Americans are constantly “just talking” and value the individual and expressing one’s self. In contrast, The Chinese culture values secrets and introvertism. In Maxine Hong Kingston’s Woman Warrior, Maxine must find her way through America while pleasing her Chinese family. She struggles to categorize herself into either society and finding a sense of identity. Kingston uses Maxine’s struggle to illustrate that when one is stuck between two cultures, one tends to have a harder time finding a sense of identity. As a result, one must battle to find themselves. While it may be a tough battle, the individual ultimately realizes their true identity. Kingston uses Maxine’s quarrel with her mom to highlight her colliding cultures. Maxine grows up …show more content…
Ts’ai Yen and Maxine have similar stories and Maxine notes that “It translated well”(209). ‘Translating’ is taking an idea from one language, or culture, and moving it to another language or culture without losing the idea’s meaning. The story of Ts’ai Yen was a translation of Maxine’s struggle. Both Maxine and Ts’ai Yen lived in culture that was not their own. As a result, they grew lonely and lost their sense of identity. When they finally were fed up with feeling lost, they both had a moment where they exploded and told people how they were feeling lost in the culture's strange ways. Ts’ai Yen’s song has lived on through the generations, showing others how it feels when living with colliding cultures. Not everyone can understand what it feels like to be lost and without a sense of identity, but Ts’ai Yen captures that emotion so anyone can empathize. Similarly, Maxine’s throat bursting shows her family how isolated she felt. However, once she told them about her secrets, she no longer needed their approval because she realizes that she is finally free of their