Silence In The Woman Warrior

In the Woman Warrior, Kingston develops a motif throughout the story about silence and voice; however, in the woman's culture they are typically silenced and do not have a voice proving the Chinese society and culture is unfair and cruel. During the novel Kingston regularly brings up the concept of silence and lack of voice. For example, Kingston relays how when she is a young girl it is hard for her to voice her opinion, and she spends a vast amount of time sitting in silence. The author fails kindergarten because she does not understand the need to talk to pass the class. Due to the influence of her culture, she is under the belief all Chinese girls sit in silence because they are girls and are not supposed to talk. It is apparent the
The reader is able to take a view into these restraints on females in the Chinese society because girls and women are not allowed to speak, and when they do they are usually scolded or made fun of. Whenever Kingston tries to speak or express her feelings around her mother, she proceeds to silence her. As time goes on, Kingston begins to realize most Chinese children are silent. The contradictions and unfairness of Chinese society and culture are exemplified through the stories and treatment of Kingston’s own mother. She plays a large role in her silence since when the author is a child she talks about how she cut her tongue to prevent her from becoming tongue-tied, allowing her to talk more. This is ironic because her mother is part of the reason she feels she has to be quiet, even though she does not want her to be tongue-tied. She is unable to express herself or acclimate to a life in American due to the rigidity of Chinese expectations surrounding silence as a female. As a young child, her mother always tells her talk stories, and as the novel comes to a close Kingston is able to find a voice through telling talk stories herself. She finds a way through the talk stories to break away from the stringent rules her mother enforces and experience new