Maxine Hong Kingston begins her search for a personal identity with the story of an aunt, to whom this first chapter’s title refers. Ironically, the first thing we read is Kingston’s mother’s warning Kingston, “You must not tell anyone . . . what I am about to tell you. In […]
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Maxine The central character in The Woman Warrior. Shy, awkward, introspective, and intellectual, she describes her anguished childhood years and her coming to terms with two competing cultures, American and Chinese. No Name Woman Maxine’s Chinese aunt, who drowned herself and her baby after villagers ransacked her house as punishment […]
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The Woman Warrior, a work that defies easy classification, is neither wholly a work of fiction nor, strictly speaking, an autobiography. A clever blend of fantasy, childhood memories, folklore, and family history, Kingston’s work is revolutionary precisely because it transcends genres. Her unique literary skills, vision, and style have established […]
Read more About The Woman WarriorBook Summary
Divided into five chapters, each of which is more or less self-contained, Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior explores the many forms of adversity that women face. Kingston uses women’s stories to explore her own cultural history. As a first-generation Chinese American, she struggles to reconcile her Chinese cultural heritage […]
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