"The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
This a book written by Maxine Hong Kingston in 1976. It is a book about growth in individuals, and about two different generations. It is often used to discuss women's topics, but some find it supports sociology, literary, ethnic and historical issues. She has this ability to manage the concerns of how formation of identity in Chinese women is possible that have been oppressed by the Chinese male tradition. Kingston's also has a knack for story telling, it is continuing the Chinese art of "talk story".
The book is mostly a collection of her mother's, father's and her own experiences. She also imagined some of it. This book is not an autobiography she says but it combines truth and fiction as if it was. "The Woman Warrior" is loved because it's an inspiration about female empowerment. Pin-chia Feng had this to say about it "Kingston's writting..... embodies the collective spirit of the Chinese American community."
The book first starts with Kingston's mother telling her a story that she must know but never tell again. The story is about her aunt that she never knew she had. Back in Chins her aunt became pregnant after her husband had come to America.Being married signified that all the men who went to America were to come home and return to their places in the Chinese society. But since her aunt commited adultur it destroyed that society. Once her aunt was noticibly pregnant,the angry villagers attacked the family. The aunt feels ashamed and alone so she drowns herself and the baby in the family well. Kingston then feels ashamed for forgetting the existance of her aunt, a pratice that her family did. Kingston growing up in America doesn't know what kind of Chinese girl to be. She is expected to be a ife/slave, but all she wants to be is a woman warrior. She writes about herself being Fa Mu Lan, and leaves her family to go train in the mountains with an elderly couple for years. Because of her training Kingston changes and she can now see things in a dancing state. She fights barbarians and a baron and makes her village and country proud. After that she returns to her home to become "a dutiful wife and mom" (shmoop.com).
Her mom (Brave Child) back in China was a surgeon. In this part of the book we go back to her mother's past. When her mom is in medical school in China, the other grls ar afraid of a "haunted" room. Brave Child shows everyone by staying in the room for a few nights. In fact she does find some ghost there, so she organizes an exorcism of the room. Then a while laterBrave Child sets up a makeshift hospital to treat war victims. The caves were also a hiding from the Japanese air raids. Kingston then tells a stroy of a weird woman that lives there. She like to go to the river to get water and then dance in the open space. The other cave people accuse the women of being a spy and decide to stoine her to death.
Brave Orchid calls her younger sister, Moon Orchid. Moon Orchid is married to some guy that lives in America, but she hasn't heard from in years. Brave Orchid tells her sister to confront er husband and tell him what's up. Moon Orchid confesses that her husband doesn't want to see her anymore because he has a second wife. Moon Child then moves in with Brave Child's family in San Francisco, while her daugther (Moon Orchid's) visits. Brave Orchid wants to go meet the infamous husband and asks her son to drive them back to LA, once Moon Orchid's daugther has to return. Once she meets the husband she finds out that the husband is a brain surgen and his "wife" is the receptionist. She then tells Moon Orchid to go and demand to be treated like a first wife. But Moon Orchid just gives up and wants to die. Brave orchid then tells her son to call the doctor down. When the doctor comes down is disappointed in seeing Moon Orchid in the US. He says that he now has a new life in the US, with a new wife and doesn't want his past anymore.
After this Moon Orchid decided to go live with her daugther. She stops writting to Brave Orchid because she is afraid to be sppied by Mexicans. Brave Orchid makes Moon Child live with her for a while but she drives everyone crazy. She does this with her morbid conspirancy theories and eventually goesd to an insane asylum. There she is happy taking care of othr girls. Brave Orchid tells her kids to not let their dad get a second wife.
The last chapter is about her childhood. Most of them are about her struggles and how to be more vocal. She says that Chinese women are loud but American feminity calls for quietness.
No comments:
Post a Comment