Here are some key passages with brief explanation from the last Chapter of The Woman Warrior, A song for a barbarian reed pipe
.o1
"I hated the younger sister, the quiet one. I hated her when she was the last chosen for her team and I, the last chosen for my team." (pg.173)
"Why won't you talk?" I started to cry..."You don't see I'm trying to help you out, do you? Do you want to be like this, dumb (do you know what dumb means?), your whole life? Don't you ever want to be a cheerleader? Or a pompom girl? What are you going to do for a living? Yeah, you're going to have to work because you can't be a housewife. And you, you are a plant. Do you know that? That's all you are if you don't talk. You'll have no personality and no hair. You've got to let people know you have a personality and a brain." (pg. 180)
"Sometimes I hated the ghosts for not letting us talk; sometimes I hated the secrecy of the Chinese. 'Don't tell' said my parents, though we couldn't tell if we wanted to because we didn't know." (pg. 183)
"I thought talking and not talking made the difference between sanity and insanity. Insane people were the ones who couldn't explain themselves." (pg. 186)
I believe that these four quotes are all connected. In this chapter, Maxine beats up on the silent girl in her American and Chinese schools. I think she does this because she realizes how similar they are, and Maxine doesn't want to be like or be compared to the younger girl. The same things that Maxine yells at the girl about, are the same issues that she fears will happen to herself, if she doesn't speak up and use her voice. Maxine tries to help the girl from becoming a "dumb plant," the same way she would have liked someone else to have taught her when she was younger.
Maxine sometimes feels oppressed when the ghost or her parents tell her not to talk. She views insane people as people who do not talk. Maxine does not want to become that kind of person, and that is why she feels so strongly about using her voice.
.o2
"Be careful what you say. It comes true. It comes true. I had to leave home in order to see the world logically, logic the new way of seeing. I learned to think that mysteries are for explanation. I enjoy the simplicity. Concrete pours out of my mouth to cover forests with freeways and sidewalks. Give me plastics, periodical tables, t.v. dinners with vegetables no more complex than peas mixed with diced carrots. Shine floodlights in dark corners: no ghosts." (pg. 204)
When Maxine leaves home, she is able to make sense out of the things she used to be confused by. Things seem simpler. The complex "forests" of thoughts that she used to have, become clearer and more organized as she covers them with "concrete." All the talk-stories and myths that her mother used to tell her become mysteries in her past. I don't know,...I'm still kind of confused by what this means, but that's what I get from it right now.
Ilikerandom
Showing posts with label The Woman Warrior. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Woman Warrior. Show all posts
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Brave Orchid: Woman Warrior
Here is my character analysis of Maxine’s mom, a.k.a. Brave Orchid.
I read about 15 pages of the third chapter, Shaman, in The Woman Warrior. This chapter begins with Maxine explaining how every once in a while, her mom takes out a metal tube that “holds her medical diploma.” Through Maxine’s storytelling, mixing some imagination with what her mother has told her, I learned a lot about Maxine’s mother.
Brave Orchid was living in China while her husband was living in America. The husband was happy living in America, as Maxine describes him in photos, but Brave Orchid was not. The father did not come back to China, or send for his wife. What he did do, was send her money. Because Brave Orchid’s two children had died, she used the money for herself. She left her Chinese village on a ship, heading for Canton where she would study to be a doctor.
At the school, Brave Orchid lived in a room with five other women, but she was very happy. She took pleasure in having her own space and unpacking her belongings. She considered it a privilege to have space to call her own, as minimal as it was. Brave Orchid was free of the family duties she had in China, and all those Chinese traditions.
Soon, Maxine’s mother established herself as an elite, intelligent woman. She built her reputation as a brilliant scholar, though she would never let the other woman know her real age, or the fact that she stayed awake at night studying while the rest of them were sleeping.
Brave Orchid demonstrated her bravery when she volunteered to sleep in the Ghost Room without fear, and defeated the Sitting Ghost. She earned even more respect than she already had.
In the pages I read, it seems as though Maxine is proud of her mother and looks up to her, like she does to Fa Mu Lan. Brave Orchid is like Fa Mu Lan, another woman warrior.
Something that I find a little weird though is how earlier it didn’t seem like Maxine enjoyed her mother-daughter relationship. She spoke of how she could never be good enough for her mother, but now she speaks of her mom in admiration. Maybe Maxine is just showing that she has mixed emotions about her mother.
I read about 15 pages of the third chapter, Shaman, in The Woman Warrior. This chapter begins with Maxine explaining how every once in a while, her mom takes out a metal tube that “holds her medical diploma.” Through Maxine’s storytelling, mixing some imagination with what her mother has told her, I learned a lot about Maxine’s mother.
Brave Orchid was living in China while her husband was living in America. The husband was happy living in America, as Maxine describes him in photos, but Brave Orchid was not. The father did not come back to China, or send for his wife. What he did do, was send her money. Because Brave Orchid’s two children had died, she used the money for herself. She left her Chinese village on a ship, heading for Canton where she would study to be a doctor.
At the school, Brave Orchid lived in a room with five other women, but she was very happy. She took pleasure in having her own space and unpacking her belongings. She considered it a privilege to have space to call her own, as minimal as it was. Brave Orchid was free of the family duties she had in China, and all those Chinese traditions.
Soon, Maxine’s mother established herself as an elite, intelligent woman. She built her reputation as a brilliant scholar, though she would never let the other woman know her real age, or the fact that she stayed awake at night studying while the rest of them were sleeping.
Brave Orchid demonstrated her bravery when she volunteered to sleep in the Ghost Room without fear, and defeated the Sitting Ghost. She earned even more respect than she already had.
In the pages I read, it seems as though Maxine is proud of her mother and looks up to her, like she does to Fa Mu Lan. Brave Orchid is like Fa Mu Lan, another woman warrior.
Something that I find a little weird though is how earlier it didn’t seem like Maxine enjoyed her mother-daughter relationship. She spoke of how she could never be good enough for her mother, but now she speaks of her mom in admiration. Maybe Maxine is just showing that she has mixed emotions about her mother.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
White Tigers: Word Definitions
Here are some words taken from the chapter White Tigers of The Woman Warrior, their definitions, and the direct quotes.
Ideograph [n]- a written symbol that represents an idea or object directly rather than a particular word or speech sound, as a Chinese character.
“I walked putting heel down first, toes pointing outward thirty to forty degrees, making the ideograph ‘eight,’ making the ideograph “human.” (pg.23)
Self-immolation [n]- voluntary sacrifice or denial of oneself, as for an ideal or another person.
Transmigration [n]- the passage of a soul after death into another body; metempsychosis.
“I had met a rabbit who taught me about self-immolation and how to speed up transmigration: one who does not have to become worms first but can change directly into a human being…” (pg. 28)
Paradox [n]- A seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true.
“I learned to make my mind large, as the universe is large, so that there is room for paradoxes.” (pg. 29)
Strata [n]- a layer of material, naturally or artificially formed, often one of a number of parallel layers one upon another.
“In quarries I could see its strata, the dragon’s veins and muscles; the minerals, its teeth and bones.” (p.29)
Peiping [n]- the former name of Beijing
“The emperor, who sat facing south, must have been very frightened- peasants everywhere walking day and night toward the capital, toward Peiping.” (p.37)
Fiefdom [n]- the estate or domain of a feudal lord.
“When I won over a goodly number of fighters, I built up my army enough to attack fiefdoms…” (p.37)
Palanquins [n]- A covered litter carried on poles on the shoulders of four or more bearers, formerly used in eastern Asia.
“They had climbed out of their palanquins to watch their husband fight me…” (p.38)
Palpable [adj]- readily or plainly seen, heard, perceived, etc.; obvious; evident.
“The leader stared at the palpable sword swishing unclutched at his men, then laughed aloud.” (p.41)
Monday, February 26, 2007
The Traditional View of Women in China
It was our assignment to pick a role and carry out the duties that came along with it for our Literature Circle Figure 8’s. I chose the role of Philosopher King, who identifies the themes/big ideas of the section.
The biggest overlying theme for this section of The Woman Warrior is that of the roles and traditions of Chinese women. The first page of this reading begins with Maxine explaining how Chinese girls would listen to the adults talk story all the time. A lot of the things they heard while listening, were the standards of Chinese women. Women were considered to be a failure if they didn’t grow up to be something special; being “wives or slaves” was not good enough in their culture. What I understood from this chapter, was that having a daughter in China, was not held as highly as having a son. They liked men, for they believed they created a stronger work force and more warriors who could fight. People of that culture traditionally saw women as weak and useless. Chinese women heroines were known as swordswomen. These swordswomen always got even with the enemies of her family.
Maxine speaks of how she grew up hearing stories about swordswomen from her culture, namely Fa Mu Lan. Maxine, with her great imagination, tells the story of Fa Mu Lan, from Fa Mu Lan’s perspective.
Fa Mu Lan was a Chinese girl, whom at the age of 7 followed a bird up into the mountains, where she met an old couple who wanted to train her to become a warrior. For an extensive 15 years, Fa Mu Lan lived in the mountains away from her home and family, fasting for days, and learning how to use the magical “sky sword.” When Fa Mu Lan turned 22, the old couple allowed her to return to her village, to take the place of her father in the war. Willingly she took on this duty, traveling on a white horse into war with words of revenge scarred into her back and an army of sons following behind her. She won many battles, and was re-united with her husband, a childhood friend. During that time, she became pregnant. After delivering the child, she sent her husband back to the village with her son. In her last act of revenge, she beheaded the baron whom took away all the sons of her village.
Fa Mu Lan is an interesting portrayal of a Chinese woman, for she deals both with traditional and warrior ways. Even after all her training in the mountain, she is still a woman, a wife, and a mother. At the same time, she can kill armies of people like no one else. When she led her army, she let them believe she was a man, for as she said, “Chinese executed woman who disguised themselves as soldiers or students, no matter how bravely they fought or how high they scored on the examinations.” Chinese traditions and rules were very strict, it seems.
After Maxine finishes her story of Fa Mu Lan, the focus switches to her life in America. She speaks of how no matter what she does, nothing pleases her family, and mentions the example of straight A’s. They only see her as a disappointment, never living up to their expectations. And her life isn’t made any easier by the comments that she hears from all the Chinese immigrant villagers, such as, “Feeding girls is feeding cowbirds,” “There’s no profit in raising girls. Better to raise geese than girls,” and “I would hit her if she was mine. But then there’s no use wasting all that discipline on a girl. When you raise girls, you’re raising children for strangers.” She describes how people would shake their heads when they saw her and her sister, and how whenever her Great-Uncle would take her brothers shopping, she would not be allowed to come because she was a girl. Maxine was not given as many privileges as her brothers. Even when she grew up and went to Berkeley, she received no warm welcome on her return home. Thus, she takes a stand against these unreasonable Chinese traditions, by acting as a contumacious Chinese girl who refuses to take part in roles such as washing dishes or cooking food.
Maxine wishes that a bird would come to her as one did to Fa Mu Lan, and lead her away from her life, so that she may become a swordswoman. She tries to do good things, but can’t even accomplish them. For example, her attempt to stand up to her racist manager had only gotten her fired. Therefore, dealing with her dying relatives under Communist control in China seems like an even more daunting and impossible task.
The story of Fa Mu Lan is a major contrast to Maxine’s reality. By the end of the chapter, Maxine knows that her words are her weapons, similar to Fa Mu Lan, whose back was scarred with words of “revenge”. Both of these figures have been burdened by words, also. The only way for Maxine to use her words as weapons, is through her own effort and will. This can be seen as a parallel to Fa Mu Lan and her magical sky sword, which she had to command through her own will power.
The only things that seem to be holding Maxine back are the Chinese traditions of how women should act and behave. These Chinese traditions are bound to her, even though she is living in America. Like she says, “Even now China wraps double binds around my feet.” (p.48) Once Maxine finds her will and inner strength, she can break through these binds and break through the Chinese traditions which constantly burden her.
The biggest overlying theme for this section of The Woman Warrior is that of the roles and traditions of Chinese women. The first page of this reading begins with Maxine explaining how Chinese girls would listen to the adults talk story all the time. A lot of the things they heard while listening, were the standards of Chinese women. Women were considered to be a failure if they didn’t grow up to be something special; being “wives or slaves” was not good enough in their culture. What I understood from this chapter, was that having a daughter in China, was not held as highly as having a son. They liked men, for they believed they created a stronger work force and more warriors who could fight. People of that culture traditionally saw women as weak and useless. Chinese women heroines were known as swordswomen. These swordswomen always got even with the enemies of her family.
Maxine speaks of how she grew up hearing stories about swordswomen from her culture, namely Fa Mu Lan. Maxine, with her great imagination, tells the story of Fa Mu Lan, from Fa Mu Lan’s perspective.
Fa Mu Lan was a Chinese girl, whom at the age of 7 followed a bird up into the mountains, where she met an old couple who wanted to train her to become a warrior. For an extensive 15 years, Fa Mu Lan lived in the mountains away from her home and family, fasting for days, and learning how to use the magical “sky sword.” When Fa Mu Lan turned 22, the old couple allowed her to return to her village, to take the place of her father in the war. Willingly she took on this duty, traveling on a white horse into war with words of revenge scarred into her back and an army of sons following behind her. She won many battles, and was re-united with her husband, a childhood friend. During that time, she became pregnant. After delivering the child, she sent her husband back to the village with her son. In her last act of revenge, she beheaded the baron whom took away all the sons of her village.
Fa Mu Lan is an interesting portrayal of a Chinese woman, for she deals both with traditional and warrior ways. Even after all her training in the mountain, she is still a woman, a wife, and a mother. At the same time, she can kill armies of people like no one else. When she led her army, she let them believe she was a man, for as she said, “Chinese executed woman who disguised themselves as soldiers or students, no matter how bravely they fought or how high they scored on the examinations.” Chinese traditions and rules were very strict, it seems.
After Maxine finishes her story of Fa Mu Lan, the focus switches to her life in America. She speaks of how no matter what she does, nothing pleases her family, and mentions the example of straight A’s. They only see her as a disappointment, never living up to their expectations. And her life isn’t made any easier by the comments that she hears from all the Chinese immigrant villagers, such as, “Feeding girls is feeding cowbirds,” “There’s no profit in raising girls. Better to raise geese than girls,” and “I would hit her if she was mine. But then there’s no use wasting all that discipline on a girl. When you raise girls, you’re raising children for strangers.” She describes how people would shake their heads when they saw her and her sister, and how whenever her Great-Uncle would take her brothers shopping, she would not be allowed to come because she was a girl. Maxine was not given as many privileges as her brothers. Even when she grew up and went to Berkeley, she received no warm welcome on her return home. Thus, she takes a stand against these unreasonable Chinese traditions, by acting as a contumacious Chinese girl who refuses to take part in roles such as washing dishes or cooking food.
Maxine wishes that a bird would come to her as one did to Fa Mu Lan, and lead her away from her life, so that she may become a swordswoman. She tries to do good things, but can’t even accomplish them. For example, her attempt to stand up to her racist manager had only gotten her fired. Therefore, dealing with her dying relatives under Communist control in China seems like an even more daunting and impossible task.
The story of Fa Mu Lan is a major contrast to Maxine’s reality. By the end of the chapter, Maxine knows that her words are her weapons, similar to Fa Mu Lan, whose back was scarred with words of “revenge”. Both of these figures have been burdened by words, also. The only way for Maxine to use her words as weapons, is through her own effort and will. This can be seen as a parallel to Fa Mu Lan and her magical sky sword, which she had to command through her own will power.
The only things that seem to be holding Maxine back are the Chinese traditions of how women should act and behave. These Chinese traditions are bound to her, even though she is living in America. Like she says, “Even now China wraps double binds around my feet.” (p.48) Once Maxine finds her will and inner strength, she can break through these binds and break through the Chinese traditions which constantly burden her.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Parts of Maxine Revealed
When Maxine describes her aunt in the first chapter of The Woman Warrior, parts of herself are revealed through interpretation. The following are two quotes I took from the text, which reveal parts of Maxine's character.
1. "She looked at a man because she liked the way the hair was tucked behind his ears, or she liked the question mark line of a long torso, curving at the shoulder and straight at the hip. For warm eyes or a soft voice...that's all...she gave up family. She offered us up for a charm that vanished with tiredness. "Why, the wrong lighting could erase the dearest thing about him." (Pg.8)
-My interpretation of this quote is that Maxine feels her aunt was foolish and wrong in choosing this man over her family. Maxine sees a "good looking man" as temporary. It sounds as if Maxine does not like the kind of women who judge men based solely on appearance. She thinks that is an unreliable way to judge someone. Maxine is saying that she would have acted differently. She holds her family above men.
2. "But since a woman combing her hair hexes beginnings, my aunt rarely found an occasion to look her best. Women looked like great sea snails- the corded wood, babies, and laundry they carried were the whorls on their backs." (pg.10)
-I think it sounds like Maxine has an appreciation for what is beautiful. She is a teenage girl, and cares about things like clothing and appearance. She explains what she finds unattractive, "women looked like great sea snails..." Also, she says that her aunt "rarely found an occasion to look her best," but maybe this is how she feels about herself.
1. "She looked at a man because she liked the way the hair was tucked behind his ears, or she liked the question mark line of a long torso, curving at the shoulder and straight at the hip. For warm eyes or a soft voice...that's all...she gave up family. She offered us up for a charm that vanished with tiredness. "Why, the wrong lighting could erase the dearest thing about him." (Pg.8)
-My interpretation of this quote is that Maxine feels her aunt was foolish and wrong in choosing this man over her family. Maxine sees a "good looking man" as temporary. It sounds as if Maxine does not like the kind of women who judge men based solely on appearance. She thinks that is an unreliable way to judge someone. Maxine is saying that she would have acted differently. She holds her family above men.
2. "But since a woman combing her hair hexes beginnings, my aunt rarely found an occasion to look her best. Women looked like great sea snails- the corded wood, babies, and laundry they carried were the whorls on their backs." (pg.10)
-I think it sounds like Maxine has an appreciation for what is beautiful. She is a teenage girl, and cares about things like clothing and appearance. She explains what she finds unattractive, "women looked like great sea snails..." Also, she says that her aunt "rarely found an occasion to look her best," but maybe this is how she feels about herself.
Methods of Characterization
Here are the methods of characterization for Annie, in my story:
Appearance
-Wearing a pearl necklace
-14 years old
-Bags under her eyes from not much sleep, maybe stress
Inner thoughts and feelings
-I want to go shopping and have my friends buy me presents
-I don't know why my parents are fighting, I hope they don't get a divorce
Environment
-Unstable household with fighting parents
-house under-construction
What they say
-"I really want this."
-"Let's go"
-My parents have been fighting a lot lately.
What others say
-"I don't know her all that well anyways."
-"...it's not like we're that good of friends..."
-She got a ton of cash from her parents
-Half of me believed what she had wrote, but the other half wasn't sure if she was just making everything up.
Actions
-Icily brushing past us in the store
-ditching us in Longs
-Leaving us at her birthday party without explanation
-Emailing an apology
Appearance
-Wearing a pearl necklace
-14 years old
-Bags under her eyes from not much sleep, maybe stress
Inner thoughts and feelings
-I want to go shopping and have my friends buy me presents
-I don't know why my parents are fighting, I hope they don't get a divorce
Environment
-Unstable household with fighting parents
-house under-construction
What they say
-"I really want this."
-"Let's go"
-My parents have been fighting a lot lately.
What others say
-"I don't know her all that well anyways."
-"...it's not like we're that good of friends..."
-She got a ton of cash from her parents
-Half of me believed what she had wrote, but the other half wasn't sure if she was just making everything up.
Actions
-Icily brushing past us in the store
-ditching us in Longs
-Leaving us at her birthday party without explanation
-Emailing an apology
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Family Story
"Listening to parents' advice is sort of like watching commercials. You know what's coming, you've heard it all before, it's a big bore, but you listen anyways. (Or should...) "-Unknown
One of my hobbies is golfing. My dad's side of the family has always enjoyed the game, and that is how I was introduced to it. One boring afternoon, I decided to practice my chipping in the backyard. In the game of golf, a chip is normally for short distances onto the green, and so I assumed that I had plenty of space to practice outside in the yard. As usual, when I went outside, my mom told me to use the plastic golf balls instead of the real ones, because they were lighter and less prone to any sort of "accidents." I acknowledged her advice with a quick mumble.
Outside, I searched through our blue bucket of balls, but only found three plastic, aka woofle balls. I knew I would need more, and therefore grabbed a couple real golf balls also.
I warmed up, positioned near one end of the yard, facing our red, and peeling wooden play structure, and what we call "the clubhouse," built by my dad. More accurately though, it is my sisters playroom, full of all her toys. It is complete with sliding glass doors, laminate flooring, and a cute little porch. I think he did a pretty good job, for having no previous building experience.
After hitting my first few balls, I went to collect them, but only found three, and none of them were the plastic kind, which must have disappeared into the bushes. Despite that, I set up my stance, and swung at the next ball, a little harder than I had intended to. *CRASH* Millions of tiny shards of glass fell from the clubhouse window. 'Oh boy,' I thought. I went to inspect the damage, and found a nice sized hole in the window. The worst part though, happened inside the house: all of my sister's toys were littered with glass. (I must say though, it was a pretty nice shot, it went straight and everything.)
I had to tell my parents, of course, because a mess that big could not be hidden. My mom and dad were very angry, and I spent the rest of the day cleaning off every individual barbie doll and tea cup. Lucky for me, that was as far as the punishment went.
That day, I suppose I learned that I should pay more attention to my parents' advice. And I guess I can say that I do, kind of. Now whenever I practice outside, I face the other direction: towards the stone wall, only 1 1/2 yds tall, that separates the beautifully windowed house of my neighbors, and my golf balls.
...On the other hand, maybe my mom's advice still hasn't hit home.
A Quote:
I guess that makes me 50% wise, 50% stupid. :)
Monday, February 12, 2007
No Name Woman: 2 Quotes
The following are two quotes that I chose from the first chapter of The Woman Warrior.
"Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one, a story to grow up on."
This quote shows how Maxine realizes that the story her mother told her had an ulterior motive. The only reason her mother shared the secret was to prevent the same thing that happened to the aunt, from happening to Maxine. One thing you can infer about Maxine's mother, is that she is not very straightforward. Unlike Maxine, she is not blunt in what she says or does. I suppose that the mother does not feel comfortable out right telling Maxine what, or what not to do. She uses the story as a way of communicating to her daughter, making her point in a less conventional and confrontational method.
"She will add nothing unless powered by Necessity, a riverbank that guides her life."
In this quote, Maxine narrates and describes her mother. What I learned from this quote, is that Maxine's mother does not like to do more than is needed of her. She does not like to give excess information, and only shares what she believes is important. This is frustrating for Maxine, who is hungry for more information about her aunt, but who knows that her mother will never tell her more. Her mother accomplished what she wanted to do, and that was to frighten Maxine so that she would not make a dumb decision and become like her aunt. With that mission completed, Maxine's mother was already finished with the conversation, and did not want to speak of it again. (A question I had, was, 'Why was "Necessity" capitalized in this quote???)
Bibliography: Kingston, Maxine H. The Woman Warrior. Vintage International ed. New York: Random House, Inc., 1989. 5-6.
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