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unlocking the novel
a guide to modernism and postmodernism
Understanding Maxine Hong Kingston's The
Woman Warrior: Memoir of a Childhood among Ghosts
You must not
tell anyone what I am about to tell you. - Maxine's mother, The Woman Warrior
If you have read her books, hearing Maxine Hong Kingston's
voice is a surprise. It is slightly breathless, almost girlish, out
of sync with that of the fiercely impudent, unforgiving narrator of The
Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. . . . In this
phantasmagoric portrait of an artist growing up female and
Chinese-American in Stockton, California, she has a 'pressed-duck
voice' to go with a fiery temper. - The New York Times
The
swordswoman and I are not so dissimilar. . . . What we have in
common are the words at our backs. The idioms for revenge are
'report a crime' and 'report to five families.' The reporting is the
vengeance--not the beheading, not the gutting, but the words. - Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior
Overview:
On
this WebQuest, you will learn a bit about the life and work of
Maxine Hong Kingston, with particular focus on her first book, The
Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts.
Step 1:
Learn a bit about Kingston's life and work.
Begin by reading this overview from Voices
from the Gap: Women Writers of Color. Pin-chia
Feng's overview of Kingston is also excellent (even if
Kingston's name is spelled incorrectly at the top of the
page). As you read The Woman Warrior, you may also find
these study
questions helpful.
Step 2: Explore the Chinese-American cultural
world of The Woman Warrior.
You are not required to look at these
materials until next week, but if you're just itching to learn more, check
out:
Becoming American: The
Chinese Experience (A Bill Moyers Special)
Chinatown (A PBS Special)
Reflection Question #1
What is talk-story, and what role does it play in
Kingston’s life and in her developing work?
Reflection Question #2
In terms of literary genre, what possible labels could be
put on The Woman Warrior? List as many as you think of—and
then make a case for the label you prefer.
Return
to unlocking the postmodern novel.
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