Mari Hilgers
The Woman Warrior
In Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior, Maxine’s search for self-identity is seen through her quest to understand the value of a woman as taught to her through both her
American and Chinese cultures. Maxine uses the stories that her mom tells her, as well as her experiences in life to guide her toward finding out who she is as a person. Her views about the role of women are strong from the onset and in the end she realizes that she has the potential to be more than what is expected of her.
In her early life, Maxine was given multiple lessons in what it meant to be a girl, woman, and daughter through Chinese sayings and her mother’s stories. Maxine’s mom, Brave Orchid, uses stories to illustrate life lessons. The story of Fa Mu Lan, the woman warrior, taught Maxine the value of words and the impact that they can make in life. After analyzing the story of Fa Mu
Lan, Maxine says, “The swordswoman and I are not so dissimilar. What we have in common are the words on our backs..and I have so many words...that they do not fit on my skin”(53). Maxine comes to the conclusion that although Fa Mu Lan exhibited extended skills in combat, the words written into her skin were her real weapons. Maxine uses her words to fight back in more than one instance. In her teenage years, Maxine begins to confess to her mom about the actions, teachings, and stories she’s disagreed with. As she got older, Maxine’s voice grew stronger leading her to stand up to her racist boss, as well as confronting her mom about her identity and what she wants in life. The tale of the woman warrior stands in contrast to the sayings Maxine was taught throughout life. Maxine was told that the role of a wife is similar to that of a slave as
seen when she says, “there is a Chinese word for female I ---which is ‘slave” (47). Daughters were seen in an even worse light by Chinese women. It seemed as if despite how disagreeable the sayings and teachings about women
In Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior, Maxine’s search for self-identity is seen through her quest to understand the value of a woman as taught to her through both her
American and Chinese cultures. Maxine uses the stories that her mom tells her, as well as her experiences in life to guide her toward finding out who she is as a person. Her views about the role of women are strong from the onset and in the end she realizes that she has the potential to be more than what is expected of her.
In her early life, Maxine was given multiple lessons in what it meant to be a girl, woman, and daughter through Chinese sayings and her mother’s stories. Maxine’s mom, Brave Orchid, uses stories to illustrate life lessons. The story of Fa Mu Lan, the woman warrior, taught Maxine the value of words and the impact that they can make in life. After analyzing the story of Fa Mu
Lan, Maxine says, “The swordswoman and I are not so dissimilar. What we have in common are the words on our backs..and I have so many words...that they do not fit on my skin”(53). Maxine comes to the conclusion that although Fa Mu Lan exhibited extended skills in combat, the words written into her skin were her real weapons. Maxine uses her words to fight back in more than one instance. In her teenage years, Maxine begins to confess to her mom about the actions, teachings, and stories she’s disagreed with. As she got older, Maxine’s voice grew stronger leading her to stand up to her racist boss, as well as confronting her mom about her identity and what she wants in life. The tale of the woman warrior stands in contrast to the sayings Maxine was taught throughout life. Maxine was told that the role of a wife is similar to that of a slave as
seen when she says, “there is a Chinese word for female I ---which is ‘slave” (47). Daughters were seen in an even worse light by Chinese women. It seemed as if despite how disagreeable the sayings and teachings about women