Kingston 3 Discussion Outline

Language is obviously a barrier immigrants have to face, how do you see it?

Molly:

She is constantly pulled between American culture and Chinese culture, and her role as the child of Chinese immigrants is one of balance. Not only does language and lack of communication remove her aunt from her life; it also colors her interactions with her family and with the Ghosts around her.

Jade:

Maxine Hong Kingston also proves that the lack of talking can tell much about the person’s character.

Jose:

He argues that it makes no sense, and that if elected governor he would require the test be given in English only, so as to encourage people to learn English. "If you want to live here, learn [English]"

Hongrak:

I was terrible at English; my English competency score was that of a second grader.... My dad asked me if I wanted to cut mine [tongue], which would help me pronounce English words better.

Sometimes language can encourage integration..




In Woman Warrior, it's evident that there is a culture clash, but how significant is this clash?

Molly:

Ultimately, it seems, Woman Warrior may be less a tale of clashing cultures than a memoir of finding one’s voice.

Emily:

I think we can all relate to feeling suffocated at some point in our lives. Families tend to do that, especially when conflicting cultural values come into play. In fact, conflict with our families seems almost impossible because as time passes, values keep changing and the way we live our lives is totally different

Chris:

I like to think the ending wasn’t bitter, but was more of a memoir of a family struggling to reconcile two cultures.

I guess we kind of talked about this last time, but I feel it's important enough to bring up again. How do y'all feel about the marriage situation with Moon Orchid?

Lauren:

I was lucky enough to never have the traditional role of wife forced upon me, or even really encouraged.

Jade:

As an older woman, who was separated from her husband almost immediately after marriage, whose husband did not even bring his wife to America, who found out that her husband had remarried in America, Moon Orchid had more than enough justification to feel insecure.

Traditional Chinese Marriage


Parents are the biggest influence on a child, and a child usually has more trouble adjusting to his/her parents rather than the community. How do you feel the parent/child role is played out in immigrant families?

Side-Questions to this one:

Do you as a child adapt a new culture or stick to the old culture (parent)?
Traditions are important but do they lose meaning in a different country? Do some of them become unnecessary or tiresome to have?



Any Thoughts:

When people move, they change or at least people say they do. What is more significant in driving this change: a desire to fit in or a fear of not being able to?

How does the population of one country cause immigrants to feel unwanted? (Xenophobia perhaps)

Pictures like this can be discouraging...


Jade:

The theme of not fitting in continues in the final chapter. Kingston talks about her childhood days and about how she herself felt alienated.

How does this book connect with previous readings?

As a student, we move schools and it's similar to immigration. How is the culture clash for students considering that we're still in the same general geographical area(country)?

So, being this book is called Woman Warrior and more than half of the class is a woman, did this book meet your expectations?

All Journey's have a Groove to them... Enjoy!