China is known as one of the most conservative countries in the world, where people have a tightly closed mindset about topics like sexuality, especially when applied to women. In such patriarchal society, oppression and punishment towards women are used to regulate social order. In “No Name Woman”, the introductory chapter from Maxine Hong Kingston’s book called “The Woman Warrior”, a mother’s storytelling to her daughter is much more than a simple bedtime fairytale. It is a tragic story about the no name aunt who took her own life away for being impregnated by a man who is not her husband. The use of silence in this story helps to maintain a cultural stability in the Chinese traditional views about women’s sexuality. From one generation …show more content…
Indeed, the no name aunt has been “forgotten as if [she] had never been born” (455). Her crime of being impregnated by another man who is not her husband has caused a shame to the family, because the villagers view such sin to be inacceptable in the community. Even though the narrator wants to know more about her aunt’s story, “[i]n twenty years since [she] heard this story [she has] not asked for details nor said [her] aunt’s name” (463). Through remaining silent, the family did not want to remember the existence of such person who has transgressed the traditions pre-established in an extremely conservative society, because when the villagers raided the house, the aunt is not the only person being punished. The entire family’s dignity has been destroyed as a consequence of a single offence. Moreover, the silence did not only come from the family and the villagers. From the moment when the no name woman decides to “[run] out into the fields, far enough from the house so that she could no longer hear their voices”, she has decided to turn herself into “one of the stars […] without home, without a companion, in eternal cold and silence” (462). For the family, she became a dead woman, a ghost that will be perpetually haunting them. Bearing the sin of having threatened the social order, the aunt then becomes the no name woman, as her original identity is forever lost in
Over the course of a person’s life they will grow, learn, and change. In Natasha Chang’s Memoir Bound & Western Dress, there is a character whose life story emanates this. The book is based on the interviews the author has with her great aunt – Chang Yu-i. Natasha explains how Yu-I went through many trials and tribulations throughout her life but through it all became a better person. One of Yu-I’s earliest struggles was growing up in a very traditional household. Although she believed firmly in the rules she was taught Yu-i always longed for something more.
Maxine Hong Kingston's use of talk stories in The Woman Warrior emphasizes that individuals will find a more fulfilling life if they defy the traditional gender norms place on them by society. While contemplating beauty standards in Chinese society in “No Name Woman” Maxine Kingston thinks, “Sister used to sit on their beds and cry together… as their mothers or their slaves removed the bandages for a few minutes each night and let the blood gush back into their veins” (9). From a young age girls are expected to be binding their feet and are told that it is to look beautiful, but in reality that is not why. When a womans feet are bound they are restrained and silenced. These girls could be free and happy but they are restrained by men through this binding.
She ends her essay by reminding her readers that this past incident still affects her present and feeds her fears of being misjudged by her lover: “I burned with old shame and then stubbornly shook it off” (134). Here, it becomes obvious to the audience that being judged due to the inadequate understanding of the context of her social class (poverty) brought Allison a profound
Their Eyes Were Watching God, the protagonists have sacrificed something of importance to them due to the oppression of the institution of marriage. Their individuality is censored due to the lack of respect and the dominating role of the
In the story No Name Woman” the writer uses changes of voices. Moreover, to be creative to attain her readers. In the beginning of the story the writer began with a voice other than her own. Her mother’s voice she told a story to Maxine Hong Kingston about her aunt. Furthermore, the mother started by telling her shush “you must not tell anyone” (Brave Orchid).
The tyrannies of silence include both cultural and individual silences. Both sources of silences can be associated with the perception of gender. Cultural and individual silences are viewed upon on different levels but, can contribute to each other. In order to break a cultural silence an individual silence must be broken first. Cultural and individual silences can regulate individual visibility, can regulate social visibility and can reveal gender, which is demonstrated in Fred Pelka’s reading “Raped: A Male Survivor Breaks His Silence”.
United States Women during World War 2 Women are part of our history, they made us who we are. The women in World War 2 where a huge part of our history. When or fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons went off to the war. There was a symbol that every woman believed to help the world.
The setting allows the reader to understand how people without honour are seen as outcasts of the society and the existence of a woman’s virginity is seen as a measure of her honour, as well as a precious commodity, which can purchase the family’s social advancement, through a marriage of convenience. Ángela states that Santiago deflowered her, but since “…she looked for it in the shadows…”, even though “She only took the time necessary to say the name.” we question this piece of information and its reliability, due to it being precise but also vague at the same time. Due to their sister stating this, Pablo and Pedro Vicario are ordered to reinstate their “…sister’s lost honour…”, ironically by their mother, to meet the expectations of the community and it is up to them to spiritually retrieve their sister’s virginity by killing Santiago. This means the brothers cannot back down from “…the horrible duty that’s fallen on them…” as “…there’s no way out of this…”.
Robert’s rape, which was executed by his fellow soldiers, people he considered friends, strengthens this argument. Last of all, the ambiguous concepts of family and stranger are contested when Mrs Ross’s announced that she was a stranger to Robert and she did not care for him. Although, it can be taken for its original meaning, after digging a little deeper, it is discernable that Mrs Ross’s words had a different meaning. Another example for the vagueness of family and stranger is presented when Harris and Robert create an almost familial bond is even though they are essentially just strangers. This exhibits the fact that family is thicker than blood and with the right circumstances, the differentiation between family and stranger is discernable.
Guns fire from across the desert and the ground shakes. Their lieutenant colonel tells them to get their weapons out and aim. Then, they hit the ground because the enemy has taken over. That’s what it’s like to be in combat. To be in combat means fighting between armed forces and the controversial topic has been in the news lately.
Kingston’s mother exposes the story of her aunt to her as somewhat of a warning. Kingston’s mother explains to her how crucial it is to understand that what she does as a woman in their society is looked upon closely
One of the main criteria needed in order for a culture to become tyrannical is for it to pervade and dominate the private lives of anyone living within it. That is, it “penetrat[es] much more deeply into the details of life” (Mill 9) of an individual such that nothing is kept private and no details are made secret from the community. In the case of the narrator’s aunt, this happened during her pregnancy with an illegitimate child. While the family had noticed and kept track of the pregnancy’s progress, noting that the child
In the article “Maintain the Combat Exclusion for Women in the Military,” Jude Eden had stated, “Even on lower fitness standards, women have far higher rates of injury, illness, non-availability, non-deployability and attrition than men.” That is a fact, most of the women is more likely to be injured than men, but this doesn’t mean they are useless in the military. Men can be easily injured too, it just depend on individual physique. Being a woman doesn’t mean being weak, invite women into military units have a chance to strengthen the army force. As citizens, women have the right to protect their country by serve in the military, and the military is looking for people who can accomplish the mission, there is no reason to deprive a person’s
They have surrounded to men’s tyranny and ended up with nothing but self-pity. In fact, it could have been quite different. We should have understood the function of our own bodies and attracted and controlled men that way, and then tamed them. (…) Yet a woman’s sex is her magic weapon for defeating the outside world and revealing the significance of her existence (…)
It takes a devastating toll on women’s lives, on their family and on society as a whole. Most societies prohibit such violence --- yet the reality is too often, it is covered up to tacitly condoned. ”-(Ban Ki-meon,