In the United States, women weren’t allowed to join the military until the beginning of the twentieth century. This law, however, didn’t stop northerner Deborah Sampson. Like a modern era Mulan, Sampson dressed up as a man in the continental army during the Revolutionary War. Deborah Sampson showed perseverance, bravery, and a disregard for gender norms as she fought alongside unsuspecting men for over two years, earning herself a rightful place in the history books that has yet to be properly represented. Deborah Sampson was born into a poor family in the southeastern part of Massachusetts and worked as an indentured servant for 12 years as she grew up.
Instead, she writes of her propaganda filled childhood from a disillusioned state. I think Wang Zheng’s would pay attention to the usage of women’s bodies in the Red
In these novels it is clearly seen that this form of writing is important in retaining and embracing a person’s and or a group’s cultural Identity. This paper is going to focus on the importance of talk-story. Maxine Hong Kingston uses talk-story to tell the stories of her childhood in The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. In using this form Kingston learns how to retain the customs of The Old China ways that her parents, especially her mother tells her and her siblings about. Kingston having been born in
Women are viewed as fragile and delicate, but strong enough to keep a house clean, kids in line and a happy husband. Women are expected to be stay at home moms and depend on their husbands for everything while having no opinions of their own. However, there are women who have overlooked those expectations and proved that women are capable of doing anything. Deborah Sampson and Elizabeth Van Lew are just two women who have helped break the norms of women’s roles in society. Sampson’s impressive braveness and loyalty to fight for her country against all odds have proved that women are capable to endure harsh horrors.
In The Woman Warrior, Kingston describes the everyday ghosts she sees as a symbolic reference to the unknown people who she cannot identify with in order to illustrate to the reader how isolated she felt around the ghosts. As Kingston and her family continue to live in America, they perceive everyone as unknown because they are very different by culture, race, and way of living. Kingston feels isolated because she is not able to speak English very well, everyone around her thinks she is "strange" because she does not look "normal" in an American society. In addition, her parents do not pay as much attention to her as they do with her brothers because they cherish them over her. She does not care about her grades because her parents would only
In The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston seemingly creates a theatrical performance where Kingston engages in swordfights against the socio-cultural norms that seek to define the construction of her own identity. The Woman Warrior presents many unique literary devices and motifs that seemingly create a theatrical performance, although the curtain will never rise, and the audience must watch the performance from behind a curtain. The many unique literary devices provide many important features of the text that seek to define Kingston’s overall feelings without lifting the thin veneer Kingston has strategically placed. Kingston employs a talk-story narrative as a very important narrative device throughout the text.
She uses personal interviews and firsthand accounts to show the psychological trauma inflicted on survivors, as well as the wider cultural and societal impact of the event. For example, she details the rise of the “Comfort Women” system, in which thousands of Chinese women were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military. This system not only had a devastating impact on the women and their families but also on Chinese culture as a whole, as it created a deep-seated sense of shame and stigma that still remains to this
Escobedo’s book sheds light on the contributions of Mexican American women to the war effort and their struggles for equality and recognition. This perspective is often overlooked in traditional narratives of World War II, which tend to focus on the experiences of the white men. Another aspect that stands out is the author’s use of oral histories and personal narratives. By including the voices of Mexican American women who are often overlooked in histories of the war. By exploring the experiences of Mexican American women who worked in defense industries, volunteered for the Red Cross, and participated in other forms of civic engagement, Elizabeth R. Escobedo shows how these women challenged traditional gender roles and racial stereotypes, and gained greater economic and social mobility.
Over the course of history, the role of women has changed numerous times. Before the Han Dynasty, there was little emphasis on women and their roles in society. During the Han, even though women were still considered inferior to men, there was a rise of women in society, including authors and historians, and to top it off some women even held powerful positions in the court like Empress Lu. Section 17 in the Ebrey textbook covers the topic of women’s virtues and vices. By using excerpts from the Biographies of Heroic Women and Admonitions for Women, Ebrey is providing detailed evidence and stories to show the audience the significance and position of women in these times.
Maxine Hong Kingston's use of talk stories in The Woman Warrior emphasizes that individuals will find a more fulfilling life if they defy the traditional gender norms place on them by society. While contemplating beauty standards in Chinese society in “No Name Woman” Maxine Kingston thinks, “Sister used to sit on their beds and cry together… as their mothers or their slaves removed the bandages for a few minutes each night and let the blood gush back into their veins” (9). From a young age girls are expected to be binding their feet and are told that it is to look beautiful, but in reality that is not why. When a womans feet are bound they are restrained and silenced. These girls could be free and happy but they are restrained by men through this binding.
Maxine Hong Kingston is an accomplished Chinese-American writer whose influential work, "The Woman Warrior," is a literary masterpiece. This memoir is a perfect blend of autobiography, fiction, and Chinese folklore that delves deep into the themes of cultural identity, gender, and the immigrant experience. Through her writing, Kingston intricately weaves together personal anecdotes, Chinese folklore, and cultural commentary that explore the complex interplay between her gender and cultural heritage. The memoir is a thought-provoking journey that takes readers through the intersections of being a woman and a Chinese-American. Kingston's work sheds light on how these dual identities shape her understanding of herself and her place in the world.
Others feel that Fa Mu Lan and Brave Orchid’s stories are meant to intertwine. “In her memoirs, Kingston tells of her search for women role models, interweaving imaginative stories concerning such characters as Fa Mu Lan, a Chinese woman warrior, with memories of her own relationship with her strong-willed mother, Brave Orchid” (Franks 2). Franks’ belief in the similarities between Brave Orchid and Fa Mu Lan suggest that each Woman Warrior is connected, and that each one has a different purpose in the story. With Franks supporting the idea that Brave Orchid and Fa Mu Lan are similar, she has an interesting addition to her analysis. “Even now,” Kingston says, “China wraps double binds around my feet.”
In The Woman Warrior, Kingston uses Moon Orchid's cowardliness as a symbol for oppression in order to prove the effects of mistreatment, on women's health, confidence, and deterioration of family relationships. Moon Orchid has traveled across the ocean to come to America for her husband, yet when she finds out he is remarried she cannot bear to face him. She lacks confidence because she has never been given control of her life, which is due to the discrimination against women. People assumed she could not take care of herself because she was a woman. She has always had someone tending to her needs and helping her complete tasks, which has lessened her ability to obtain control over her life.
The authority of tradition in the society Kingston lived in is very oppressive. Living in a male-dominated society forces Kingston to live in curiosity and fear due to her aunt 's act of adultery. Brave Orchid, Kingston 's mother, draws on Chinese myths and experiences to teach Chinese traditions and customs to her daughter. They are not usually fact, so Kingston has to decipher what is real from what is fantasy. The story opens up a world of imagination for her about not only what it is like for her aunt, but what it may be like for her.
With the rise of civilization also came the rise of patriarchy-based societies and the slow decline of the importance of women in society. For the longest time the history of the world has been written by men who have been the head of the patriarchy and have forgotten the role of women in history. It is important to realize that women do in fact have a place at the table with men when it comes to importance in history, and are not just the ones cooking and serving the meal. It is women who tasked with raising the next generation. By looking at women of the past, people of the future can learn and evolve to fight oppression and gain their own power.
