Rhetorical Techniques: No Name Woman By Maxine Hong Kingston

Analyzing Rhetorical Techniques: "No Name Woman"

In her essay "No Name Woman," Maxine Hong Kingston investigates how gender impacts every element of a person's existence in Chinese society. The typical perspective of women's roles in Chinese culture. Through a fictitious affiliation with the female warrior, she shows the poverty and suffering of Chinatown, the entrenched sexism and racism, and the spiritual sorrow of cultural transition under challenging situations. Kingston uses the story of a lady hanged for adultery to illustrate the ugliness and corruption of the culture. In this essay, I will evaluate the effectiveness of the rhetorical devices and narrative approaches utilized in the article.

The phrase "No Name Woman" suggests that

Kingston, unable to approach her aunt, whom she only knows as "No-Name Woman," concocts rationalizations for why she gave in to her forbidden desires. Her aunt may be a frightened victim forced to comply with a rapist's demands. In one scenario, her aunt desperately tries to appear attractive to a man while secretly yearning for him. Kingston emphasizes that her fantasies must be realistic and related to her reality; for example, she does not believe that her aunt is crazy and unethical. Kingston identifies with her aunt because she disregards cultural and societal standards by prioritizing her interests over those of her family. According to Kingston, such rites were necessary for sustaining unity in society, primarily when many of its members were related. Every type of sexual desire threatens humanity because it may lead to incestuous relationships or

"Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one, a story to grow up on." In the story, Kingston's mother informed her that her aunt committed suicide after becoming pregnant outside of wedlock, humiliating her, her family, and the community. Kingston, a young lady at the time, was told by her mother, "Now that you have started to menstruate, what happened to her could happen to you. Don't humiliate us. You wouldn't like to be forgotten as if you had never been born. The villagers are watchful." This comment is hardly clever; it sounds rather frightening. Moreover, Kingston's memoir begins, "You must not tell anyone." It is contradictory that so much of what Kingston's mother teaches her daughter is centered on explaining and giving voice to Chinese customs, traditions, and prior incarnations. Ironically, Kingston is essentially educating