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Abstract
This paper argues how to pursue and construct ethic selfhood in “No Name Woman” and “White Tigers” in the novel of The Woman Warrior:Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts written by Maxine Hong Kingston through textual analysis of the three process of losing selfhood,discovering selfhood and constructing selfhood. Based on “The umbilical cord flew with the red flag...”,this paper suggests this is a selfhood flag that will be transformed into nationhood,symbolizing the courage for pursuing and constructing free,ethnic selfhood so as to arouse ethnic females’ subject consciousness.
By textual analysis,this paper concludes that the narrator experiences the process of growth and tranformation:losing selfhood,discovering selfhood and constructing selfhood in the perspective of feminism. Encouraging the ethnic females to make efforts to pursue selfhood construction and due rights has important and practical significance.
We use feminism criticism theory to study the way to pursue and construct ethnic selfhood in the perspective of feminism for narrator “I” in this paper. The ethnic selfhood construction is the main question that will be discussed in the following:above all,this paper illustrates the selfhood-lost in the “context of modernization;next,this paper looks at the selfhood-discovery and selfhood-pursuit in the trap on the earth;the last but not least,this paper argues the ideal selfhood-construction as a ethnic female,which can guide ethnic females to pursue their due rights.
Selfhood-lost means that an individual blindly yields to the public or do something with the flow,although he or she has his own or her own standpoints,opinions and views,he or she can not adhere to himself or herself. Here,what this paper argues is the ethnic seflhood-lost influenced by sexual discrimination in “No Name Woman”. In “No Name Woman”,the essay narrates that the aunt is pregnant and then she commits suicide from the angle of “my” mother. Because “I” make associations,the “aunt event” occurs all along. Aunt is a female generation influenced and enslaved by patriarchal thoughts in ancient time. Without any choices,generations of females comply with males’ order and bear their crosses which males bring. Just as the saying in the beginning of the essay goes,“ ‘You must not tell anyone,’ my mother said,‘what I am about to tell you.’ In China your father had a sister who killed herself. She jumped into the family well.
There are connections between “No Name Woman”,the first chapter of this novel,and “White Tigers”,the second chapter of this novel. “I” lose selfhood in “No Name Woman”,so “I” will make an effort to discover and pursue selfhood. This part suggests that what “I” suffer from hunger and cold when “I” learn martial arts from masters on the mountain of White Tigers is almost the reality of Kingston’s life in America,which often contains the discrimination from the outside world and the life pressure from herself and family. Part from the disappointment towards racial discrimination and sexual discrimination in “No Name Woman”,“I” decide to go up the mountain and learn skills as a woman warrior in dreams so as to revenge for “no name woman”. In “White Tigers”,Kingston narrates that “I” learn and practice the acrobatic skills in the mountain of White Tigers;“I” take “my” father’s place in the conscription army as a daughter who disguises herself as a male soldier,“I” get rid of the cruel and pacify the good and return in triumph. The process of learning skills on the mountains of the White Tigers can be called the process of selfhood-discovery and selfhood-pursuit. In order to pursue selfhood,there is much pain “I” suffered in succession from missing “my” parents during learing martial arts. “I” need to “bear to stay with an old man and an old woman for fifteen years to become a warrior” and “avenge ‘my’ village” instead of living with “my mother and father”(Kingston 1989,21- 22).
Selfhood-construction is the most important process for Chinese American,especially for Chinese American women. Only realizing the significance of ethnic selfhood,can they make a decision to pursue and construct selfhood. Considering how to take actions to construct selfhood,there are strong powers in their deep hearts to support themselves. In “White Tigers”,“I” become a “woman warrior” dressed as boys in dream,“my” martial arts are masterly,“I” charge forward,“I” rob the rich to help the poor to revenge for villagers who are oppressed as well as deprived. Such “woman warrior” is a new female who has the integrated feature of Chinese traditional filial piety,the awareness of feminism and the awareness of selfhood. Traditionally,the exclusive image of male,such as strong physique,masterly martial arts,tenacity,excellent military talents,etc. and the traditional female image,for instance,pregnancy,giving birth to and bringing up children,ploughing and weeding,weaving and so on,converge together in an individual,creating an ideal image of women. “I” take “my” father’s place to be drafted,and “ ‘ we are going to carve revenge on your back,’ my father said. ‘we’ll write oaths and names’ ”,and “ ‘where you go,whatever happens to you,people will know our sacrifice,’ ” my mother said.
All in all,from the perspective of feminism,this paper examines the selfhood-lost,selfhood-pursuit and selfhood-construction by analysis of “No Name Woman” and “White Tigers” of The Woman Warrior:Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts,including the imagined story as well as the description of reality. The purpose of this study is to provide a reference not only for Chinese American females but also for all women around the world to remould their ideas and to display the value of their life when they face a variety of values.
References
[1]Kingston,Maxine Hong. 1989. The Woman Warrior:Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts. New York:Vintage.
[2]董姝雯. 2012. 對《女勇士》中东方主义的解读[D]. 辽宁大学.
[3]范莹芳. 2010. 边缘族群的自我身份构建——析《女勇士》中主人公与作者的双重成长[J]. 名作欣赏,(24):87-88+91.
作者简介
谢如月(1992-),女,汉族,山东德州人,文学硕士,单位:云南大学外国语学院英语语言文学专业硕士2016级研究生,研究方向:系统功能语言学。
(作者单位:云南大学外国语学院)
This paper argues how to pursue and construct ethic selfhood in “No Name Woman” and “White Tigers” in the novel of The Woman Warrior:Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts written by Maxine Hong Kingston through textual analysis of the three process of losing selfhood,discovering selfhood and constructing selfhood. Based on “The umbilical cord flew with the red flag...”,this paper suggests this is a selfhood flag that will be transformed into nationhood,symbolizing the courage for pursuing and constructing free,ethnic selfhood so as to arouse ethnic females’ subject consciousness.
By textual analysis,this paper concludes that the narrator experiences the process of growth and tranformation:losing selfhood,discovering selfhood and constructing selfhood in the perspective of feminism. Encouraging the ethnic females to make efforts to pursue selfhood construction and due rights has important and practical significance.
We use feminism criticism theory to study the way to pursue and construct ethnic selfhood in the perspective of feminism for narrator “I” in this paper. The ethnic selfhood construction is the main question that will be discussed in the following:above all,this paper illustrates the selfhood-lost in the “context of modernization;next,this paper looks at the selfhood-discovery and selfhood-pursuit in the trap on the earth;the last but not least,this paper argues the ideal selfhood-construction as a ethnic female,which can guide ethnic females to pursue their due rights.
Selfhood-lost means that an individual blindly yields to the public or do something with the flow,although he or she has his own or her own standpoints,opinions and views,he or she can not adhere to himself or herself. Here,what this paper argues is the ethnic seflhood-lost influenced by sexual discrimination in “No Name Woman”. In “No Name Woman”,the essay narrates that the aunt is pregnant and then she commits suicide from the angle of “my” mother. Because “I” make associations,the “aunt event” occurs all along. Aunt is a female generation influenced and enslaved by patriarchal thoughts in ancient time. Without any choices,generations of females comply with males’ order and bear their crosses which males bring. Just as the saying in the beginning of the essay goes,“ ‘You must not tell anyone,’ my mother said,‘what I am about to tell you.’ In China your father had a sister who killed herself. She jumped into the family well.
There are connections between “No Name Woman”,the first chapter of this novel,and “White Tigers”,the second chapter of this novel. “I” lose selfhood in “No Name Woman”,so “I” will make an effort to discover and pursue selfhood. This part suggests that what “I” suffer from hunger and cold when “I” learn martial arts from masters on the mountain of White Tigers is almost the reality of Kingston’s life in America,which often contains the discrimination from the outside world and the life pressure from herself and family. Part from the disappointment towards racial discrimination and sexual discrimination in “No Name Woman”,“I” decide to go up the mountain and learn skills as a woman warrior in dreams so as to revenge for “no name woman”. In “White Tigers”,Kingston narrates that “I” learn and practice the acrobatic skills in the mountain of White Tigers;“I” take “my” father’s place in the conscription army as a daughter who disguises herself as a male soldier,“I” get rid of the cruel and pacify the good and return in triumph. The process of learning skills on the mountains of the White Tigers can be called the process of selfhood-discovery and selfhood-pursuit. In order to pursue selfhood,there is much pain “I” suffered in succession from missing “my” parents during learing martial arts. “I” need to “bear to stay with an old man and an old woman for fifteen years to become a warrior” and “avenge ‘my’ village” instead of living with “my mother and father”(Kingston 1989,21- 22).
Selfhood-construction is the most important process for Chinese American,especially for Chinese American women. Only realizing the significance of ethnic selfhood,can they make a decision to pursue and construct selfhood. Considering how to take actions to construct selfhood,there are strong powers in their deep hearts to support themselves. In “White Tigers”,“I” become a “woman warrior” dressed as boys in dream,“my” martial arts are masterly,“I” charge forward,“I” rob the rich to help the poor to revenge for villagers who are oppressed as well as deprived. Such “woman warrior” is a new female who has the integrated feature of Chinese traditional filial piety,the awareness of feminism and the awareness of selfhood. Traditionally,the exclusive image of male,such as strong physique,masterly martial arts,tenacity,excellent military talents,etc. and the traditional female image,for instance,pregnancy,giving birth to and bringing up children,ploughing and weeding,weaving and so on,converge together in an individual,creating an ideal image of women. “I” take “my” father’s place to be drafted,and “ ‘ we are going to carve revenge on your back,’ my father said. ‘we’ll write oaths and names’ ”,and “ ‘where you go,whatever happens to you,people will know our sacrifice,’ ” my mother said.
All in all,from the perspective of feminism,this paper examines the selfhood-lost,selfhood-pursuit and selfhood-construction by analysis of “No Name Woman” and “White Tigers” of The Woman Warrior:Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts,including the imagined story as well as the description of reality. The purpose of this study is to provide a reference not only for Chinese American females but also for all women around the world to remould their ideas and to display the value of their life when they face a variety of values.
References
[1]Kingston,Maxine Hong. 1989. The Woman Warrior:Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts. New York:Vintage.
[2]董姝雯. 2012. 對《女勇士》中东方主义的解读[D]. 辽宁大学.
[3]范莹芳. 2010. 边缘族群的自我身份构建——析《女勇士》中主人公与作者的双重成长[J]. 名作欣赏,(24):87-88+91.
作者简介
谢如月(1992-),女,汉族,山东德州人,文学硕士,单位:云南大学外国语学院英语语言文学专业硕士2016级研究生,研究方向:系统功能语言学。
(作者单位:云南大学外国语学院)