Maxine Hong Kingston Chinese American The Woman Warrior

Maxine Hong Kingston Chinese American “The Woman Warrior”

Cross-Cultural Women n n Born in America Chinese was her first language Began English writing at age 10 Chinese name of “Ting” Native to California

Works n n China Men Tripmaster Monkey The Fifth book of Peace The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of Girlhood Among Ghosts ¡ ¡ ¡ Memoir: first person nonfiction narrative that recounts historical/personal significant events in which the writer was a participant or an eye witness Breaks from the mold and tells this in 3 rd person Blend of folklore, myth, feminism, and autobiography

Protagonist n Brave Orchid: Kingston’s mother ¡ ¡ Relates family origin and China through “talk stories” always focusing on the women. “Talk stories” are a blend of truth, fiction, ancient heroes, family secrets and important cultural traditions and valueas.

An American Tale n After watching the video answer the following questions: ¡ ¡ ¡ What two things are the mice promised in America? Why is this significant? What does this tell you about the “American Dream” vs. reality? How were similar promises made to actual immigrants? Have you ever made a promise you did keep or has a promise ever been made to you that wasn’t kept? Explain the situation and how you felt about it.

“There are No Cats in America”

Point of view n n Bicultural identity First person vs. Third Person ¡ ¡ Value of each? Why choose third for a memoir? It is pretty consistent, but not as plausible since there are times that the daughter expresses ideas from the mother’s head—the mother could have expressed these at some point, but it fictionalizes the memoir to an extent. The story itself would have changed entirely if it had been told in first person. Ex. My cousin called out to her mother, “Mama! Mama” and my mother looked at her strangely. I was ashamed. Changing the point of view would change the focus because it would require more focus on the self

The Woman Warrior (excerpt) n n n Woman: connotations? Warrior: connotations? Background: connotations?

Setting n n San Francisco During the Vietnam error

Symbolism n n American dream Motif: “Golden Mountain” (symbolism)—verbal irony (“No Cats in America”) Ghosts “Your children”; “American Children”; “Brave Orchid’s Children” Concentration—thoughts equal events

JOURNEYS n Who is taking a journey in this story? ¡ ¡ Author Brave Moon’s daughter