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?

Museum Reflections

The purpose of going to this museum was to learn about Jews in America. Many people don’t know how much Jews have contributed to pop culture in America. In the early days nobody would hire Jewish people for media or entertainment. Many people were very skeptical and thought that Jewish people were no good dirty money hogs just because they were successful and intellectual. Jews were put down a lot in the older days but still managed to rise to great things. Some of the greatest minds and talents in history were Jewish such as Albert Einstein who discovered the theory of relativity and Barbara Streisand who is one of the most famous singers of all time. Jews have also influenced culture greatly in America. They were the creators of bagels! Jewish people also started great cities like Las Vegas. This exhibit took us through a timeline of Jewish history and it was a truly interesting experience. With my family being Jewish I knew about most of the stuff but I liked sharing the experience with my peers.
“One may say 'the eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility'.”-Albert Einstein.

I chose a picture of a woman sitting at a piano with her head down. I chose this painting because it had an artistic and melancholy vibe to it. It was a painting that you could look at for a half an hour and come up with an entire story for that sad looking woman. I felt like the piano symbolized the beauty of this country and all the wonders it can bring to you but her head down meant she was struggling. She was struggling to figure out how to make the music and how to explore all of the wonders. The photo was also in black and white, which could show the black and white of her situation. It basically showed me just in one photograph how hard it could be to be an immigrant. It was a truly remarkable photograph to me and I almost didn’t want to leave it.
“I believe as an individual I can help America achieve its goals I remember last year I helped collect canned foods for the soup kitchen Also I had raised money when the twin towers fell I believe things like this may seem little but can amount to larger and bigger things” Zainab Sozzer, Pakistan. I chose this quote because it shows how much just one person can make a change. By accepting everyone into this country we can all make a difference. Every single one of us.
"The greatest thing I hope for in my life is to become a successful person and to have a family and friends to support me, not to be looked at by just the color of my skin but who I am inside."
-Samira Durakovic, Yugaslavia. I chose this quote because everyone should see through Samira’s eyes. The color of your skin doesn’t matter. Everyone needs to learn to coexist just as people. Society has separated people by their color instead of just focusing on what people they themselves will become.

Extra Credit Museum Reflection

One caricature that I found disturbing was the caricature titled “A bunch of little problems.” This was disturbing to me because they showed babies of every ethnicity being burdens or problems to Americans. Americans definitely didn’t view other ethnicities well. They were especially harsh about the Irish. A lot of cartoons showed the Irish being rude and disrespectful. They also viewed Jewish men as people with large noses. They also showed African Americans as servants or less intelligent people. A lot of the cartoons were very rude.
A caricature that I thought was humorous and enjoyable was one of the poem/pictures. There was a small hand drawn picture that had four people of different ethnicities in a square. The reading of the picture went counter clockwise and all of the little cartoon drawings had a speech bubble. When you read all of the speech bubbles counter clockwise it created a poem. I thought is was funny that they wrote all of the bubbles in English but spelled it in different ways as if all of the different little characters spoke in different accents. There were about four little pictures on the wall that were all humorous and fun to read.
Although some of the caricatures were funny or offensive there were also ones that were pro immigration. There was a picture of a song called “It’s not about where you’re from It’s who you are.” That seemed like it was written for a peace movement. I enjoyed reading the lyrics and I agreed with them. It was one of the only things in the exhibit that was positive and showed that you should accept everyone for who they are despite what their ethnicity is. I really enjoyed this exhibit and I think everyone should visit.

Immigration Project Reflection

I really liked my literature circle book. I was happy with my book choice because as a woman I felt like I connected with all of the female characters. I learned a lot about what went on in Asia during Maxine's young adulthood and how children were sold as slaves so that their parents could afford food. I liked seeing my group's thoughts on the subject of slavery and their perspectives on the characters.
I like dialectical journals better because the format is easier to follow for me. I didn’t like blogging because technology isn’t always reliable and it can fail you. I like meetings better I think they are more interactive. I had problems remembering to actually get online. I often just wanted to pick up a DJ. Blogging was harder to focus on. My group members were very good at their character analysis. When I looked at their posts I often thought of the book in another way and appreciated them for enlightening me.
When I was thinking about my painting I knew that I wanted it to be unique and creative. Instead of being blunt and obvious I painted an abstract painting that was also filled with symbolism. I don’t know if there was a connection that was clearly made between my art piece and the literature I read. Certain symbols and colors show a lot of the character’s emotions and struggles throughout the book but if I didn’t paint the piece and I was looking at it I wouldn’t know it was from that particular book.
I liked the final product of my painting. I thought it was creative and well thought out. I think lighter colors around the words in my painting would enhance the quality of my painting. Reflecting my LC novel with art was a great way to really capture the main ideas of the book. I learned exactly how to capture my book.
The interview process went pretty well. It was a little bit rough because my interviewee was gone a lot and was going through some drama. I thought the three-time interview process was rigorous but it was a good way to get to know the interviewee and get all of the information I needed.
I learned that when my interviewee came to America the first thing she thought about was how far away everything was from each other. I learned that the first time she came here to visit was when she was fourteen. I also learned that she had a lot of problems with her family.
This unit really showed me how different every single immigrant’s experience was. It showed me exactly what they had to go through to get here and how many people would kill to be in my place right now.

Woman Warrior #5

QUOTE:
"Chinese people are very weird."--page 158, nieces and nephews of Moon Orchid
SIGNIFICANCE:
This quote relates to question 7. How do Americans treat the characters? American born nieces and nephews thought that the stories and behavior of their Chinese aunt was strange. They failed to realize that their aunt, overwhelmed in the new country, was going crazy. They generalized her abnormal behavior to all Chinese people.
PERSONAL CONNECTION:
I often find that I think things of a certain culture based on one person's actions. I try not to do that and catch myself when I create a stereotype. But it's difficult to not generalize when one knows little of another culture.
QUESTION:
Do you believe in stereotypes?
QUOTE:
"Brave Orchid's daughters decided fiercely that they would never let men be unfaithful to them. All her children made up their minds to major in science and mathematics."--page 160, narrator
SIGNIFICANCE:
This quote connects to question 5. What hardships do the characters endure as they make a new life? The narrator's aunt has gone crazy and ended up without a husband. As a result of this sad story, narrator and her siblings decided to educate themselves to be self-reliant and to maintain the interest of their spouse. The hardships of the aunt shaped the future of her family.
PERSONAL CONNECTION:
I think that education is important. It gives you something to hold on to. It's a way to be resilient in the face of obstacles.
I plan to go to a university and depend on myself.
QUESTION:
Is education important? Why or why not?

Woman Warrior #4

QUOTE: " But she never told him that she wanted to come to the Untied States. She waited for him to suggest it, but he never did. Nor did she tell him that her sister had been working for years to transport here here."--page 124, narrator
SIGNIFICANCE:
This quote relates to question 1. Why have the characters in your book come to America? The author's aunt, Moon Orchid, came to the United States to be with her family. Her husband has supported her life for thirty years by sending money to China, but he never asked his wife to come and live with him in the States. Finally she decided, with the help of her sister and daughter, to make the journey to America without his help.
PERSONAL CONNECTION:
I think that distance is a very difficult thing for families. I have family in Florida and New York. It's difficult sometimes, when I would like to see them, but the money or time is an obstacle.
QUESTION:
Why do you think that Moon Orchid's husband never asked her to fly to the United States to be with him?
QUOTE:
"He looked directly at Moon Orchid the way savages looked, looking for lies. "what do you want?" he asked."--page 152, narrator and Moon Orchid's husband
SIGNIFICANCE:
This quote talks about the way Moon Orchid's husband reacted after seeing her for the first time in thirty years. It answers question 4. What challenges do the characters face upon their arrival? Moon Orchid has a husband who wants nothing to do with her. She is stuck depending on her sister and children for companionship.
CHARACTER JUDGEMENT:
Moon Orchid's husband is cold and seems uncaring. He started a new life in the United States, remarried, and forgot about his first wife. He offered to continue giving Moon Orchid money, but emotionally he wants nothing to do with her. I think that he acted without honor and tired to blend in with the American way too much. He should have divorced Moon Orchid.
QUESTION:
Why did moon Orchid's husband offer to continue paying her money even though he had a new life?