The Woman Warrior extra credit book review

The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong was a memoir of a girl growing up in the Chinese culture. It was an interesting book showing the narrator, Maxine Hong, at different stages of her life. She had a very twisted family life and a lot of family related drama. Maxine, her mother, and her aunt were very complex characters.

Maxine, the narrator, was born into Chinese culture and desperately wanted to escape. She was brave, disturbed, or depressed throughout the story. Brave Orchid, Maxine’s mother, was a very intelligent yet close-minded character. She was very protective of her culture and this cause a lot of issues between her and Maxine. Moon Orchid, Maxine’s aunt, was a woman who was betrayed by her estranged husband and this caused Brave Orchid to try and fight back. This situation also caused a lot of Brave Orchid’s paranoia because she thought she would end up like her sister.

This story would often go into the story of someone else. Maxine would tell stories that she made up or she was told in different parts of the book. Sometimes she would tell stories that her mother had told her about her mother’s past. These little stories kept the book very interesting to me.
I loved Maxine’s writing style and how she showed her twisted and/or confused thought process at different points in the book. People from age twelve and up should definitely read this book. It shows the struggles of a new life from all of the characters perspectives.
All in all I really liked this book. It was an interesting memoir and really opened my eyes to Chinese culture. It was a real page-turner and I often didn’t want to put it down. You should definitely read The Woman Warrior.

Woman Warrior#6

Quote#1

"If only I could let my mother know the list, she-and the world-would become more like me, and I would never be alone again." Pg.198-Maxine Hong
I chose this quote because it shows how much guilt she had built up. The page before this quote shows the narrator, Maxine, creating a list of all the bad things she had done in her head. She is explaining how she would like to show her mother the list and get it off of her chest. She is looking back on everything that she had done and wants to gain back the ties she severed with her mother. This counts as a hardship that Maxine had to endure during her new life. She didn't want to be a part of the Chinese culture that she so much hated but she didn't want to be alone.

Personal connection:

I have a personal connection to this quote and part of the story. My family is Jewish. They are not super religious but they are involved in the Jewish community and we celebrate all of the holidays. A year or two ago I decided that I didn't want to be part of a religion. It was not because I had anything against it. It was because I felt like religion in general restricted people from living life to the fullest. I felt like that "my belief is the right belief" stuff wasn't appealing. It is hard to separate from something that your entire family is a part of. Maxine wanting to get away from her Chinese culture is like me wanting to get away from my religion that I was born into.

Why does the narrator invoke Fa Mu Lan and Ts'ai Yen?

Quote#2

"I cut it to make you talk more, not less, you dummy."
Earlier in the chapter Maxine's mother talked about how she cut Maxine's tongue when she was little so that she wouldn't be tongue tied. Maxine thought of this as her mother's way of getting her to stop talking when it was really to get her to talk more. Maxine's mother seemed like she only verbally abused and hurt her feelings because that is what the Chinese do. That was part of their culture so Maxine's mother justified it.


Why does the author never give her name in the narrator’s tales?

Woman Warrior #2

QUOTE:
"We had lost males before, cousins and uncles would were conscripted into armies or bonded as apprentices, who are almost as lowly as slave girls." - page 33, narrator
SIGNIFICANCE:
This quote shows a hardship that Maxine had to face. Her mother said she would be a wife and slave and she is comparing some of the males with how lowly women were thought of. Apprentices were equivalent to slaves. This always shows how hard it would be to be in Maxine's shoes because of how many people she has lost.
PERSONAL CONNECTION:
I can't connect personally with this quote because I have not been in her position. I can relate by saying that people that I know can be belittled and thought of as lower than they are.
QUESTION:
Do you think Maxine will be able to survive?
QUOTE:
"I am useless, one more girl who couldn’t be sold. When I visit the family now, I wrap my American successes around me like a private shawl."-- page 42, narrator
SIGNIFICANCE:
This shows that she protects herself with her success. She very insecure. She thinks she's useless so she uses America as a cover.
PERSONAL CONNECTION:
I can connect to this because I can be very insecure at times too. Sometimes I try to find things that I can shield myself with.
QUESTION:
How do you mask you insecurities?