...Introduction : Maxine Hong Kingston is an acclaimed author of several Books. She is a remarkable writer who showed the American world more than just the stereotypical view of the mystical and a magical China. Reflecting her history through her works has made her a famous feminist writer. Her passion for writing began at the age of nine and won her first award in a journalism contest at the University of California, Berkley at the age of 16. Background History : Maxine Hong Kingston born in October 27, 1940. She was the oldest third of 8 children Her parents migrated from China. Her first language was Say Yup, a Cantonese dialect. She grew up surrounded by immigrants from her father’s Village. Since an early age storytelling was part of her everyday life and later had a great impact of her writing. Education Maxine Hong Kingston was a very dedicated and bright student. She won eleven scholarships which allowed her to attend at the University of California at Berkeley . She initially started as a engineering major but eventually switched to English Major. While attending College she meet her husband, an aspiring actor and they moved to Hawaii where they taught for ten years. In this book uses her experiences while growing up and combines them or mixes them together stories that her mother use to tell her in which incorporates Chinese culture, history, believes and myths. The Woman Warrior In 1976 while teaching creative writing at Mid-Pacific institute, Maxine Hong Kingston...
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...In "No Name Woman" by Maxine Hong Kingston, Kingston learns from her mother that she once had an aunt who committed suicide with her newborn baby by jumping into the family well in China. As the she begins to menstruate, Kingston’s mother warns her of the consequences if she follows her aunt and commits adultery. The author aunt could have been rape or as the author even hinted, incest. This is the first chapter from Kingston’s book Memoirs of a Woman Warrior. It reminds me of those Chinese paintings of landscape, nature, trees, flowers, mountains shrouded by mist, everything hidden and quiet. In addition, I think the writer’s purpose is to bring to the eyes of the general public the harsh consequences of being a female in a patriarchal society. The mother devotes her time to explain to her daughter about her aunt who took her own life and was forgotten by her own family because of Chinese expectations of how a female should behave. I think by Kingston’s mother explains this story about her aunt because she is trying to save her daughter’s life. I was surprised that the aunt’s name is never mentioned in the story. The narrator's aunt was deeply shamed, and fiercely loyal despite the terrible situation she was in. Guilt no doubt took hold in her heart and put her on the path to...
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...In the poem Woodchucks, written by Maxine Kumin, the speaker talks about the woodchucks inhabiting her backyard and how she wants them gone. The excitement of killing demonstrates the overall tone of the poem reveals the theme of how little it takes to turn a person evil. In the beginning of the poem, the tone describes her annoyance toward the woodchucks that inhabit her backyard. The speaker uses “a knockout bomb” because it seems “merciful, quick at the bone” (2-3). Connotatively “merciful” demonstrates the speaker humanity. Although she tried to do the humane way of killing, the woodchucks “had a sub-sub-basement out of range” (6). By outmaneuvering the speaker, the “woodchucks” escaped living another day. “Next morning they turned up again, no worse” (7) Where is the explanation????. To make matters worse for themselves the woodchucks “brought down the marigolds” and “took over the vegetable patch”(10-11). This really seems to aggravate the speaker because the woodchucks took “food from our mouths”. Although woodchucks seem as a small reason to turn murderous, this translates into the theme of the poem. The speaker tries to justify her killings by making the creatures seem murderous. The woodchucks destroyed her garden by “nipping the broccoli shoots, beheading the carrots”...
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...Maxine Albro was born on January 20, 1903 in Iowa. This information can be located on http://www.sullivangoss.com/maxine_Albro/. Additional information can also be found on http://sfart.info/details/Albro-Maxine-Coit-Tower-Murals-Telegraph-Hill-San-Francisco-USA.html Maxine Albro did not have one specific media, she had several. She was a sculptor, lithographer, muralist and a painter. Although she did not have a specific media, she was mostly known for the way she displayed the frescos and characteristic treatments of her art when it came to Spanish and Mexican subject matter. A mural titled California Agriculture can be seen at Coit Tower in San Francisco, California and a Bavarian themed mural at the Hofsas House Hotel in Carmel by the Sea, California. Maxine Albro education as an artist began in San Francisco, CA....
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...Congresswoman Maxine Waters Slams the Trump Administration Once Again Photo Credit: Los Angeles Sentinel At the ESSENCE Empowerment stage, Congresswoman Reverend Maxine Waters gave the audience a powerful sermon with her anti-Trump administration speech. To add more fuel, she also specifically mentioned Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. According to the California representative, Ben Carson was appointed as the HUD secretary but doesn’t know what their real mission is. She believes that Carson doesn’t really care about public housing and he believes if you are poor, it is due to your own fault. He doesn’t have a clue how to distinguish an immigrant and a slave. Waters was actually referring to Carson’s previous statement...
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...Maxine Clark is the founder and former CEO of Build-A-Bear. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 1971, and moved to Washington D.C. shortly after (Carr, 2016). In Washington D.C. she initially worked for Macy’s ultimately becoming the President of Payless, where she was able to gain superior business experience within multinational companies. In 1976 Clark moved to Saint Louis, and then in 1997 she founded founded Build-A-Bear. Her inspiration stemmed from her friend named Katie who was 10 years old at the time (Clark, M., 2012, pg. XYZ). Katie wanted to build her own Beanie Babies as a primitive craft, when she couldn’t find any that she liked. Maxine Clark took this simple phase very literally and used it as the inspiration for...
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...Maxine Kumin’s “Woodchucks” is a genuinely shocking poem about a farmer or gardener who is rightfully irritated at these woodchucks, also known as groundhogs, that have invaded their garden. In the beginning of the poem, the speaker is trying to get rid of them in the most peaceful manner, while later on they become increasingly frustrated towards them and eventually plan to do anything in their power to get rid of these wild creatures. Throughout the poem, clues are given little by little about this speakers true identity. I have come to the conclusion that the speaker is a middle aged woman who may or may not be poor, but certainly views her garden as a necessity. As I did some research on this poem, I quickly found that Maxine Kumin, the...
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...The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston tells the story of five Chinese women in five chapters. The first chapter tells the tragic tale of Maxine’s aunt “The No-Name Woman,” appropriately the title of the first section. The chapter starts off with Maxine’s mother telling Maxine to never talk about what she was about to be told. “The No-Name Woman’s” rape becomes the center focus of the chapter. Kingston weaves a story of her aunt being raped and the severe repercussions that came from the incident from her mother’s words. The townspeople sacked their house and shunned Kingston’s aunt. After becoming impregnated by her rapist, “The No-Name Woman” drowned herself and the new born baby in the family well. The second chapter, “The White Tiger,”...
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...benefits and costs of following old traditions within the community. According to Nancy Scheper-Hughes, an anthropologist and the author of The Anthropological Looking Glass, communities, such as small villages from Ireland like Ballybran, need to accept change to be able to learn the more modern ways of looking at situations. Scheper-Hughes critiques the Irish villager’s ways of living and, whether or not she actually noticed, compares this village to American way of living. Villages such as Ballybran may have a different way of living, but this does not necessarily mean it should be looked at as uncivilized or the wrong way, though change may have been a wise choice for the villagers, which Scheper-Hughes was trying to imply. Furthermore, Maxine Hong Kingston, the author of No Name Woman, emphasizes on the risks and effects of change when born into such a strict community such as a woman born into Chinese customs and their role within the family. Kingston provides background on the costs and benefits of change and whether change is ever worth it or paid off in the end. The big issue here, is whether or not the costs of changing societal norms is worth the changes of outlooks, attitudes and more that come along with it. Changing community traditions can never be such a bad idea, everyone and everything...
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...often become lost and tune out. When I am asked to answer a question or share my opinion I often become anxiety ridden and blank on whatever it is I would normally say. I think that I can attribute this partially to my high level of affect felt in class. I feel the need to perform well, and when I cannot do this I become nervous and/or frustrated. What I found surprising and heart breaking all at the same time was the level of shame that some of the authors speak of. As a child, or even adult, who moves into a new country and is expected to speak the native language, I think the hardest thing to deal with would be acceptance. When you don’t receive this acceptance you start to feel doubtful of yourself and are often encompassed by shame. Maxine Hong Kingston, author of From the Woman Warrior, explains this feeling quite well. “’A dumbness—a shame—still cracks my voice in two, even when I want to say “hello” casually, or ask an easy question in front of the check-out counter, or ask...
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...Rodriguez 1 Lorraine Rodriguez Professor Diane Mannone English 103 5 October 2015 The Danger of the Single Story “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. We’ve all heard that phrase and we’ve all used that phrase. According to Wikipedia, it refers to it as a metaphorical phrase that can be translated to: “You shouldn’t prejudge the worth or value of something by its outward appearance alone”. This well known phrase is part of a greater but, less popular concept known as, a single story. In a TED Talk given by writer, Chimamanda Adichie, she explains that a single story is one story we hear over and over again about a person or a place and interact with that person or place through the lens of that one story. She argues that, “The single story creates stereotypes and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story”. A single story is dangerous for two reasons: it flattens our experience with another person and it can negatively affect the identity of a human being. When we engage with another person through the lens of a single story, we lose the opportunity of experiencing the depth of a person because we are simply not made up of one story, but of many stories. Similarly, and in some cases much worse, a single story can negatively shape the identity of a person when the single story we believe is not about another, but about our self. A single story is dangerous only when...
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...Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema and Maxine Waters both are part of the House Committee on Financial Services representing in different states. There role in the committee I believe serves a huge purpose on improving people’s lives, especially on the low-income community because both congresswomen can contribute on creating programs for them such as employment opportunities. Both members have a large amount of responsibilities in the committee whether it is looking after the consumers financial data or protecting all of federal financial regulators. Although they still have their own personal life to manage and prepare subcommittees’ assignments, I admire them because they are able to prioritize on advocating for the less unfortunate. They both...
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...There are many who would argue that the life and work of Mary Crow Dog, author of the as-told-to autobiography Lakota Woman, speaks to the heart of a woman’s life as an activist and agent for social change. Others would take the opposite position, that Crow Dog/Lakota Woman speaks only to her own life, and that her most famous acts—giving birth at Wounded Knee and collaborating with Richard Erdoes to write her autobiography in two volumes—produced no social change. Her autobiography for some scholars and activists has in fact been more harmful than helpful in representing Lakota cultural practices and the conditions of American Indians nationally. Whatever position you take in reading Mary Crow Dog’s life, her self-identified work as an...
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... In Dang Thuy Tram’s autobiography, “Last Night I Dreamed of Peace”, the young woman works as a Vietcong doctor in the Quan Ngai province during the Vietnam War. She endures many hardships during her stay at the medical clinics, which are situated in a free-fire zone. Surprisingly enough, Dang Thuy Tram does not let her circumstances discourage her from continuing on to fight the enemy. This essay will argue that Dang Thuy Tram successfully overcomes the obstacles that could possibly prevent her from fulfilling the role of revolutionary heroine by examining her strong hatred for the enemy, her optimism, and her will to sacrifice. She has a very strong feeling of hatred for the enemy (Imperialists/Capitalists), which fuels her will to continue fighting, even when she is surrounded by death. For example, on January 10th 1969, Bon’s death leads her to think of the Americans: “We will suffer as long as those bloodthirsty foes remain here. There is no other way but to crush the heads of those vicious dogs” (83). When her comrade is killed by the enemy, she is not demotivated. Instead, it gives her yet another reason to carry on fighting. Although she is saddened by his death, the event still boosts her motivation. A few months later, when she saw smoke rising from her old clinic, she remembers all the effort that was put into its construction and maintenance. This stirs an anger inside of her, and she tells herself, “There is no other way than to fight until not one imperialist American...
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...Everyone has an origin to their life story—one that is part of their innate identity. To Marie Wilcox, it is her Native American heritage: a foundation extending from generations of people, tradition, as well as unique styles of communication that form a cultural identity. “Marie’s Dictionary,” a short documentary directed by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, explores the theme of perseverance through the story of one woman’s passionate purpose to preserve her tribe’s language from becoming extinct by creating the first ever Wukchumni dictionary. With the goal to revive appreciation for the art of Native American languages, the documentary focuses on Marie Wilcox, the last fluent speaker of the Wukchumni language, and her passion to save it from extinction. The film’s director, Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, first met Ms. Wilcox through the Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival. In a short article by the New York Times, Vaughn-Lee provides some background to the Wukchumni tribe. According to the director, the tribe resides in San Joaquin Valley, California, and is part of the Yokuts tribal group, but is not recognized by the federal government. Unfortunately, the some 50,000 Yokuts that originally lived in the region has steadily decreased since European foreigners first stepped foot in California. As a result, there are fewer than 200 of the Wukchumni remaining today (2014). As more elders from the Wukchumni tribe gradually passed away, so did those fluent in the tribe’s native...
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