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Essays about the woman warrior setting
Essays analysing maxine hong kingstons woman warrior
Essays about the woman warrior setting
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In Chapter two of the Woman Warrior, Kingston presents the story by using Fa Mu Lan as an archetype to display the heroine image of “I”. Fa Mu Lan disguises as a man and takes her father’s place in the conscription army. “You can avenge your village. You can recapture the harvests the thieves have taken. You can be remembered by the Han people for your dutifulness.” (P23) Inspired by the old woman, “I” make up my mind to fight for the honor and identity. During 15 years of training, “I” have learned how to be quiet, how to survive bare handed and how to practice in dragon ways. After leaving the mountain, “I” become a real woman warrior, raise armies, and fight for justice. Staying in the mountain is “my” choice of life. “When it rained, I
exercised in the downpour, grateful not to be pulling sweet potatoes. I was grateful not to be squishing in chicken mud, which I did have nightmares about so frequently now.” (P30) “I” choose to be a woman warrior like Fa Mu Lan, but mother does not change the fate of pulling sweet potatoes with father.
John Knowles wrote a fantastic novel entitled A Separate Peace. Some important character in the novel were Gene, Finny, Leper, and Brinker. Gene and Finny were best friends; Leper was the outcast; Brinker was the “hub of the class” This was a novel about friendship, betrayal, war, peace, and jealousy. Although Gene and Finny were similar in many ways, they also had numerous differences.
The story of Fa Mu Lan portrayed in the chapter White Tigers cleverly showcases Kingston’s expectations of the society where women are seen worthless. Within the story, Kingston provides the reader a contrast between her real life and her imagination to appeal to the reader about the frustration in her life. Furthermore, Fa Mu Lan was portrayed as a powerful warrior and at the same time a loving and caring mother. Portraying the character Fa Mu Lan with these qualities, writer was successfully able to demolish traditional Chinese beliefs about women in the society, while keeping the balance between power roles and feminine
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.
It is expected that within a span of four years drastic changes can occur to any person. An example of such case is our experience throughout four years of high school or college; it is a time in which each obstacle that we surpass will become an experience that builds character. We have all left our childhood behind, but we have yet to taste the full essence of adulthood. Within these years of being cast astray to find our own paths, it is common for us students to experience regular episodes of anxiety, stress, and crippling self-doubt.
I've been pro-choice since before I fully understood what that meant. I don't remember which one of us got the abortion-rights bug first, but a few girlfriends and I started attending pro-choice rallies in our hometown (D.C.) when we were
Nishime, LeiLani. "Engendering genre: gender and nationalism in China Men and The Woman Warrior." MELUS20.1 (Spring 95): 67-85.
In “Our Own Warrior Princess,” by Mauren Dowd writes about the braveness of her 33 years old niece donating a liver to her uncle. In the article Dowd informs the audience about her young brave niece Jennifer who donated half of her liver to her uncle who had gotten hepatitis from a tainted blood transfusion years back. Dowd explains her purpose that donating organs alive or dead is a delightful thing to do.
Both do not want to follow the social norms their culture has built for them. “The swordswoman and I are not so dissimilar. What we have in common are the words at our backs” (53). Fa Mu Lan fought and killed men, in other words opposed the laws which were created by men. Kingston writes a memoir of her childhood memories, although her parents prefer the idea of silence.
Throughout the book, The Woman Warrior, by Maxine Hong Kingston, the generation gap between the narrator and Brave Orchid is evident. The narrator feels that her mother's culture values have no relevance in America. In the chapter, At the Western Palace, Brave Orchid sends for her sister, Moon Orchid, to come to America and urges Moon Orchid to confront her sister's husband. The ideas that Brave Orchid has are bold and they conflict with Moon Orchid's nature. Brave Orchid and Moon Orchid are two Chinese women who live in two different countries. They are separated by a cultural gap rather than a generation gap. This gap between Brave Orchid and Moon Orchid has created two inimical viewpoints on the value of physical appearance, necessity versus extravagance, and modesty in manner.
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts records Kingston’s struggle for self- expression. It is journey of a mute school girl who smeared paper with opaque black paint, the incommunicative adolescent who could not voice her sorrow to her mother, the inarticulate young adult who could only peep in protest to her racist employers eventually she becomes the adult artist who “talk story” in a “high and clear” voice. From the very beginning she was told to be silent especially in case of her aunt. As her mother instructs her: “you must not tell anyone…what I am about to tell you.” In addition she describes the silences of the individuals in her family, such as No Name Woman, her aunt Moon Orchid, the silence of her own childhood and
...ime. Majority of the women in the novel overcame the tough traditions of women treatment in ancient Chinese culture. The ancient Chinese culture believed that women should fall under patriarchy and strict ethics. This gave women no opportunity to move up the social class ladder. Being treated poorly effected would often affect women. Women like Lindo represent the power of escaping the oppressive atmosphere. Lindo decided to leave when she saw the Huang couldn’t control her anymore. Women had to be able to find their own independent identity. Ying-Ying is an example of this since she always wished to be found by someone, but inevitably she realized that she was her solution to finding her wholeness. Today modern women can express their thoughts, independence, and creativity. Aid should be continually provided for liberating women from oppression and discrimination.
Having enjoyed the time I spent reading Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior last week and the week beforehand, I opted to spend a bit more time with this masterpiece, and couldn’t be happier to have made such a decision. Page after page features Kingston coming from the heart with openness and honesty. She shows intimacy within the story. This text amounts to that fleshy skin covering each bone she possesses.
No he did not expect the army to be like it is he thought it was somewhere to chill and not really get bothered by anyone, but he never wants to miss out on a good experience, even though he is fifteen years old. He thought that you got good clothes and guns but never think he’d really have to use them often. He didn’t really know what he was fighting for. He would also send mail to his family members when he got a chance to and tell them how it is in the war and telling them he loves the.he didn’t know how the training would be he didn’t know he’d have to wake up early in the morning and be trained he thought he could sleep in, and he didn’t know that you don’t get showers like you
The classic Disney movie, Mulan, is often praised as a film involving feminist empowerment, but upon closer look just the opposite appears to be true. The classic storyline includes Mulan, a young Chinese woman, taking over her fragile father’s place in the Chinese army, disguised as a man named Ping. She trains among the other soldiers, becoming one of the very best with her accompanying guardian dragon, Mushu and a cricket her grandmother gave her for luck for the matchmakers by her side. She ends up saving all of China by revealing that the Huns are back and invading the country, and is honored as a hero. This movie breaks away from the typical damsel in distress princess story by having a single woman save all of China. However, on Mulan’s journey she faced extreme female shaming, and experienced stereotypes attempting to belittle her; all
Maxine Hong Kingston constructs her narrative, The Woman Warrior, around the central theme of silence, while simultaneously stripping it of the oppressive power it held over generations of woman in her family. Kingston’s use of talk story by means of direct discourse and first person account contribute to the dismantling of this silence by printing the unspoken, thus causing a shift in power to the silenced through voice and