Maxine Kingston\'s Women Warrior

Maxine Kingston's Contribution To Literature

Maxine Kingston's Contribution to Contemporary Literature

Maxine Hong Kingston's literature falls into the Contemporary Literature movement and many critics consider her work to be an important contribution on the feminist front as well as that of Asian literature. Kingston was born in Stockton, California in 1940 and is the best recognized Asian-American writer of today. (2094) The Woman Warrior demonstrates the struggle experienced as a Chinese-American growing up in America as well as focusing on other issues such as success and mother-daughter relationships. The Woman Warrior is able to tell the story of one woman who discovers her self through overcoming the memory of her heritage and finding her place in society.

The Woman Warrior is formed from what many critics like to call fiction and fact and memory and imagination (Lauter 2094). The book examines the "difficulties in Kingston's development as a woman and as a Chinese-American" (2094). Because of it's nature and style, the book demonstrates how stories can "shape character and behavior" (2094). These stories are important because Kingston is able to develop her own sense of self by writing them. Kingston is able to learn from each character's circumstance and is able to develop her own strength of character.

Each chapter in the novel revolves around a female character that affects Kingston's life.

Most of the stories illustrate how the female is affected by and relates to male-dominance in society. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the stories is the fact that the women often hold themselves back by the very traditions to which they cling. For example, the story "No Name Woman" begins with the mother telling the daughter, "You must not tell anyone" (Kingston 3). The mother is repeating this story in a shroud of secrecy but yet she insists on telling her daughter. In addition, it is the women who continue to say things such as "better to have geese than girls" (Kingston 2111) in the short story "White Tigers." Through these examples, Kingston is able to illustrate the difficulties involved with being a Chinese-American born in the United States.

The image of the warrior is important as we see especially in the characters of Fa Mu Lan and Brave Orchid. Perhaps "White Tigers" allows us to see this side of the warrior more than any other as it revolves around Kingston's fantasy of becoming a warrior. This chapter of the book demonstrates Kingston's incredible style since she has never been to China. For instance, she describes the mountains as if they were "shaded in pencil, rocks like charcoal rubbings" (Kingston 2096).

In addition, as a warrior standing on a hill, the roads below her "moved... The woods and the plains moved too; the land was peopled -- the Han people, the People of One Hundred Surnames, marching with one heart, our tatters flying" (2109). "White Tigers" Kingston's fantasy of the female figure being able to rise above her position in life. It is also important to note that she not only succeeds at this, but that she also becomes a great leader. In addition, in "At the Western Palace," we see the same type of bravery displayed in Brave Orchid. Brave Orchid is a take-charge person who is one of the best students.

She encourages her sister to be brave to no avail.

Such images support the idea that the novel is written from a feminist perspective. The woman in "White Tiger" story is able to become a warrior, have a family, and still maintain a position of leadership while the woman in "At the Western Palace" cannot cope but find her happiness in another way. Through careful observation, Kingston is able to relate experiences on a personal level, creating a sense of understanding within us.

Kingston also focuses on mother-daughter issues in this The Woman Warrior. With the mother in the "No Name Woman," we see the mother offering advice to her daughter in order to warm her from doing the wrong thing. The mother's talk-stories are important because they instill an element of heritage but they are detrimental as well, for they propagate fear in the girl.

This can be seen when the mother tells the daughter, "Don't humiliate us. You wouldn't like to be forgotten as if you were never born" (Kingston 5). Kingston uses the fear in a positive way by writing. In addition, a theme that goes along with the mother-daughter relationship is that of silence. Again, the first words of the novel present us with this idea.

Silence is the predominant issue in "No Name Woman" and "At the Western Palace." The story of the aunt's pregnancy and subsequent suicide is shocking, which is emphasized by how Kingston chooses to tell the story through the mother. The effect is powerful on the daughter, for she is never able to forget it. As a result, it shapes her self-perception and her drive. Kingston is demonstrating how people can overcome the influence of their parents or their past by earnestly seeking out their own identity.