Woman Warrior Paper
Woman Warrior Analysis
Woman Warrior is a very unique take on an autobiography, fascinating even, in that much of it is not necessarily true. It is relayed through talk-stories and accounts from other people. Some is fantasy or openly made up. This occassionally makes Kingston seem fictional. At the same time, these stories of all of the women connected to Kingston take us down the road to her personal growth, understanding of her Chinese culture, and realization of how much a part of her it is. It is this theme of growth that I believe to be the most prominent theme of the book, and we must examine the plot, characters, and other themes to understand it. Brave Orchid is Kingston's mother. She is very traditional and proud. She is intelligent, but is regularly shown to be ridiculous in that she doesn't fully fit into American culture, both in that she doesn't understand much of it and that she doesn't want to be a part of it. She is sometimes gentle, but is often cold and demeaning, even cruel at times (for example, she calls her sister "useless" and "wishy-washy"). She is the source of the talk-stories relayed by Kingston; these stories, being so far-fetched (Brave Orchid claims in one story to have been a shaman in China, with magical healing powers) drive Kingston to fury, but are still an integral part of her life and growth. Moon Orchid is the sister to Brave Orchid. She is similarly ridiculous because of the culture clash, but, very unlink her sister, she is extremely weak. She has come to America to reclaim her husband, who has moved to California and remarried, having been pushed by her sister.
"You can't. It's too late. You've sold your apartment. See here. We know his address. He's living in Los Angeles with his second wife, and they have three children. Claim your rights. Those are your children. He's got two sons, You have two sons. You take them away from her. You become their mother."
"Do you really think I can be a mother of
Woman Warrior is a very unique take on an autobiography, fascinating even, in that much of it is not necessarily true. It is relayed through talk-stories and accounts from other people. Some is fantasy or openly made up. This occassionally makes Kingston seem fictional. At the same time, these stories of all of the women connected to Kingston take us down the road to her personal growth, understanding of her Chinese culture, and realization of how much a part of her it is. It is this theme of growth that I believe to be the most prominent theme of the book, and we must examine the plot, characters, and other themes to understand it. Brave Orchid is Kingston's mother. She is very traditional and proud. She is intelligent, but is regularly shown to be ridiculous in that she doesn't fully fit into American culture, both in that she doesn't understand much of it and that she doesn't want to be a part of it. She is sometimes gentle, but is often cold and demeaning, even cruel at times (for example, she calls her sister "useless" and "wishy-washy"). She is the source of the talk-stories relayed by Kingston; these stories, being so far-fetched (Brave Orchid claims in one story to have been a shaman in China, with magical healing powers) drive Kingston to fury, but are still an integral part of her life and growth. Moon Orchid is the sister to Brave Orchid. She is similarly ridiculous because of the culture clash, but, very unlink her sister, she is extremely weak. She has come to America to reclaim her husband, who has moved to California and remarried, having been pushed by her sister.
"You can't. It's too late. You've sold your apartment. See here. We know his address. He's living in Los Angeles with his second wife, and they have three children. Claim your rights. Those are your children. He's got two sons, You have two sons. You take them away from her. You become their mother."
"Do you really think I can be a mother of