What is the purpose of No Name Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston?

In “No Name Woman,” Maxine Kingston’s mother tells her a story of her aunt that committed adultery which therefore led to her segregation from her own family and villagers. Kingston’s mother asserts that the story should not be told by anyone and the story’s purpose was to strike fear in her daughter.

What is the aunts name in No Name Woman?

The Woman Warrior opens with the story of Maxine Hong Kingston’s forgotten aunt, the “No Name Woman.” She is a sister her father does not acknowledge as ever having been born because of the humiliation she brought to the family.

Why does Kingston suggest that the aunt may have given birth in a pigsty?

When she feels the baby coming, she runs to the pigsty (some women used to give birth in pigsties to confuse jealous gods who did not steal piglets). Kingston figures that her aunt might have wanted to protect the baby, so that someone would look after her spirit when she was gone.

What did Maxine Hong Kingston do?

Maxine Hong Kingston, (born October 27, 1940, Stockton, California, U.S.), American writer, much of whose work is rooted in her experience as a first-generation Chinese American. At Berkeley she met aspiring actor Earll Kingston. They were married in November 1962 and had a son in 1964.

Is there a warrior character in No Name Woman?

The Woman Warrior Kingston, who names this aunt “No Name Woman” because her family refuses to mention the aunt’s real name ever again, devotes a chapter to her partly to end this silence. Her name suggests a brave, resilient, resourceful, and sometimes harsh character.

Why does Kingston tell the story of her aunt?

Kingston recognizes that there are many secrets and “ghosts” in her family that prevent her from coming to terms with her own identity. She knows that her aunt has been banished from the family, yet no one will acknowledge her existence. So Kingston tells this possible story to give her aunt an identity.

What is the short story No Name Woman about?

In “No Name Woman,” Kingston writes, “Those of us in the first American generations have had to figure out how the invisible world the emigrants built around our childhood fits into solid America.” China is “invisible,” an intangible place that Kingston only hears about; America is “solid,” not only because she …

Is Maxine Hong Kingston a feminist?

Kingston has written three novels and several works of non-fiction about the experiences of Chinese Americans. Kingston has contributed to the feminist movement with such works as her memoir The Woman Warrior, which discusses gender and ethnicity and how these concepts affect the lives of women.

Is Maxine Hong Kingston an immigrant?

Award-winning Author Maxine Hong Kingston is the daughter of two illegal immigrants from China. She grew up listening to her parents’ stories about their native country.

Who is the main character of No Name Woman?

Maxine The central character in The Woman Warrior. Shy, awkward, introspective, and intellectual, she describes her anguished childhood years and her coming to terms with two competing cultures, American and Chinese.

Who is the protagonist in The Woman Warrior?

Maxine Hong Kingston Though Kingston is the narrator, she shares the protagonist role with her mother. Her memories of own life do not figure prominently until the final chapter, “A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe,” in which she grows out of the frustrations of her childhood and finds her own voice.

Who is the mother of Maxine Kingston?

Ying Lan Hong
Maxine Hong Kingston/Mothers

Kingston was born Maxine Ting Ting Hong on October 27, 1940, in Stockton, California, to first-generation Chinese immigrants, Tom and Ying Lan Hong. She was the third of eight children and the eldest of the six children born in the United States.

Who is Maxine Hong Kingston in No Name Woman?

No Name Woman Summary and Analysis No Name Woman Maxine Hong Kingston begins her search for a personal identity with the story of an aunt, to whom this first chapter’s title refers. Ironically, the first thing we read is Kingston’s mother’s warning Kingston, “You must not tell anyone… what I am about to tell you.

Which is the best summary of No Name Woman?

Summary and Analysis No Name Woman. Summary and Analysis. No Name Woman. Maxine Hong Kingston begins her search for a personal identity with the story of an aunt, to whom this first chapter’s title refers. Ironically, the first thing we read is Kingston’s mother’s warning Kingston, “You must not tell anyone . . . what I am about to tell you.

Why did Maxine Hong Kingston write the woman warrior?

Instead, Kingston imagines a young woman who appreciated her beauty and had romantic notions, fostered from being a beloved daughter. Still, she had shamed her family. When the time came for her to give birth, she went out to a pig-sty and bore what Kingston imagines was a baby girl.

How does no name woman relate to Kingston’s life?

Kingston’s fantasies must have direct bearing on her own life: she rejects, for example, the idea that her aunt was a wild woman of loose morals. Instead, her aunt’s greatest crime—one with which Kingston identifies—was acting on her private interests, stepping out of the role Chinese society and traditions had proscribed for her.