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Teens and decision making
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Storytelling
Storytelling has helped humankind evolve into a wiser species by
allowing those with enough attentiveness and intelligence to learn from the
mistakes of their predecessors. The Chinese culture, like many others world
wide, base their beliefs largely on stories passed down from generation to
generation. Because stories are told and retold, alterations and even new
versions appear. Such is the case in " Fa Mu Lan," for more than one version is
known to exist to this day. Many times the changes in a story are to put its
message on a certain level for an individual to understand. If the change is to
keep the message updated with society, the version would be a modernized one.
These stories affect the stories with a flavor of their own personal character.
In The Woman Warrior Maxine Hong Kingston utilizes stories told to her by her
mother as a device to introduce readers to some aspect of her life. Kingston's
mother pass down to her the wisdom she has acquired from her mistakes throughout
her life along with best hopes and wishes.
The Woman Warrior is a story about the life of Maxine Hong Kingston. It is
easy to see her identity from those memorable occurrences that she mentions
throughout her book, especially the stories her mother told her. The story of
"Fa Mu Lan", for example, teaches women to strive to be the best they can be.
It is a story about a woman warrior who takes place of her father in battle and
returns in victory as a heroine. It evidently shows that her mother tells this
story with her sincerest hopes and passions for her. Her mother wishes her to
become more than what it was hope for . Even though woman in old China only
grow up to be wives and slaves, she hopes and even dilutions of grandeurs for
her daughters thrive in their hearts. Story-telling has been an essential part
of their childhood.
Maxine Hong Kingston was told that her aunt who committed adultery and
brought shame, bad luck along with destruction to her family. She committed
suicide because she could not face their families not tell who the father of the
children is. The shame brought about by the incident was too much for her to
bare. The story was told to warn the girls from having a child before getting
married, as can be arrived at from this statement in The Woman Warrior: "
Whenever she [her mother] had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that
ran like this one, a story to grow up on.
One of the main factors of this was the neglect of her parents. It was not stated directly but the fact that her parents did not know what was g...
Liberation in China means two different things for a man and a woman because of the gender differences that are prevalent. In traditional China women are treated unequally and are simply seen as a piece of property to their husband. They must abide by his demands and remain a slave to his family and traditions. As Yu-I told her niece, "You must remember this. In China, a woman is nothing." For a Chinese man, liberation means becoming stronger, more powerful, and of higher prestige. While with a Chinese woman, liberation means being equal to that of a man and being able to live a life on her own terms rather than that of her husband's.
Clashing swords, miraculous survivals, pain of loss, and heroic sacrifice are all terrifying yet thrilling moments in a battle. The strong possibility of death and the frailty of human life add into the suspense of battle. Yet the reasons behind the wars, death, and suspense can be overlooked. The stories behind the warriors who have died will not be told again, but the stories of warriors still alive are what give the men strength to continue fighting against impossible odds. Ultimately, the reason of why a man would risk his life in battle is for someone, or something, he loves. Like in Gilgamesh and the Iliad, women help encourage and influence the protagonists to be the heroes and protectors they are meant to be.
The woman warrior in the first section of "White Tigers" appears as a perfect woman who manages to balance her life, acting in a multitude of roles including a fighter and a mother. Kingston's version of the legendary Fa Mu Lan valiantly leads and "inspired my army, and I fed them...Then people would want to join the ranks. My army did not rape, only taking food where there was an abundance. We brought order wherever we went" (17). The reader admires this warrior who has the power to "inspire" the men in her army, despite the fact that she is a female. She acts with great integrity as she refuses to allow her army to commit such atrocities as rape and also proceeds conscientiously as she never takes food from the hungry, only accepting such nourishment from an "abundance." Furthermore, she clearly has magnetic power as a leader as she finds others who "want" to become a soldier in her army. Because she has the power to install order "wherever" she and her army go, the w...
Not every female warrior was mythical. Joan of Arc is possibly the most famous female warrior. But there were many others who do not receive recognition for their accomplishments. An e...
The culture of the groups of people in these stories, derive from their environment and also the tradition of their families. The daughter in The Woman Warrior is a product of an American society, but she is taught by the person closest to her, her mother, ideas and values that contrast greatly with what the outside world is telling her. Her mother tells her stories that can hardly be determined as truth half the time, but all contain the messages derived of a strict Chinese culture. An example of how Brave Orchid’s culture clashes with American culture can be displayed by the time when she sends her daughter to the drug store to ask for candy as reparation, because a delivery boy came to their house with pills that were meant for a different Chinese family. Brave Orchid said to her daughter, “You get reparation candy. You say, ‘You have tainted my house with sick medicine and must remove the curse with sweetness.’ He’ll understand.” Brave Orchid is used to a world where people try to make up for their mistakes even when they don’t have to rather than...
Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior discusses her and her mother Brave Orchid's relationship. On the surface, the two of them seem very different however when one looks below the surface they are very similar. An example of how they superficially seem different is the incident at the drug store when Kingston is mortified at what her mother makes her do. Yet, the ways that they act towards others and themselves exemplifies their similarities at a deeper level. Kingston gains many things from her mother and becomes who she is because of Brave Orchid, "Rather than denying or suppressing the deeply embedded ambivalence her mother arouses in her, Kingston unrelentingly evokes the powerful presence of her mother, arduously and often painfully exploring her difficulties in identifying with and yet separating from her" (Quinby, 136). Throughout Maxine Hong Kingston's autobiography Kingston disapproves of numerous of her mother's qualities however begins to behave in the same manner.
According to Confucius, a Chinese teacher and philosopher of the period of Chinese history where he created a patriarchal society that woman had to obey their husbands and grown sons. Therefore, during the early times, people in China are generally gender stereotype. Women were discriminated because they were deemed as weak, submissive, passive and dependent on men which only capable of doing house chores and taking care of children comparing to the males who is seen as the core of the family because they were dominant, independent, assertive and usually the one who provides financial support to the family. Women do not have legal rights in making decisions and most of them were illiterate and only educated on self-discipline, etiquette, relationships with in-laws, household management, humility and chastity. Women being lesser than men were considered to be natural and proper. This in turn caused gender inequality and it is not unusual to see males dominate the business world in the early days as well. However, in the modern days now, China has become more of a communism where everyone, regardless of gender, receives equal shares of benefits derived from labour. This led to a rise of the general status of women and they were given more opportunities for education. This is due to the president of China, Mao Zedong who utters the memorable phrase “Women hold up half of the sky” which changed the perceptions towards women in China. According to the study produced by the Beijing arm of accounting firm, Grant Thornton, the proportion of women in senior management in China has climbed to 51% at the year of 2013, up from 25% in 2012 and outpacing the global average of 21%. In a survey of 200 businesses in China, 94% of them employed wo...
Women in China were not people. According to traditional China and Confucian culture women are nothing more than objects. Lu Xun wrote the “New Year’s Sacrifice” to criticize the conventional confusions ideals and the traditional Chinese way of life are not fair or just for women. Lu Xun believed in a new china, a china similar to the one the New Culture Movement was striving to achieve. New Culture Movement wanted to create a place of equality for all.
In Confucian thought, women had their purpose beside their men or within their households as mothers. However, the legend of Hua Mulan precedes Confucius. Mulan’s story had inspired early Chinese Feminists such as Qiu Ji to go against the society built to keep her space as a woman separate from the rest of the world. In modern times, Fa Mulan (from Disney) added more diversity to the usual Disney Princesses and gave westerners an image of Chinese culture.
Nowadays, women are not just seen as nurses or lovers in war stories. They are soldiers, captains, and lieutenants. Women do not have it anymore easier in war than men do. They are not handed medals or become heroes painlessly. Although O’Brien respects women having stronger souls than credited, he still believes they must earn the characteristic of being a hero
Morreale, J. (1998). Xena: Warrior princess as feminist camp. Journal of Popular Culture, 32(2), page 79. Retrieved from: http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=6&sid=64cd7df8-8ea3-4d9a-ad60-1deef7e616e6%40sessionmgr114&hid=103&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=aph&AN=1585569
her career life and her own apartment for married life, assuming "that she can control her
to firstly get over the death of her son and there are a few child
Storytelling embodies the art of human communication in all cultures around the world. This art has been passed down through generations as myths, fables, and legends. Many of these tales have similar plots, settings, and characters, even in different regions around the world. Storytelling evokes the emotion of all human beings through compelling tales of wonder, mystery, adventure, and horror. Storytelling also develops higher level thinking skills and establishes social skills. Storytelling builds self-esteem and motivation because this skill allows the listeners to be actively involved in the story. Storytelling develops communication abilities, expands the imagination, and builds self-esteem.