Maxine Hong Kingston Analysis

 From The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston:

“Buy nothing. Don’t bring one cent. Go and make them stop the curse” (p.453).

“Who’d want to marry you anyway? Noisy. Talking like a duck. Disobedient. Messy. And I know about college.” (p.466)


    In the first part of this reading, I was confused about her mother talking about ghosts. She was freaking out in concern that the whole family was going to get sick because of the delivery being wrong. As she continued to explain, she forced Maxine to go almost every day to get candy to make sure the curse was not going to be on their house. Her mother constantly talking about the ghosts and I believe it was in reference to a cultural difference. Their family was trying to blend into the community because they were immigrants in the United States. Her mother constantly feared something happening to their family.

    In the section where the second quote is from Maxine is standing up to her mother and yet the mother fights back and still makes nasty comments about her. She explains no matter what her mother thinks she is brilliant and able to go to college for what she decides. She started off school with an IQ of 0. To look at how far she has come and pushed herself to be is amazing. She needed to believe in herself even when her mother did not. Maxine’s mother tore her down constantly and this was her standing up for what she knew was right and true. She left her mother's control in order to accomplish her goals and was not going to let her mother stop her.


Word Count:270 

Comments

  1. Women and Gender StudiesApril 7, 2021 at 6:39 AM

    I agree I was very confused a the beginning of the passage t. I still do not understand who the ghost are because she had so many different examples of them meaning different things in the passage. her mother was a mean women and I like how she rose up and tried to be the best her. I do wonder what her sickness was and how it effected her. In the story it says her mother cut some of her tong, she was clumsy and weak.

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  2. Gianna GraviusApril 7, 2021 at 6:40 AM

    I also was confused about the references to the "ghosts", and came to the realization that her other was referring to the cultural differences. I agree that the way Maxine pushed herself is amazing. She had no support at home in her endeavors at school and had to keep herself motivated to get the grades that she needed to get into college. Her mother was so cruel to her and never believed in her and I could not imagine having a relationship like that with my own mother.

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