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. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts vintage international. Books with family secrets intrigue me and i remained engaged in. In this lecture at the midpoint of the course professor hungerford takes stock of the syllabus thus far and to come by laying out her guiding thesis of the identity plot, a rubric for understanding novels in the twentieth century as, she argues, the marriage plot is a rubric for understanding novels in the nineteenth century. Maxine hong kingston concludes the book with a separate section beginning with one of her mothers stories.
Paper masters will custom write any research paper on kingstons work, life or her memoir. Memoirs of a girlhood among the ghosts 1976 weaves together elements from traditional chinese folktales and. The woman warrior npr coverage of the woman warrior. Skin and culture often create a grave cacophony of influences within the individual. Major themes in maxine hong kingston s the woman warrior. Research papers on maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior are custom written by our literature specialists. Maxine hong kingston the woman warrior how she used talk. Her first book, the woman warrior, blended fiction, memoir and myth in innovative ways. In maxine hong kingstons novel, the woman warrior, enotes study guides describes several themes. 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. Maxine hong kingston was born in stockton, california in 1940 as maxine ting hong. Complex and beautiful, angry and adoring, maxine hong kingston s the woman warrior is a seminal piece of writing about emigration and identity. Nov 21, 2008 referring to examples throughout the syllabus, but especially maxine hong kingston s woman warrior, hungerford describes the overriding tendency of american novels written after 1945 to explore. In no name woman, maxine hong kingston recalls the events of her aunts life in the vague world of her chinese.
But if women must be slaves, they may also be warriors the book is hospitable to paradox like the warrior woman fa mu lan, whose story becomes the authors asno maidenly joan of arcshe rides into battle with her childhood friend husband at her side and her infant son inside her armor. Dec, 2003 the daughter of chinese immigrants, maxine hong kingston grew up in california. As a first generation chineseamerican she is met with the conflict between her heritage and her desire to be. As a first generation chineseamerican she is met with the. A classic, for a reason celeste ng via twitter in her awardwinning book the woman warrior, maxine hong kingston created an entirely new. First published in 1976, maxine hong kingston s the woman warrior. The woman warrior won the national book critics circle award in 1976 for nonfiction, and china men was awarded the 1980 american book award. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts, which describes her experiences and struggles while growing up as a chineseamerican girl in california. Accordingly, maxine hong kingston presents this discordant paradox with vivid language and intent in the woman warrior. Summary read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. In the story, she stays with an old man and woman in the mountains, who teach her.
Divided into five chapters, each of which is more or less selfcontained, maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior explores the many forms of adversity that women face. Research papers on maxine hong kingston s the woman warrior are custom written by our literature specialists. The woman warrior by maxine hong kingston screenshot from. Paul carlton iv mood rising action i really enjoyed this book. 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. I liked how the story flowed and how she broke it up into different sections about topic she was talking about. Jan 31, 2017 an iconic staple of literature classes for decades is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year with events across the country. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts maxine hong kingston on. Research papers on maxine hong kingston s the woman warrior the woman warrior research paper delves into a semiautobiography of maxine hong kingston. Divided into five chapters, each of which is more or less selfcontained, maxine hong kingston s the woman warrior explores the many forms of adversity that women face.
In this memoir, the woman warrior symbolizes what maxine hong kingston wants to be. The woman warrior by maxine hong kingston was a book i had to read for my angloamerican lit. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts ebook written by maxine hong kingston. Although there are many scholarly debates surrounding the official genre classification of the book, it can best be described as a work of creative nonfiction. We can stand from a cultural perspective and observe how kingston balances being both chinese and reserving those feelings for her mothers homeland but also being american. Maxine hong kingstons woman warrior no name woman essay. Celeste ng and maxine hong kingston answer your questions. Complex and beautiful, angry and adoring, maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior is a seminal piece of writing about emigration and identity. In her debut, kingston sketches the attempts of her protagonist maxine to create a sense of belonging to either the unknown and therefore abstract china of her immigrant parents, or the concrete yet. The essays deal with such issues as the reception by various interpretive communities, canon formation, cultural authenticity, fictionality in autobiography, and feminist and. Lecture 14 maxine hong kingston, the woman warrior overview. While a search for identity and self is the primary theme, secondary themes are sexism and flesh. Maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior step by step.
Her memories of a chinese american girlhood in california are spliced with myths and anecdotes told by her imposing and thoroughly. Referring to examples throughout the syllabus, but especially maxine hong kingstons woman warrior, hungerford describes the overriding tendency of american novels written after 1945 to explore. White tigers certainly involves a quest, kingston talks about her travels away and back to home like a voyage and return plot, and theres definitely comedy and tragedy. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the woman warrior. Maxine hong kingston writing styles in the woman warrior.
Kingston has written three novels and several works of nonfiction about the experiences of chinese americans. 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. Kingston is the author of the booklength poem i love a broad margin to my life 2011. Her first book, the woman warrior, blended fiction, memoir. Maxine hong kingstons no name woman essay examples bartleby. Maxine hong kingston has 33 books on goodreads with 117176 ratings. Maxine hong kingstons lauded 1976 memoir the woman warrior. Concealment thwarted the gods, the author of these extraordinary memoirs reports, and their americanborn children tooalways trying to get things straight, to name the unspeakable. The reason perhaps, could be the way kingston with an amazing flow jumps back and forth from what limited information she was told to her own imaginations, regarding how and why her anonymous aunt would have dealt with the. Picador classic by maxine hong kingston bibliography rank. Acclaimed author maxine hong kingston s 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. It combines myth, family history, folktales, and memories of the experience of growing up within two conflicting cultures. Maxine hong kingstons most popular book is the lover.
Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts by maxine hong kingston, is one of the groundbreaking works of asian american literature. Maxine hong kingston critical analysis no name woman, although a heart wrenching tale, also comes out as an intriguing story to the readers. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts, first published in 1976. In maxine hong kingston s novel, the woman warrior, enotes study guides describes several themes. She grew up confused by the ideas and behavior of her parents and the villagers who had settled in stockton, california, who. The reason perhaps, could be the way kingston with an amazing flow jumps back and forth from what limited information she was told to her own imaginations, regarding how and why her anonymous aunt would have dealt with the atrocities. Learn and understand all of the themes found in the woman warrior, such as female roles. These chapters follow the lives of several women while they lived in china andor after immigration to the united states. The woman warrior is a pungent, bitter, but beautifully written memoir of growing up chinese american in stockton, california.
The woman warrior by maxine hong kingston goodreads. As a memoir, the woman warrior doesnt fit any of bookers plot types. In maxine hong kingston kingston published her first book, the woman warrior. Maxine hong kingston writing styles in the woman warrior maxine hong kingston this study guide consists of approximately 78 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the woman warrior. Research papers on maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior. After 40 years, maxine hong kingstons iconic book, the. 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. Like not many women got to live out the daydream of womento have a room, even a section of a room, that only. The daughter of chinese immigrants, maxine hong kingston grew up in california. As a young girl, she was often confused about her dual american and chinese heritage.
Celeste ng, author of little fires everywhere, and maxine hong kingston, author of the woman warrior, join jeffrey brown to answer. Maxine hong kingston s woman warrior no name woman the excerpt, no name woman, from maxine hong kingston s book, woman warrior, gives insight into her life as a chinese girl raised in america through a tragic story of her aunts life, a young woman raised in a village in china in the early 1900s. Research papers on maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior the woman warrior research paper delves into a semiautobiography of maxine hong kingston. Kingston uses womens stories to explore her own cultural history. Maxine hong kingstons no name woman essay examples. Maxine hong kingstons woman warrior no name woman the excerpt, no name woman, from maxine hong kingstons book, woman warrior, gives insight into her life as a chinese girl raised in america through a tragic story of her aunts life, a young woman raised in. Kingstons memoir, the woman warrior, turned 40 an anniversary that slipped. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts by maxine hong kingston.
Maxine hong kingston, as one of the most significant chinese american writers, has made great contribution to feminist movement with her literature works, among which is her masterpiece. Maxine hong kingston, in this book and its companion, china men, gives us one. 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. 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 now in audio for the first time, the woman warrior is read by television and movie star mingna er, mulan in a. Maxine hong kingston is the author of the woman warrior, china men, and the fifth book of peace, among other works. Kingston does combine bits of each of bookers narrative structures. 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. Those of us in the first american generations have had to figure out how the invisible world the emigrants built around our childhoods fits in solid america. One theme that i found in maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior was the idea of translation. The woman warrior by maxine hong kingston, 9781447275220, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide.
The myth of the woman warrior comes from tales the chinese tell their children in talkstory and chants. Maxine hong kingston, an eminent memoirist and a celebrated chineseamerican autobiographer, is best known for the woman warrior. This case book presents a thoughtprovoking overview of critical debates surrounding the woman warrior, perhaps the best known asian american literary work. Paper masters will custom write any research paper on kingston s work, life or her. Walt whitman influenced her, and the poetic lines in the book shift between real and imagined time, tracing the writers. The actual genre of the woman warrior, however, has been widely disputed. Kingstons grandma loved to watch operas in china, making it a family tradition to go out and watch live theater, even if it meant leaving their unwatched home vulnerable to bandits. Books by maxine hong kingston author of the woman warrior. How closely they guarded their lives, those chineseamericans pressing the clothes, so that we were never able to focus on them or comprehend their outlook. 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. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the national book award, the national book critics circle award, the presidentially conferred national humanities medal, the medal for distinguished contribution to american letters from the national book foundation, and the f. I learned to make my mind large, as the universe is large, so that there is room for paradoxes. An iconic staple of literature classes for decades is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year with events across the country. The author imagines that this already married no name woman was pressured into having sex with an anonymous villager who promptly led a village attack against her when he found out she got pregnant.
The woman warrior is a memoir by maxine hong kingston that was first published in 1976. Kingston tells the secret story her mom told her about a forgotten aunt, the sister of kingston s dad in china. Maxine hong kingston tells the story of fa mu lan in the woman warrior, placing herself in the position of mu lan. The woman warrior is maxine hong kingston s own story of growing up chineseamerican, an irreconcilable position for her as the two cultures would seemingly clash, unable to provide her with a stable sense of identity. A wellknown example of the latter is maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior. Acclaimed author maxine hong kingston s 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 now in audio for the first time, the woman warrior is read by television and movie star mingna er, mulan in a. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts 1976 and its companion volume, china men 1980. Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts is a book written by chinese american author maxine hong kingston and published by alfred a. Engl 291 lecture 14 maxine hong kingston, the woman. A bridging of autobiography and fiction deborah homsher reading the woman warrior, one gets an immediate impression that its writer has worked hard to form the book.
Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts is a memoir, or collection of memoirs, by maxine hong kingston, published by vintage books in 1975. May 01, 2010 one theme that i found in maxine hong kingstons the woman warrior was the idea of translation. Maxine hong kingston susan evangelista the woman warrior. But her mother talked stories in warning, and these. Kingston uses womens stories to explore her own cultural his.
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