The Images Of Women In The Woman Warrior

Of all the Chinese American writers, Maxine Hong Kingston is undoubtedly the most well-known in contemporary American literature. She is commonly regarded as the leading figure that has brought Chinese American literature into the mainstream writing of American literature. With three important published works, The Woman Warrior (1976), China Men (1980), and Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book (1989), she has not only gained official recognition but also established her cultural position as a Chinese American. She proves to be one of the most influential Chinese American writers who succeeded in integrating Chinese culture and Western culture. The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts, her first book published in 1976, is lauded as a milestone in Chinese American literary history. Since its publication the book has attracted enormous attention from literary circle. It became an instant bestseller and was highly praised by many scholars. Much research has been done on The Woman Warrior from the perspectives of feminism, post colonialism, marginalized culture, youth's bewilderment and treason and so on. In this thesis, the author decided to analyze the images of women thoroughly from the perspectives of both gender and culture.The paper consists of five parts. Part One is an introduction of the whole thesis, an introduction to Maxine Hong Kingston and her work The Woman Warrior. Besides that, critical research in China and abroad on this work is analyzed in this part.In Part Two, the writer analyzes the gender oppression and women's efforts expressed in The Woman Warrior. Gender oppression is reflected in women's silence and the collective unconscious of the mass. In China, No Name Aunt is drowned in the well because of adultery, keeping mute all the time. The narrator's aunt Moon Orchid is deserted in China by her Golden Mountain husband, not daring to claim her own happiness and at last ending her life in asylum. The narrator in chapter five of The Woman Warrior who grew up in America is always silent because of all kinds of reasons. The influences of silence and the collective unconscious on women are great. In order to change this situation, some women rise up and try their efforts to get rid of gender oppression, such as No Name Aunt, Fa Mu Lan.Part Three is about culture conflict and reconciliation women's experiences in the West World reflect. Cultural conflict is represented by Women's dilemma between the west culture and Chinese traditional culture in the West World. Experiences of Ts'ai Yen and Mother Brave Orchid are the representation of cultural reconciliation.In Part Four, the author reflects on women's efforts in The Woman Warrior. Their efforts are indeed the pursuit of their gender and cultural identities. Besides, the author proposes the contradiction and confusion of"the woman warrior". In the eyes of"I"in The Woman Warrior, the features of women are weak and powerless. Female with male features is strong. So the woman warrior was endowed with some male characteristics. Then she became strong. To some extent, this is still the representation of the patriarchal value.In the last part, a conclusion is drawn to this paper. After analyzing the images of women in The Woman Warrior, the author reveals the gender oppression and the cultural conflicts reflected in this work, as well as some women's efforts to change this situation. At last, the author proposes the significance of doing research on this work from the perspectives of both gender and culture.