chinese woman and her traditions would represent while living the American lifestyle– Moon
Orchid is rather surprised by the actions of her sister and nieces and nephews. For

Analysis of Maxine Hong Kingston "No Name Woman"
Chapter I
Introduction
1.1. Background of study
Adultery defined as a sex relationship between a married woman and a man other than her spouse or
a sex relationship that usually happened also between unmarried couples in their relationship. It is
actually the same as stated in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary; adultery is a sex between a
married person and someone who is not their husband or wife (18). Indeed, Adultery sometimes
becomes something crucial in our society. As an addition, in certain societies or cultures, it
considered as an illegal relationship or we can say forbidden against norm or belief in societies or
cultures itself. Like what the writers have discussed above, that adultery has a strong relationship to
... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
1.2. Statement of problem
The writer finds two problems that are going too analyzed in this study. In addition, the problems
are: 1. What were the perspectives of Chinese cultural society toward woman adultery in No Name
Woman? 2. Why the perfective of Chinese cultural society toward men and women who committed
adultery in No Name Woman is different? Why the society only judged the woman? 3. How the
trends captured feminist approaches in Chinese culture society for women, who commit adultery, as
we see in the work of Kingston No Name Woman? 1.3. Scope of study
In this paper, the writer focuses the study only on the perspectives of Chinese cultural society
toward woman adultery that exist in the novel and how the point of view and its relationship to
understand existing feminism. The writer does not conduct the study on other example outside the
short story. 1.4. Objectives
Objectives presented by the authors of this research are:
1. To provides a clear understanding of an adultery act that committed by women, who live among
Chinese cultural society.
2. To explain how the position of a woman against a man among the people where they live,
especially in Chinese society, and can see the reason of Chinese culture, which is pressing her.
3. To gain understanding and comprehensive view of the understanding of feminism, through the
Chinese cultural society of women who commit adultery in the work of No Name Woman by
Kingston 1.5.

The Woman Warrior By Maxine Hong Kingston Essay
Hathman 1
Rachele Hathman
Professor Richard Potter
ENC 1939
16 November 2016
The Woman Warrior
Language is a system of communication used by humans either written or spoken to communicate
our thoughts and feelings. Our thoughts and feelings we want to communicate to our loved ones, to
our friends, to people we work with or go to school with and even to strangers. Maxine Hong
Kingston in her memoir The Woman Warrior explores language and the use of language to express
what Kingston finds as several conflicts. The conflict of the immigrant experience and the conflict
of having to be a Chinese– American woman along with the expectation of being "silent". Maxine
Hong Kingston provides a remarkable memoir that blends Chinese folktales and personal narratives.
Much throughout her memoir Kingston, tells narratives of "talk– stories", which are stories blended
of her family stories and cultural myths that she has heard. For example the story of Kingston's un–
named, "no named" aunt. The only knowledge Kingston has of her aunt are the hushed stories her
mother tells, the rest Kingston spins with what she may have thought is what had happened. In this
sense Kingston' is an unreliable narrator, leaving readers to question which parts of what Kingston is
saying is actually true and which parts are pieces of her imagination. Kingston 's unreliableness as a
narrator could also be symbolic of stories told in history. Many times we hear stories of events that
may have happened, but we

Ghost In The Woman Warrior By Maxine Hong Kingston
A ghost is "a disembodied soul," according to the definition found within Merriam–Webster's
dictionary. However, in the novel The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, the term ghost
adopts a meaning that holds a much greater depth. All throughout the text, the word "ghost"
reoccurs in a metaphorical sense that binds together the overlying theme of culture disconnect
between the generations of the Chinese–Americans. Kingston equips figurative usage of ghosts in
order to establish a setting in which there is an evident cultural gap between those described as
ghosts, and those who live and breathe in a traditional Chinese sense. At the very start of the novel,
Kingston introduces ghost in a scene where villagers are raiding the family home of the "No Name
Woman," exclaiming "'Pig.' 'Ghost.' 'Pig,'" as they do so, (5). By declaring that the aunt who
committed an unspeakable crime to be a ghost allows readers to grasp an initial sense of what ghost
truly means. A ghost is an outcast, one who does not abide by the values deemed just by the
majority. Further developing this idea, the nameless aunt's own family curses her by saying, "Ghost!
Dead ghost! Ghost! You've never been born," (14). Both her village and her very own family, the
folks whom she holds dearest to her heart, are able to completely deny her existence and shun her
from their realities. Within the first chapter of the novel, the idea of a ghost is introduced as a figure
that has a significant distance from the

Maxine Hong Kingston, a brilliant writer, wrote the award winning book The Woman Warrior. This
book describes "A Girlhood Among Ghosts" which is Hong Kingston's life intertwined with morals,
analogies, metaphors, conflictions, and a truly relatable struggle: being able to fit in with the world
or people around you.
Maxine Hong Kingston describes her life in a vague manner, and adds a small amount of fiction that
is found in the book in the form of stories, and folktales; these small, but very vital editions keep the
reader captivated, entertained and fascinated with the story. Hong Kingston describes her struggles
in fitting in with both American and Chinese culture. She also describes how hard it was for her to
transition from one culture ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
She uses plentiful adjectives in order to vividly illustrate the story in the reader's mind and in order
to provide enough details to make her story more relatable. Although having your tongue cut is not a
very often relatable topic, trying to stand out, trying to be heard, and trying to fit in is very relatable.
Another section in the book which demonstrates how much Maxine Hong Kingston felt that she did
not belong would be the following: "My sister and I had memorized the lesson perfectly. We said it
to each other at home, one chanting, one listening. The teacher called on my sister to recite first. It
was the first time a teacher had called on a second– born to go first. My sister was scared. She
glanced at me and looked away; I looked down at my desk. [...] When it was my turn, the same
voice came out, a crippled animal running on broken legs. You can hear splinters in my voice, bones
rubbing jagged against one another. I was loud, though. I was glad I didn't whisper." This excerpt is
displaying how she was not only very timid to the point where although she knew the words of the
poem, she could not recite them, but also how well she uses words to describe a presentational

No Name Woman By Maxine Hong Kingston

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