“Conception: The Origins of a Story” as Applied to The Woman Warrior Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior depicts the hardships Kingston faces as she attempts to balance the culture of the country in which she resides, America, and the culture of her home country, China. This struggle is shown by Kingston’s account of various parts of her childhood, which shape who she is. Rather than simply a list of Kingston’s experiences, The Woman Warrior is a novel with broad social implications. Application of the chapter “Conception: The Origins of a Story” from Technique in Fiction to The Woman Warrior reveals that Kingston’s anecdotes, however different, all portray Kingston’s experiences in a way that is easy for readers to relate to. In
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In The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston uses dialogue to relay anecdotes from her childhood while her style adds interest to her work. Since she is speaking about her own life experiences, Kingston is knowledgeable about her subject and thus sheds her own personal light on the matter. Kingston adheres to the methods described in the chapter “Style and Speech” in Technique in Fiction, using style and dialogue to share her childhood experiences in a way that will not bore readers. With regard to style, a subject that interests the writer is of the utmost importance. In The Woman Warrior, Kingston discusses her own childhood. Since Kingston’s subject is one that she is familiar with, she is able to speak in a “personal or very original” way (Macauley and Lanning 56). In this manner, Kingston clearly conveys the emotions she felt as she grew up, such as her curiosity about her aunt. The story of her aunt intrigues Kingston, as shown by the fact that she has “not asked for details,” but instead creates scenarios to fill in the missing details (Kingston 16). As a result, she is able to write “No Name Woman” in unique and personal way, using it to symbolize her own internal struggle as she is exposed to both American and Chinese culture. With any other subject, Kingston would not have been able to …show more content…
This allows the reader to experience not just Kingston’s emotions, but those of the speaker as well. For example, in the first chapter, Kingston starts off the novel with Brave Orchid’s story about her husband’s sister. Rather than telling the story to the readers from Kingston’s point of view, Kingston tells it from Brave Orchid’s point of view through dialogue. As a result, the reader can sense the fear Brave Orchid feels when the villagers storm the house, shown by certain phrases said by Brave Orchid, such as when she says that she “could hear the animals scream their deaths” (Kingston 4). In addition, telling the story through Brave Orchid’s dialogues allows Kingston to show the readers that Brave Orchid told stories “to grow up on” and that the story is forbidden and a secret, shown by Brave Orchid’s warning that Kingston “must not tell anyone” the story (Kingston 5, 3). Although it is said that conversation is no substitute for “reporting by direct observation,” as it “dulls the edge of the event,” Kingston uses dialogue in a way that reveals information about the main events and anecdotes in the novel (Macauley and Lanning
In The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston uses dialogue to relay anecdotes from her childhood while her style adds interest to her work. Since she is speaking about her own life experiences, Kingston is knowledgeable about her subject and thus sheds her own personal light on the matter. Kingston adheres to the methods described in the chapter “Style and Speech” in Technique in Fiction, using style and dialogue to share her childhood experiences in a way that will not bore readers. With regard to style, a subject that interests the writer is of the utmost importance. In The Woman Warrior, Kingston discusses her own childhood. Since Kingston’s subject is one that she is familiar with, she is able to speak in a “personal or very original” way (Macauley and Lanning 56). In this manner, Kingston clearly conveys the emotions she felt as she grew up, such as her curiosity about her aunt. The story of her aunt intrigues Kingston, as shown by the fact that she has “not asked for details,” but instead creates scenarios to fill in the missing details (Kingston 16). As a result, she is able to write “No Name Woman” in unique and personal way, using it to symbolize her own internal struggle as she is exposed to both American and Chinese culture. With any other subject, Kingston would not have been able to …show more content…
This allows the reader to experience not just Kingston’s emotions, but those of the speaker as well. For example, in the first chapter, Kingston starts off the novel with Brave Orchid’s story about her husband’s sister. Rather than telling the story to the readers from Kingston’s point of view, Kingston tells it from Brave Orchid’s point of view through dialogue. As a result, the reader can sense the fear Brave Orchid feels when the villagers storm the house, shown by certain phrases said by Brave Orchid, such as when she says that she “could hear the animals scream their deaths” (Kingston 4). In addition, telling the story through Brave Orchid’s dialogues allows Kingston to show the readers that Brave Orchid told stories “to grow up on” and that the story is forbidden and a secret, shown by Brave Orchid’s warning that Kingston “must not tell anyone” the story (Kingston 5, 3). Although it is said that conversation is no substitute for “reporting by direct observation,” as it “dulls the edge of the event,” Kingston uses dialogue in a way that reveals information about the main events and anecdotes in the novel (Macauley and Lanning