Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts is a book written by chinese american author maxine hong kingston and published by alfred a. Who am i examining maxine hong kingstons racial identity as. The woman warrior no name woman summary course hero. Ironically, the first thing we read is kingstons mothers warning kingston, you must not tell anyone. No name woman as a means of exploring her identity. 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 first edition of the novel was published in 1975, and was written by maxine hong kingston. 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. Maxine hong kingston, an eminent memoirist and a celebrated chineseamerican autobiographer, is best known for the woman warrior. In one such scenario, her aunt is a timid woman ordered into submission by a rapist.
You must not tell anyone, my mother said, what i am about to tell you. The promise and the perils of translation in maxine hong kingstons. Also by maxine hong kingston china men tripmaster monkey hawaii one summer the fifth book of peace to mother and father contents no name. Forming an identity through silence written in 1975, maxine hong kingston s autobiography, the woman warrior. No name woman by maxine hong kingston setting structure jumps from stockton, california where she lives to her parents home village in china represents how the narrator feels maxine hong kingston whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like. In no name womans case, her illegitimate child violates the immense value placed on a traditional family and is, for the family, another mouth to feed. The national book critics circle read by kimchai lam i. She is a sister her father does not acknowledge as ever having been born because of the humiliation she brought to the family.
Kingston, a firstgeneration chineseamerican, was born in stockton, california, in 1940. Also by maxine hong kingston china men tripmaster monkey hawai i one summer the fifth book of peace to mother and father contents no name woman white tigers shaman at the western palace a song for a barbarian reed pipe no name woman you must not tell anyone, my mother said. The fact that this aunt ever existed, that in china, kingstons father had a sister, is a big secret, because no name woman has brought disgrace upon the family. Pdf maxine hong kingston the woman warrior eduardo. 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. 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. Chineseamerican, maxine hong kingston is familiar with this dilemma. The first is the story of no name woman, as maxine calls the aunt whose name she does not even know. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts, invites readers into the life of one asian american writer. No name woman in maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior.
Kingston commences the novel by arguing that all myths and tales are contingent on specific cultural necessities. Be sure to jot down ideas to share with the class later. Through this story, kingston immediately lays out the influence of her mother as a storyteller, as well as the themes that this memoir will continue to dance around. The no name woman you must not tell anyone what i am about to tell you what influenced the book. The woman warrior opens with the story of maxine hong kingston s forgotten aunt, the no name woman. No name woman by maxine hong kingston freebooksummary. 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. Her notable books included the memoirs the woman warrior, china men, and i love a broad margin to my life. Jul 08, 2010 the woman warrior by maxine hong kingston the best book of nonfiction published in 1976. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. In the woman warrior, what does the ghost of the no name woman symbolize for maxine hong kingston the ghost of the no name woman symbolizes the shame maxine hong kingston has felt as a girl and as a woman in a culture that devalues girls and limits female roles. Maxine s passion for writing and storytelling the stories her mom told her growing about the difficulties their family went through in 1924 china her struggles growing within two.
Margery wolfs thrice told tale cross cultural boundaries, whereas. Kingston in the woman warrior is largely figuring out what it means for her to be a chinese american women by way of considering the lives of great chinese women before her. No name woman essay explores feminism aspects in the story by maxine hong kingston. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts 1976 and its companion volume, china men 1980.
Kingstons noname aunt is the first person we hear a story about in the woman warrior. Kingston learned from her mother about a forgotten aunt of hers. The villagers had been counting the months from the time no name woman s husband left until she got pregnant. Ironically, the aunts and her childs fates are almost whimsically determined by the time in which this story takes place. Maxine hong kingstons no name woman essay examples. No name woman by maxine hong kingston 1046 words 5 pages. Although kingston honors her aunt by retelling no name woman s story in the woman warrior, she blames herself for having kept silent about this woman for more than twenty years.
In one sense the aunt is a powerless character, so powerless that she is given no name and no right to have existed. No name woman in maxine hong kingston s the woman warrior. Maxine hong kingston, american writer, much of whose work is rooted in her experiences as a firstgeneration chinese american. Kingstons memoir the woman warrior, the narrators mother issues a stern directive.
No name woman had been married to a husband who was gone for years, then became pregnant out of wedlock and gave birth to a daughter. No name woman, which is the name that kingston grants her shamed aunt, had the baby in the early summer, according to brave orchid. Through this story, kingston immediately lays out the influence of her mother as a storyteller, as well as the themes that this memoir will continue to dance around women, family, and the power of storytelling. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the woman warrior and what it means. If i had lived in china, kingston speculates, i would have been an outlaw knotmaker, which is an indirect reference to no name woman. No name woman is a short story written by maxine hong kingston and was included in her book the woman warrior,with the first publication date in 1975. Kingston has written three novels and several works of nonfiction about the experiences of chinese americans. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. In the final chapter, young maxine tortures a silent chinese girl whom she sees as a partial image of herself. No name woman by maxine hong kingston free essay sample duration.
No name woman character analysis in the woman warrior litcharts. In no name woman, maxine hong kingston recalls the events of her aunts life in the vague world of her chinese. Kingston is the author of the booklength poem i love a broad margin to my life 2011. In it, she tells the stories of several other women to reveal the struggles and issues that have affected her own life. No name woman by maxine hong kingston to print or download this file, click the link below. 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. Brave orchid tells kingston about her aunt but warns her that she must not tell anyone. The woman warrior opens with the narrator maxines retelling of her mothers cautionary story about her noname aunt. No name woman by maxine hong kingston 878 words bartleby. Kingston, a first generation chineseamerican woman, shares the saddening story no name woman of her aunt to explore the communitygender roles, as well as the cultural morals and motifs of her ancestors. A short literary analysis of maxine kingstons classic no name woman as part of the first generation of chineseamericans, maxine hong kingston writes about her struggle to distinguish her cultural identity through an impartial analysis of her aunts denied existence. We say that your father has all brothers because it is as if she had never been born. Because kingston cannot ask about her unnamed auntwho is referred to only as noname woman she invents her own fantasies about why her aunt gave in to her forbidden passions.
Mar 27, 2007 kingstons method of merging real experience and fiction is deceptively simple, so much so that the reader hardly notices it as it happens. In the woman warrior, maxine hong kingston tells us that long ago in china there was a knot so complicated that it blinded the knotmaker. Maxine hong kingston begins her search for a personal identity with the story of an aunt, to whom this first chapters. Maxine hong kingston begins her search for a personal identity with the story of an aunt, to whom this first chapters title refers.
In china your father had a sister who killed herself. Maxine hong kingston, the woman warrior, ethnic literature, chinese. The woman is called a noname woman as the family has disowned her. Free download or read online the woman warrior pdf epub book. The book uses recurring consideration of voices, stories, and ghosts to develop its various themes, including the transmission of culture across generations and the importance. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of.
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. Narrator maxine hong kingston in the woman warrior shmoop. Kingston considers no name woman within the context of 1970s sexual liberation, whose notions of sexual freedom do not fit kingston any more than they would have fit her aunt. One woman swung a chicken, whose throat she had slit, splattering blood in red arcs about her. Analysis of maxine hong kingston no name woman essay. In her piece no name woman, kingston explores this struggle by sharing the tragic story of her aunts pregnancy. In another sense, she is too powerful to be named or remembered. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. No name woman in the opening lines of no name woman, the first essay 1 in maxine hong kingstons memoir the woman warrior, the narrators mother issues a stern directive to her chineseamerican daughter. Carefully read your groups assigned question, take 5 minutes to discuss the response among your groups. 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. Pdf the woman warrior book by maxine hong kingston free.
No name woman by maxine hong kingston with no music starring maria romero, maria villegas, evelyn ruiz, estella melgar, tiara love, irvin lorenzo. The second theme hong kingston introduces in no name woman is that of female power. In telling their stories, she is telling her own stories because kingston herself is a compilation of all the. Walt whitman influenced her, and the poetic lines in the book shift between real and imagined time, tracing the writers. The woman warrior opens with the story of maxine hong kingstons forgotten aunt, the no name woman. Narrator maxine hong kingston in the woman warrior.
If she and her aunt have similar notions about desire, then maybe kingston can understand her aunt, despite their differences in time and place. We stood together in the middle of our house, in the family hall with the pictures and tables of the ancestors around us, and looked straight ahead. In fact she often points out things she has no answers for like why her noname aunt lived with her family instead of her husbands. The the woman warrior quotes below are all either spoken by no name woman or refer to no name woman. Interpreting silence and voice in maxine hong kingstons the. Woman from maxine hong kingstons no name woman and mrs tan from. First published in 1976, it has become a classic in its innovative portrayal of multiple and intersecting identitiesimmigrant, female, chinese.
The woman warrior won the national book critics circle award in 1976 for nonfiction, and china men was awarded the 1980 american book award. 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 the opening lines of no name woman, the first essay1 in maxine hong. No name woman by maxine hong kingston you must not tell anyone, my mother said, what i am about to tell you.
It is seen as a huge disgrace to the family in their culture to commit adultery. In her awardwinning book the woman warrior, maxine hong kingston created an entirely new forman exhilarating blend of autobiography and mythology, of world and self, of hot rage and cool analysis. No name womanfirst person we hear a story about in the woman warrior. The woman warrior is the memoir of maxine hong kingstons experience growing up as a firstgeneration chinese american. Her mother tells her the story of her no name aunt as a means of warning her away from premarital sex. In this passage from no name woman, maxine hong kingston imagines what old world china was like, and paints a picture of a repressive, strictly ordered society in which people were essentially unable to have private lives. In this autobiographical work, kingston uses the stories of five unique. Maxine hong kingston begins her search for a personal identity with th. Maxine hong kingstons no name women introduces students to the power of words. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans.
The main characters of this autobiography, memoir story are. Analysis of maxine hong kingston no name woman essay 1677. The woman warrior by maxine hong kingston the best book of nonfiction published in 1976. Discussion questions for no name woman eeadamsdotme. No name woman by maxine hong kingston hcc learning web. We understand that kingston takes us under her wing in her exploration of identity in hopes that we might learn something. The woman warrior audiobook by maxine hong kingston. The narrator is a girl who has just reached puberty. No name woman character analysis in the woman warrior. The national book critics circle read by kimchai lam i just did a reading of pages 17, and ill be. Dec 22, 2019 no name woman is a short story written by maxine hong kingston and was included in her book the woman warrior,with the first publication date in 1975. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 204 pages and is available in paperback format. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts was published 30 years ago last fall, at a time when chineseamericans evoked few associations in. Although kingston honors her aunt by retelling no name womans story in the woman warrior, she blames herself for having kept silent about this woman for more than twenty years.
809 81 324 991 552 158 1542 467 1160 807 1213 560 431 1077 1403 1312 170 1375 763 238 532 1337 1180 244 1197 1279 378 1326 895 1114 39 974 156 1086