Woman Warior Essay
Finding a Way. Maxine Kingston's memoir, The Woman Warrior describes the struggles of a Chinese-American woman growing up as she attempts to find a balance between two cultures and to find her own identity within them. Kingston's novel abounds with imagery, from the ghosts and barbarians, to the different colors (black, white, and red). Every “talk-story” has a place and meaning and every character is introduced in a way to clarify Kingston's motives for writing. Through her stories, she makes it evident that she experiences many conflicts between what she is being taught at home and what she is experiencing in American society. Kingston clearly establishes her beliefs and values of Chinese culture in each “talk-story” and then points out the contrasts with American culture. Her mother wants to instill traditional Chinese values in her daughter, with the desire that her daughter become a strong, unique individual - a “woman warrior.” The first “talk-story” creates a sense of the Chinese traditional values Kingston encounters at home. This story describes the shunning of the aunt who has an affair with, and becomes pregnant by, an unnamed man in her village. The seriousness of her betrayal was conveyed through the repeated words
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Woman Warrior, Chinese-Americans Language, Thats Chinese, Kingston American, Women China, Mu Lan, Brave Orchid, America Chinese, Name Woman, American-normal Kingston, chinese culture, american culture, traditional chinese, woman warrior, , fa mu lan, learning english, mu lan, chinese girls, getting married, kingstons home, non-chinese people ghosts,
Approximate Word count = 1554
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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