The actual genre of the woman warrior, however, has been widely disputed. Maxine hong kingston s no name woman a persons identity cannot be given to her, instead a person must achieve a sense of her character through personal experience and selfreflection. In this lecture at the midpoint of the course professor hungerford takes stock of the syllabus thus far and to come by laying out her guiding thesis of the identity plot, a rubric for understanding novels in the twentieth century as, she argues, the marriage plot is a rubric for understanding novels in the nineteenth century. Those of us in the first american generations have had to figure out how the invisible world the emigrants built around our childhoods fits in solid america. Maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior step by step. Kingston uses womens stories to explore her own cultural history. As a young girl, she was often confused about her dual american and chinese heritage. Accordingly, maxine hong kingston presents this discordant paradox with vivid language and intent in the woman warrior.
In maxine hong kingstons novel, the woman warrior, enotes study guides describes several themes. It combines myth, family history, folktales, and memories of the experience of growing up within two conflicting cultures. Paul carlton iv mood rising action i really enjoyed this book. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts maxine hong kingston on. The woman warrior by maxine hong kingston goodreads. Maxine hong kingstons no name woman essay examples bartleby.
First published in 1976, maxine hong kingston s the woman warrior. Research papers on maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior the woman warrior research paper delves into a semiautobiography of maxine hong kingston. As a first generation chineseamerican she is met with the. Concealment thwarted the gods, the author of these extraordinary memoirs reports, and their americanborn children tooalways trying to get things straight, to name the unspeakable. Nov 21, 2008 referring to examples throughout the syllabus, but especially maxine hong kingston s woman warrior, hungerford describes the overriding tendency of american novels written after 1945 to explore. She grew up confused by the ideas and behavior of her parents and the villagers who had settled in stockton, california, who. Picador classic by maxine hong kingston bibliography rank. Memoirs of a girlhood among the ghosts 1976 weaves together elements from traditional chinese folktales and. Complex and beautiful, angry and adoring, maxine hong kingston s the woman warrior is a seminal piece of writing about emigration and identity. Maxine hong kingston, in this book and its companion, china men, gives us one. After 40 years, maxine hong kingstons iconic book, the.
I liked how the story flowed and how she broke it up into different sections about topic she was talking about. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts, first published in 1976. Maxine hong kingston concludes the book with a separate section beginning with one of her mothers stories. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts by maxine hong kingston. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts by maxine hong kingston, is one of the groundbreaking works of asian american literature. Research papers on maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior. The essays deal with such issues as the reception by various interpretive communities, canon formation, cultural authenticity, fictionality in autobiography, and feminist and. Research papers on maxine hong kingston s the woman warrior the woman warrior research paper delves into a semiautobiography of maxine hong kingston. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts is a memoir, or collection of memoirs, by maxine hong kingston, published by vintage books in 1975. Maxine hong kingston, an eminent memoirist and a celebrated chineseamerican autobiographer, is best known for the woman warrior. Referring to examples throughout the syllabus, but especially maxine hong kingstons woman warrior, hungerford describes the overriding tendency of american novels written after 1945 to explore. The woman warrior by maxine hong kingston, 9781447275220, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Maxine hong kingstons most popular book is the lover.
Maxine hong kingstons woman warrior no name woman essay. In maxine hong kingston kingston published her first book, the woman warrior. Major themes in maxine hong kingston s the woman warrior. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts, which describes her experiences and struggles while growing up as a chineseamerican girl in california. Her memories of a chinese american girlhood in california are spliced with myths and anecdotes told by her imposing and thoroughly. Acclaimed author maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior broke new ground when it was first published 35 years ago, weaving autobiography, history, folklore, and fantasy in to a candid and revelatory story about the daughter of chinese immigrants in mid20th century california now in audio for the first time, the woman warrior is read by television and movie star mingna er, mulan in a. Summary read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. Maxine hong kingstons woman warrior no name woman the excerpt, no name woman, from maxine hong kingstons book, woman warrior, gives insight into her life as a chinese girl raised in america through a tragic story of her aunts life, a young woman raised in.
Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts vintage international. An iconic staple of literature classes for decades is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year with events across the country. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the woman warrior. Complex and beautiful, angry and adoring, maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior is a seminal piece of writing about emigration and identity. In this memoir, the woman warrior symbolizes what maxine hong kingston wants to be. Maxine hong kingston is the author of the woman warrior, china men, and the fifth book of peace, among other works.
Dec, 2003 the daughter of chinese immigrants, maxine hong kingston grew up in california. This case book presents a thoughtprovoking overview of critical debates surrounding the woman warrior, perhaps the best known asian american literary work. A classic, for a reason celeste ng via twitter in her awardwinning book the woman warrior, maxine hong kingston created an entirely new. These chapters follow the lives of several women while they lived in china andor after immigration to the united states. Divided into five chapters, each of which is more or less selfcontained, maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior explores the many forms of adversity that women face. Paper masters will custom write any research paper on kingston s work, life or her. October 27, 1940 is a chinese american author and professor emerita at the university of california, berkeley, where she graduated with a ba in english in 1962. Research papers on maxine hong kingston s the woman warrior are custom written by our literature specialists. The woman warrior by maxine hong kingston screenshot from. Acclaimed author maxine hong kingston s the woman warrior broke new ground when it was first published 35 years ago, weaving autobiography, history, folklore, and fantasy in to a candid and revelatory story about the daughter of chinese immigrants in mid20th century california now in audio for the first time, the woman warrior is read by television and movie star mingna er, mulan in a.
Maxine hong kingston has 33 books on goodreads with 117176 ratings. While a search for identity and self is the primary theme, secondary themes are sexism and flesh. Memoirs of a girlhood among the ghosts 1976 weaves together elements from traditional chinese folktales and incidents from the authors experiences or family stories in five interconnected chapters. Like not many women got to live out the daydream of womento have a room, even a section of a room, that only. But if women must be slaves, they may also be warriors the book is hospitable to paradox like the warrior woman fa mu lan, whose story becomes the authors asno maidenly joan of arcshe rides into battle with her childhood friend husband at her side and her infant son inside her armor. Walt whitman influenced her, and the poetic lines in the book shift between real and imagined time, tracing the writers.
The reason perhaps, could be the way kingston with an amazing flow jumps back and forth from what limited information she was told to her own imaginations, regarding how and why her anonymous aunt would have dealt with the. I learned to make my mind large, as the universe is large, so that there is room for paradoxes. Skin and culture often create a grave cacophony of influences within the individual. Maxine hong kingston tells the story of fa mu lan in the woman warrior, placing herself in the position of mu lan. Celeste ng, author of little fires everywhere, and maxine hong kingston, author of the woman warrior, join jeffrey brown to answer. A wellknown example of the latter is maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior. Maxine hong kingstons no name woman a persons identity cannot be given to her, instead a person must achieve a sense of her character through personal experience and selfreflection. The book blends autobiography with what kingston purports to be old chinese folktales, although several scholars have questioned the accuracy and authenticity of these folktales. As a first generation chineseamerican she is met with the conflict between her heritage and her desire to be. Engl 291 lecture 14 maxine hong kingston, the woman. As a memoir, the woman warrior doesnt fit any of bookers plot types. Divided into five chapters, each of which is more or less selfcontained, maxine hong kingston s the woman warrior explores the many forms of adversity that women face.
The woman warrior by maxine hong kingston was a book i had to read for my angloamerican lit. Kingston is the author of the booklength poem i love a broad margin to my life 2011. We can stand from a cultural perspective and observe how kingston balances being both chinese and reserving those feelings for her mothers homeland but also being american. Books by maxine hong kingston author of the woman warrior. The daughter of chinese immigrants, poet, memoirist, and fiction writer maxine hong kingston was born in stockton, california, and educated at the university of californiaberkeley. Kingston uses womens stories to explore her own cultural his. The woman warrior is maxine hong kingston s own story of growing up chineseamerican, an irreconcilable position for her as the two cultures would seemingly clash, unable to provide her with a stable sense of identity.
The reason perhaps, could be the way kingston with an amazing flow jumps back and forth from what limited information she was told to her own imaginations, regarding how and why her anonymous aunt would have dealt with the atrocities. In no name woman, maxine hong kingston recalls the events of her aunts life in the vague world of her chinese. Maxine hong kingston writing styles in the woman warrior. In 1975, maxine hong kingston published her critically acclaimed autobiography, the woman warrior. Paper masters will custom write any research paper on kingstons work, life or her memoir. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts 1976 and its companion volume, china men 1980. Maxine hong kingston writing styles in the woman warrior maxine hong kingston this study guide consists of approximately 78 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the woman warrior. The daughter of chinese immigrants, maxine hong kingston grew up in california. The woman warrior npr coverage of the woman warrior.
The woman warrior is a pungent, bitter, but beautifully written memoir of growing up chinese american in stockton, california. White tigers certainly involves a quest, kingston talks about her travels away and back to home like a voyage and return plot, and theres definitely comedy and tragedy. Maxine hong kingstons no name woman essay examples. Research papers on maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior are custom written by our literature specialists. The myth of the woman warrior comes from tales the chinese tell their children in talkstory and chants. Kingston tells the secret story her mom told her about a forgotten aunt, the sister of kingstons dad in china. In maxine hong kingston s novel, the woman warrior, enotes study guides describes several themes. Kingston does combine bits of each of bookers narrative structures. Books with family secrets intrigue me and i remained engaged in.
One theme that i found in maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior was the idea of translation. Maxine hong kingston susan evangelista the woman warrior. But her mother talked stories in warning, and these. In her debut, kingston sketches the attempts of her protagonist maxine to create a sense of belonging to either the unknown and therefore abstract china of her immigrant parents, or the concrete yet. Lecture 14 maxine hong kingston, the woman warrior overview. The book blends autobiography with what kingston purports to be old chinese folktales, although several scholars have questioned the accuracy and authenticity of these folktales the woman warrior won the national book critics circle. A bridging of autobiography and fiction deborah homsher reading the woman warrior, one gets an immediate impression that its writer has worked hard to form the book. Maxine hong kingston s woman warrior no name woman the excerpt, no name woman, from maxine hong kingston s book, woman warrior, gives insight into her life as a chinese girl raised in america through a tragic story of her aunts life, a young woman raised in a village in china in the early 1900s.
How closely they guarded their lives, those chineseamericans pressing the clothes, so that we were never able to focus on them or comprehend their outlook. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts ebook written by maxine hong kingston. It won the national book critics circle award in 1976 and is widely hailed as a feminist classic. Her first book, the woman warrior, blended fiction, memoir and myth in innovative ways. In the story, she stays with an old man and woman in the mountains, who teach her. Forming and identity through silence senior paper presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a degree bachelor of arts with a major in literature at the university of north carolina at asheville spring 2006 by david cheuk.
She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the national book award, the national book critics circle award, the presidentially conferred national humanities medal, the medal for distinguished contribution to american letters from the national book foundation, and the f. May 01, 2010 one theme that i found in maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior was the idea of translation. Maxine hong kingstons lauded 1976 memoir the woman warrior. Her first book, the woman warrior, blended fiction, memoir. Kingstons grandma loved to watch operas in china, making it a family tradition to go out and watch live theater, even if it meant leaving their unwatched home vulnerable to bandits.
Acclaimed author maxine hong kingston s the woman warrior broke new ground when it was first published 35 years ago, weaving autobiography, history, folklore, and fantasy in to a candid and revelatory story about the daughter of chinese immigrants in mid20th century california. Maxine hong kingston the woman warrior how she used talk. Jan 31, 2017 an iconic staple of literature classes for decades is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year with events across the country. Learn and understand all of the themes found in the woman warrior, such as female roles. Kingstons memoir, the woman warrior, turned 40 an anniversary that slipped. Celeste ng and maxine hong kingston answer your questions. Kingston tells the secret story her mom told her about a forgotten aunt, the sister of kingston s dad in china. The woman warrior is a memoir by maxine hong kingston that was first published in 1976. Maxine hong kingston, as one of the most significant chinese american writers, has made great contribution to feminist movement with her literature works, among which is her masterpiece. Jan 01, 2015 the woman warrior by maxine hong kingston was a book i had to read for my angloamerican lit. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts is a book written by chinese american author maxine hong kingston and published by alfred a.
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