Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior

Culture refers to beliefs, shared values, and norms of a group. Therefore, Culture defines our identity, influencing the way we act and learn. In The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, Maxine Hong Kingston is trapped between two identities, to be an obedient housewife or a woman warrior that shatters those cultural expectations. Growing up, Kingston is surrounded by the individualistic and nationalistic nature of the United States but is constantly insulted for being the, “weaker sex.” However, Brave Orchid, Kingston’s mother, contradicts those cultural traditions by sharing inspiring tales of woman warriors like Fa Mulan and Brave Orchid herself. Through her mother’s stories, Kingston realizes that she ultimately wants to be a woman warrior. To help Kingston understand the value of women in traditional Chinese society, Brave Orchid reveals the story of her adulterous aunt. In response, Kingston realizes that “Women in the Old China did not choose, some man had commanded her to lie with him and be his secret evil” (Kingston 6). In Chinese culture women had no sense of choice; their roles were predetermined as nothing but a slave. People did not view women as the source of human life, but as a source of lust and evil, considered inferior to men, both …show more content…
While Kingston fights against discrimination from her culture, she is claiming that she can rise above the social norms and become an individual who can conquer anything like Fa Mu Lan. In the end, Brave Orchid allows Kingston to take ownership of her own path. A parent should not be obliged to dictate the lives of their children. Ultimately, their life is their responsibility and a parent’s job are to not to dictate but to direct. Furthermore, to achieve the life that we long for, we must adopt ownership of our identity. When we realize that our life is ours to live, we are capable of doing