The Woman Warrior
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. Physical appearance is very important in America’s society whereas women in Asia only dress-up on special occasions. Most of the time, Asia’s women are cooking, cleaning, and sewing, which is manual work. In America, when women go out in public, they try to look presentable, pleasing to the human eye. After Moon Orchid arrives, one of the first things that Brave Orchid does is point out that Moon Orchid is fa
t and looks very old. “You’re an old woman...your hair is white and your face wrinkled...you’re so fat.” In Asia, fat people are considered to be rich. Being fat is a sign of being rich because only rich people can afford to eat so much that it would make them fat. In America, obesity is often times something to be ashamed of. Americans seem to desire the body of a model. Brave Orchid also screams at her own children about their appearance but Moon Orchid always defends them. Brave Orchid is very concerned with physical appearance and how people view her and her family. When Moon Orchid’s daughter points out that her children can speak both Chinese and English, Brave Orchid immediately points out that her children could do the same. Brave Orchid did not want her family to appear stupid or uneducated. Moon Orchid is just the opposite. She does not worry about her looks. After Brave Orchid meets the second wife, she goes to Moon Orchid and says, “She’s very pretty and very young...you need to sit up straight. Use my powder. Be as pretty as you can. Other wise you won’t be able to compete.” If I were trying to get my husband back, I would try to look beautiful, making him want to desire me. Moon Orchid does absolutely nothing. She shows up in her everyday clothes, which to some extent is considered dressed up, with probably no make-up on, waiting to meet her husband. If I had heard that the second wife was beautiful, I would have put on lots of make-up and tried to pretty myself up as much as possible. Moon Orchid did none of that. She felt that her appearance would not play a factor is whether her husband chose her or not. She felt that her husband would take her back if he wanted her regardless of her looks. Brave Orchid begged to differ. She felt that Moon Orchid would be no competition unless Moon Orchid tried to be as pretty as the second wife. Brave Orchid thinks that how Moon Orchid looks would play a factor in whe
Some common words found in the essay are:
Moon Orchid, Brave Orchid, Moon Orchid’s, brave orchid, moon orchid, America China’s, Orchid Chinese, China America, brave orchid moon, America America’s, orchid moon, moon orchid’s, Brave Orchid’s, Orchid America, Orchid Moon, orchid moon orchid, physical appearance, looks brave orchid, looks brave, orchid moon orchid’s, orchid america, extravagance modesty, modesty manner, sister moon orchid, sister moon,
Approximate Word count = 1354
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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