The Woman Warrior Vs Woman – Essay – Sophiamigc
Search
Essays
Sign up
Sign in
Contact us
Tweet
Index
/Literature
The Woman Warrior Vs Woman
Both the poem Woman, by Fu Hsuan, and The Woman Warrior, by Maxine Hong Kingston, deal with female stereotypes and repression. In both of the writings, the women grow up with amongst stereotypes, but in The Woman Warrior Kingston rejects them, while the lady in Woman accepts her fate and gives up.
Both the poem and the novel show the repression of Chinese women and how they are seen as inferior to men. The women in these two pieces of writing grow up believing that men are superior to them and that they are worthless. Woman talks about how, in Chinese tradition, having a son is far better than having a daughter. The poem says this specifically, “No one is glad when a girl is born”(Fu 7). This idea set the stage for female repression and ensures that all girls begin their lives with hate and resentment. If you grow up with everyone telling you that you are worthless, then you begin to believe it. This idea is also central in Kingston’s childhood. Kingston’s grandfather will never take her or her sister outside the house or even bring them candy. His granddaughters embarrass him, but he dotes on his grandsons. Kingston does not understand why this is, only that she is not important to her family. Both the poem and the novel speak of the stereotypes in Chinese culture that are put upon girls right from birth.
In the poem Woman, the main character accepts her fate as inferior and does nothing to try to get herself out of the stereotype of worthlessness, much like the way that Moon Orchid does not assert herself. Her childhood of repression made her believe that she truly was of no importance. As the poem says, “How sad it is to be a woman!/Nothing on earth is held so cheap”(Fu 1-2). This woman ultimately gives up and does not fight for herself or her rights. The woman in the poem hides in her room and bows her head so no one can see her. She kneels and submits herself to her family, her husband, and even her servants. She asserts herself as the lowliest of the low because that is what society expects of her and what she expects of herself. This woman has never believed in her gender, nor seen anything or anyone to make her do so. She spends her whole life humbling herself and weakly giving in. The woman in this poem is similar to Moon Orchid in The Woman Warrior. Moon Orchid is weak and timid. She does not believe in herself, just like the woman described in the poem. When Moon Orchid goes to win back her husband, all she can do is cry. “Moon Orchid began to whimperall she did was open and shut her mouth without any words coming out”(Kingston 152). Moon Orchid is too scared to speak up for herself, because she has never defended herself before and so she does not know how. Kingston does not portray Moon Orchid in
Continue for 3 more pages »
Read full document
Download as (for upgraded members)
Citation Generator
MLA 7
CHICAGO
(2015, 09). The Woman Warrior Vs Woman. EssaysForStudent.com. Retrieved 09, 2015, from
“The Woman Warrior Vs Woman” EssaysForStudent.com. 09 2015. 2015. 09 2015 <
"The Woman Warrior Vs Woman." EssaysForStudent.com. EssaysForStudent.com, 09 2015. Web. 09 2015. <
"The Woman Warrior Vs Woman." EssaysForStudent.com. 09, 2015. Accessed 09, 2015.
Essay Preview
By: Sophiamigc
Submitted: September 20, 2015
Essay Length: 878 Words / 4 Pages
Paper type: Essay Views: 565
Report this essay
Tweet
Related Essays
Storytelling and Tradition a Comparison of Maus and the Woman Warrior
The stories Maus and The Woman Warrior that we read this semester seem very different from each other, but I think that they both contain
2,733 Words  |  11 Pages
The Woman Warrior Argumentative Essay
Eric Perinotti Professor Sachdev Writing and Thinking The Woman Warrior Argumentative Essay Maxine Hong Kingston’s novel The Woman Warrior is a series of narrations, vividly
729 Words  |  3 Pages
Chinese and American Ghosts (woman Warrior)
In the novel The Woman Warrior Maxine Hong Kingston uses ghosts to represent a battle between American and Chinese cultures. The two cultures have
484 Words  |  2 Pages
Woman Warrior Essay
Woman Warrior Essay Maxine Hong Kingston’s novel, The Woman Warrior is a semi-autobiographical collection of short stories that chronicles her childhood in California. It gives
298 Words  |  2 Pages
The Woman Warrior and Loving in the War Years
In their books “The Woman Warrior” and “Loving in the War Years,” Maxine Hong Kingston and Cherrie Moraga write about the persistence of social
897 Words  |  4 Pages
Similar Topics
Woman Rebel
Get Access to 89,000+ Essays and Term Papers
Join 209,000+ Other Students
High Quality Essays and Documents
Sign up
© 2008–2020 EssaysForStudent.comFree Essays, Book Reports, Term Papers and Research Papers
Essays
Sign up
Sign in
Contact us
Site Map
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Facebook
Twitter