The legend of Mulan, a brave young Chinese girl who pretends to be a man and joins the army in order to help her old father, is an example of stories of women characters that take the non-traditional role of warrior. This figure that challenges traditional role models had been a source of inspiration for many young Chinese girls. Inspired by this legend, Maxine Hong Kingston narrates the powerful memories that she recalls of growing up in a Chinese-American family. In her book The Warrior Woman-White Tigers she tells how her story of Fa Mu Lan has symbolized the power of warrior women.
Similarly to the classic legend of Fa Mu Lan, Kingston’s story describes the ideal of a woman who serves to her country as a soldier without leaving her traditional woman role model behind. In the chapter “White Tigers”, Kingston remembers her mother’s story about Fa Mu Lan, the woman warrior and she dreams to become fearless liker her. However, the legend is not sufficient for Kingston because it does not allow her to cope with her American heritage. She readapts it to her fictional autobiographical novel, creating a new woman warrior who confronts old and new. This warrior, Kingston herself, is brave, daring, and rebellious. She reveals what was a secret in the old Chinese world and highlights how her new life in the free American world seems so uninteresting. …show more content…
“White Tigers" is the story of her own childhood fantasy of overcoming feelings of inferiority as a female. Kingston feels a connection with the woman warrior and, and she re-imagines her story in the first person, as if she were the protagonist herself. Fa Mu Lan, the true warrior becomes the standard by which Kingston measures herself: “The swordswoman and I are not dissimilar. May my people understand the resemblance soon so that I can return to them. What we have in common are the words at our
Similarly to the classic legend of Fa Mu Lan, Kingston’s story describes the ideal of a woman who serves to her country as a soldier without leaving her traditional woman role model behind. In the chapter “White Tigers”, Kingston remembers her mother’s story about Fa Mu Lan, the woman warrior and she dreams to become fearless liker her. However, the legend is not sufficient for Kingston because it does not allow her to cope with her American heritage. She readapts it to her fictional autobiographical novel, creating a new woman warrior who confronts old and new. This warrior, Kingston herself, is brave, daring, and rebellious. She reveals what was a secret in the old Chinese world and highlights how her new life in the free American world seems so uninteresting. …show more content…
“White Tigers" is the story of her own childhood fantasy of overcoming feelings of inferiority as a female. Kingston feels a connection with the woman warrior and, and she re-imagines her story in the first person, as if she were the protagonist herself. Fa Mu Lan, the true warrior becomes the standard by which Kingston measures herself: “The swordswoman and I are not dissimilar. May my people understand the resemblance soon so that I can return to them. What we have in common are the words at our