The Deconstruction Of Orientalism In The Woman Warrior: Gender, Ethnicity, And Culture

In his book Orientalism published in 1978, the world-famous Orientalist and critic Edward Said proposes the theory of "Orientalism", which can be regarded as the cornerstone of postcolonial criticism. As a strong influence on western ideology, Orientalism establishes a binary opposition between the Orient and the West, a relationship in which the Orient is inferior and dominated while the West is superior and controlling, leading to the long-existing but biased stereotypes about the Orient and its people and culture. Such Oriental stereotypes not only take deep root in the westerners'minds, but affect the self-recognition of the Orientals as well, especially those living in the West, Chinese Americans for example.As one of the significant ethnic minority groups in the United States, Chinese American people also play an extremely active part in the literary sphere, especially during the past few decades when Chinese American literature has gained greater attention from the public. Among the large number of extraordinary Chinese American writers and literary works, Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior can be said to signify the entry of Chinese American literature into the mainstream American literature. Meanwhile, the evolution of Chinese American literature also reveals Chinese American writers'construction and deconstruction of Orientalism in their writing. In The Woman Warrior, Kingston presents her life experience as a female Chinese American growing up in the American society and expresses her perplexity when she tries to figure out her identity in such an environment which is neither Chinese nor American. Obviously, the Oriental prejudices against China prevalent in the American society exclude her from the mainstream society, while the alienation from China prevents her from identifying herself as a real Chinese. This perplexity is not an accidental happening to Kingston, but a common existence for all Chinese Americans. Fortunately, Kingston realizes the uniqueness in her identity and courageously challenges the Oriental stereotypes, leading to the recognition of her identity as a member of the Chinese American community.This thesis takes Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior as the object, uncovers the Oriental stereotypes about China, Chinese people, and Chinese culture presented in the book, reveals Chinese Americans'perplexity of their identity, analyses how the characters deconstruct the Oriental stereotypes and realize their self-recognition of their gender, ethnic, and cultural identity.