...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...
Words: 498 - Pages: 2
...The Woman Warrior is a narrative that focuses on the tale of five women, Fa Mu Lan, Brave Orchid, Moon Orchid, and Kingston. Lan is the mythical female warrior in the story. The narrative is told in five chapters which integrate Kingston’s experiences and a series of spoken stories told by her mother. The stories combine elements of Chinese myths, beliefs and even history in the narration of events that occurred. The novel explores the various adversities faced by women in the society. The study explores the author’s efforts to write a memoir as a way of creating her identity. Kingston is trying to tell the story of her life and in doing so, uses a collection of other people stories and sensations. She uses her mother’s stories to narrate...
Words: 356 - Pages: 2
...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 published “The Woman Warrior – Memories of a Girlhood Among Ghosts “. The book gives voice to most influential women in her life who she felt, voices never been heard. (in this book Maxine Hong Kinston examines the cultural experience and struggles of Chinese-Americans, particularly the female identity of Chinese-American women. Rather than taking a rigid stance against a...
Words: 783 - Pages: 4
...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,”...
Words: 592 - Pages: 3
...immigrants facing removal proceedings are frequently hamstrung by language and cultural barriers. Both Kingston’s Woman Warrior and Suki Kim’s The Interpreter illustrate languagelessness of Chinese and Korean immigrants across American states, which are rejection by failing assimilation into American mainstream, loneliness and isolation from other people, and sense of identity crisis. Rejection by failing assimilation into American mainstream For the first generation born in America, it is especially difficult to reconcile the heavy-handed and often restrictive traditions of the emigrants with the relative freedom of life in America. In Women Warrior, Kingston draws a sharp contrast between her fantasy about Fa Mu Lan, the Chinese traditional woman warrior, and the defining moments of her real "American life." Fa Mu Lan had her village's grievances tattooed on her back; Kingston has Chinese stories practically drilled into her brain and is labeled with racial epithets. Her personal struggle and vengeance lie in making sense of the stories through writing, in depicting through words the struggles of growing up Chinese-American. There is an important difference, though, Fa Mu Lan could achieve her vengeance and then return home, but Kingston's vengeance seems to be a never-ending struggle. She has so many words to deal with that "they do not fit on my skin." The Woman Warrior is just the beginning of Kingston's attempt to articulate her experience, and her journey as a writer is far...
Words: 1232 - Pages: 5
...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...
Words: 690 - Pages: 3
...Rene Alexander English 120: Rosemary Kwa Essay #2 Rite of Passage In “The Initiation of Maasai Warrior” Tepilit Ole Saitoti tells everyone her life for the massai is a series of conquest and tests involving the endurance of pain, which consist of cutting the front skin of the penis representing his responsibility and a big change from childhood to adulthood. When people read the story “The Initiation of Maasai Warrior” they start to notice how painful the rites of passage transformation between childhood to adulthood is for the Maasai people, another common culture has the similar believes is the Americans concerning the rites of passage which Naomi Wolfs explains in her story “Promiscuities: The Secret Struggle Towards Womanhood.” In both the Maasai and American cultures, both men and women go through rites of passage in order to learn responsibility and respect for family needs. When it comes to honoring your family’s name you’ll do anything to make them proud. In “The Initiation of Maasai Warrior” Tepilit Ole Saitoti tell “Ours has always been a proud family, and we would like to keep it that way. We will not tolerate unnecessary embarrassment, so you had better be ready. If you are not, tell us now so that we will not proceed.”(1) The key words in this quotation are “Tolerate” and “unnecessary” Webster’s new dictionary defines “tolerate” as the exixting presence, practice or act of without prohibition or hindrance and “unnecessary”...
Words: 821 - Pages: 4
...an early age. Also teaching and reinforcing stereotypical gender roles through traits, appearances and occupation. (this is an incomplete sentence and it doesn’t flow very well with the previous sentence) Specific toys and sports are associated with certain genders and generalizes the role that boys and girls should uphold. Male characteristics are thought to be strong, tough and are unable to show weakness whereas female roles are to be nurturing, supportive and caring. In Jane Smiley’s article, the author focuses on how Barbie plays a positive role model in her daughter’s childhood. Barbie is portrayed as beautiful woman who posses feminine qualities. Young girls who tend to play with Barbie dolls have a mind set that they should grow up to be like Barbie. “Lucy could apply lipstick with her eyes closed by the time she was five.” (Smiley 238) This quote shows that children are easily influenced by the toy they play with. In comparison to “You Can Never Have too Many”, John McMurtry’s article focuses on football and how playing sports has shaped the person that he is. Football involves a muscular physique, aggressiveness, strong and a competitive mind. These are the kinds of traits society makes males envision themselves to be. Younger boys are usually more active and enjoy playing...
Words: 1137 - Pages: 5
...The Great Warrior Men are the back bone of a tribal society, but women are just as important in taking care of their husband’s homes and children. There is a saying where behind every successful man is a great woman, and behind every unsuccessful man is a bad woman. In the Igbo culture, women do not have much to gamble with such as the men. The women take care of the household; take care of cooking, and the children. We can see this type of behavior in many types of old cultural ways of life. The Igbo culture is known for men to have multiple wives and I view this as a blessing in many ways such as having many different children who can carry out their father’s legacy or vice versa, especially in Okonkwo situation. At the end of this beautiful story we see that Okonkwo kills himself because of the changes that have come to his people. Was it just to see someone hang himself because of this? Well let us see how this had come to be. Okonkwo feared most was failure just like his father; however in my humble opinion his father was not really a failure but more down to earth type of person with problems just like many people in modern day society. Owing people is the same as having a credit card with debt. For Okonkwo to show his manly hood, he takes a very big leap of faith in becoming a well respected man within his tribe which comes with great deal of responsibility. Again, in this case responsibility for Okonkwo is to keep up and maintain his wives and children with food and...
Words: 1163 - Pages: 5
...Beowulf’s Actions: Heroism or Duty? In a historical poem named Beowulf, we see people of Danes living in a fear of a powerful monster, Grendal. No one seems to be able to defeat him until a hero warrior named Beowulf sails from Geatland and kills Grendel. From the very beginning of the poem Beowulf stands out as a fearless, “the mightiest man on earth, highborn and powerful” (line 196). He is not afraid of anyone or anything and he is also not shy about showing off all his success. He mentions all the accomplishments he had when he was younger and he goes to a great detail describing his fight with the sea monster, Breca. At the moment when we can see Beowulf crosses path with Unferth, his character really stands out in comparison to Unferth’s coward and jealous nature. Even though Beowulf comes across as a brave and strong warrior who later becomes a beloved and well respected king, there is a part of the story that makes me question his motifs. I wonder: Were his actions an act of heroism or was it his duty? After arriving in Danes, Beowulf meets with the king, Hrothgar. Based on their conversation, we can assume that they are not complete strangers. Hrothgar admits knowing Beowulf’s father, Ecgtheow. There is something Hrothgar said during their meeting that raises a question. Lines 470 - 473 read: “Finally I healed the feud by paying: I shipped a treasure-trove to the Wulfings, and Ecgtheow acknowledged me with oaths of allegiance”. In my opinion, the phrase “oaths of allegiance”...
Words: 1253 - Pages: 6
...1, 22 and 24 with specific examples and details by integrating quotes and explanation from each book and “lost stars” in examining beliefs in glory, honor, pride and personal excellence and how they apply to Greek life and your life. Although the heroes, Achilles, Agamemnon and Hector, are proud and have achieved glory, they did not earn it in an honorable way. The way the heroes react or deal with their problems is not exemplary, because they dealt with them in a selfish way. In book 1, 22, and 24 of the Iliad we can all see examples of the hero's actions, seeking glory, thinking they have honor, being full of pride and sometimes achieving personal excellence. Agamemnon doesn’t want to give Chryseis back to Troy because of his greed for a wife that is a trophy. The only way Agamemnon will give her back is if his trophy is replaced, with Briseis instead. Because of his rash, harsh and selfish actions, Achilles runs off and leaves the army and begs, his mother, Thetis for vengeance. Thetis on behalf of Achilles asks Zeus to avenge her son, thus Zeus tells Apollo to cast a plague on the Achaeans. Agamemnon gives in and returns Chryseis and gets Briseis. Achilles is throwing...
Words: 1361 - Pages: 6
...attributes is Macbeth himself. Macbeth is a warrior who is manipulated by his own wife and the three witches which leads him to become a greedy, ambitious and brave king. Ultimately because of his overconfidence, he dies devastatingly. . Macbeth bumped into three witches after his battle. The three witches tell Macbeth he will become thain of cawdor and glamis, and then king. He then becomes the thain which opened up an opportunity for him to become king. He then writes a letter to his wife in which he wrote to her about everything that was going on and she decides they need to kill the king in order for him to seize the throne. Macbeth kills the king but his wife has to return the daggers to the guards, to frame them for the crime, because Macbeth did not. After all that the King Duncans' sons run away becuase they fear that they were gonna be put to blame. Macbeth then becomes king. Once he became king, he did not want anyone else to have the same power as him or to do the same thing to him, as he did to King Duncan. Also he remembers one of the prophecies of the witch where they told Banquo the his children will be king. So he then orders the murderers to kill his best friend, Banquo and his son, Fleance . Macbeth is then haunted by Banquos ghost at his party. After all that he goes back to the witches and he sees three things; a bloody baby saying "beware Macduff", a bloody helmet saying that he cant be killed by anyone born of a woman, and a child with a crown and a tree branch...
Words: 1532 - Pages: 7
...idea of using third person to identify the relations between characters. The first sentence of the story states the way of narration being used by the author, it says “From inside my box, an ugly thought occurs to me” (Maracle 297). This proves that the story is being told from the perspective “I” with words like “me” and “my”. On the other hand, the use of first person point of view allows the story to have a more personal, subjective, and even intimate tone of voice. Readers can notice that the narrator of the story is dead by his own description “inside my box” (297), also “ugly thought” (297) can be considered as a foreshadowing to what the narrator is trying to refer to his relationships with other characters. While in “Compatriots”, Warrior chooses to focus on one narration — the third person point of view. The line “Lucy had an urge to...
Words: 1400 - Pages: 6
...Good Vs. Evil In Beowulf, the conflict between good and evil is the poem's main and most important aspect. The poet makes it clear that good and evil doesn’t exist as only opposites, but that both qualities are present in everyone. Beowulf represents the ability to do good or to perform acts selflessly and in help of others. Goodness is also showed throughout this epic as having the ability to cleanse evil. Even though evil is presented by Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon, who are filled with a desire to act against people and ultimately destroy them, even pride, a human quality, is presented in Beowulf as a sign that evil exists. This story might even be considered a classic because it mainly talks about the old fashion good vs. evil, hero vs. villain. Beowulf and the three monsters show the significant difference between good and evil, and why god will always prevail. At the beginning of the play, one reads about Grendel, who is a man eating monster who is feared by everyone. Grendel represents sin and evil throughout the story in various ways. Evil is first shown by the monster Grendel when, “Suddenly then the God-cursed brute was creating havoc: greedy and grim, he grabbed thirty men from their resting places and rushed to his lair”. (Beowulf 120-124). Grendel lives in the darkness and has absolutely no remorse on human life. This shows a very big quality of an evil being and how the Anglo-Saxons viewed evil in forms of monsters. Evil is also thought to be greedy...
Words: 1649 - Pages: 7
...What would you do if you were forced into another place? A place that was alien to you, where the customs were different? And what if you were on your own, just a child? That is what happened to Alyss Heart, princess and heir to the Wonderland throne. Frank Beddor, the author of The Looking Glass Wars, tells a tale of a woman who has to grow up away from home, lost and confused about her purpose. In The Looking Glass Wars, Beddor uses figurative language to describe and characterize Alyss over the span of 13 years. In the beginning of the novel, Alyss is characterized as playful, oblivious, and imaginative. Alyss likes to play pranks using different objects, including her imagination, which she has used to turn the first parachute ever made furry. (Beddor 21) Alyss also seems that she would rather do what she perceives as fun, even if it is good for humanity, as seen in the quote, “She would rather have hidden with her friend Dodge in one of the palace towers, dropping jollyjellies from an open window and watching them splat on guards below.” (Beddor 20) These tricks are never supposed to be cruel, they...
Words: 1066 - Pages: 5
