Maxine Kingston's No Name Woman

This is the ultimate loss of identity because indirectly by Mavis denying her children and breaking the bond between mother and child, she is in a sense denying herself and her natural inclination to care for her children. When Mavis and her husband are in bed together, we see Morrison compares her to a ?Raggedy Ann doll,?(26) illustrating the fact that Mavis? identity meant nothing to her husband. Ironically, it takes this initial shed of self for Mavis to be able to escape the bondage her husband has over her. An article by the Radicalesbians supports this fact by stating that the male culture?s definition of ?woman? binds a woman to sexual and family functions (Radicalesbians). Unfortunately, Mavis? husband didn?t allocate ?family functions? as including the needs of his children coming before his own needs. Another indication of a lack of identity in this is Mavis? mother?s ability to turn Mavis in when she runs away to her home. Her mother, a traditional woman, is unable to understand the idea of a woman running away from her family even if it is to save herself. Her informing Mavis? husband of Mavis? whereabouts is the result of her unwillingness to recognize the similarities between her own lack of identity and her daughter?s, another tendency of women stated in the article.

A person's identity cannot be given to her, instead a person must achieve a sense of her character through personal experience and self-reflection. In "No Name Woman", Maxine Hong Kingston recalls the events of her aunt's life in the vague world of her Chinese roots. The story of her aunt is told by her mother and Kingston recreates the events into an exploratory story to help herself figure out what part of her identity is Chinese and help her better understand the Chinese culture. In retelling her aunt's story, Kingston seeks to reconcile both her Chinese and American identities and mold her own identity as a result. Kingston, a first generation American, finds that as a result of her cultural

My mother was in the room. And it was perhaps the first time she had heard me give a lengthy speech using the kind of English I have never used with her.”(417) Overcoming the barrier between languages she spoke aided Tan in building a bridge between cultures. She changed her language to assimilate into American culture while also keeping familial culture. A piece of heritage that uses a language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk. Tan grew up with this language and she still uses it with her mother, husband and in her books. (418) Another method to find identity in a new host society is through appearance. In the essay, “No Name Woman” by Maxine Kingston ideals in appearance were passed from generation to generation. Altering ideals when creating identity is noticed in Kingston’s essay. A long held tradition in many Chinese families is that many generations live under the same roof and this can cause a conflict in ideals. Conflicting ideals between generations is shown as Tan tells how the younger generation hid the identities of their sexual color and their character. Hiding these new identities they hoped to avoid potential conflict with generational ideals. Kingston did not hide her identity, she found herself “walking erect (knees straight, toes pointed forward, not pigeon-toed, which is Chinese-feminine) and speaking in an audible

8). This gratified looks that passed between them while they were alone encourages the reader to develop a sexual plot between the two. James takes this even further however. He writes, "One of these, for a moment, tempted me wit such singular intensity that, to withstand it, I must have gripped my little girl with a spasm that, wonderfully, she submitted to without a cry or sign of fright" (p. 41). Obviously, the governess has some sort of sexual feelings for the little girl. This is a product of her own failings to form a relationship with the man she dreams of. The ghost of Miss Jessel seems to be protecting the little girl though the tone of the book makes it appear the other way around. "The person was in black" as if she was "in mourning" at the time when she appeared (p. 31). The ghost could be in mourning because of the sexual desires the new governess has for the little girl and therefore is there to ward her off. This is also true for the other child in the house Miles.

In Maxine Hong Kingston’s essay “No Name Woman,” Kingston speculates the life of her deceased aunt from an anecdote her mother tells her. Kingston’s aunt is never discussed and is essentially dead to the family and village since she was impregnated by a man other than her husband. As a result, the village raided the family’s home, killed their livestock, and destroyed dinnerware to show Kingston’s aunt a fraction of the betrayal she had caused the town. Kingston’s version of the story retells her aunt being coerced to pursue a new man other than her husband that ends in an unplanned pregnancy. Killing herself, Kingston’s aunt tries to end the consistent bombardment of rejection and humiliation that her sins have caused her by jumping into the village well. To conclude, Kingston states she is haunted by her aunt’s ghost and the Chinese people fear being dragged into the well as a substitute.

Looking for Alibrandi is a prime example on how young adults can be educated on the stresses and losses of life and through reflection they can set you free. Looking for Alibrandi focuses on one girl and the shame of her family’s irresponsibility’s have brought on them. Through her difficult school year, her absent father, falling in love, losing friends and discovering the truth about her identity. Melina Marchetta opened doors to the complications of the first generation Australian born ethnic female identities. Marchetta identified the anxieties of being different and acceptance which comes with being unfamiliar. She shows the reader themselves that people who are alike Josie are normal and mainly important and not alone.

Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel, Ceremony, reveals how the crossing of cultures was feared, ridiculed, and shunned in various Native American tribes. The fear of change is a common and overwhelming fear everyone faces at some point in their life. The fear of the unknown, the fear of letting go, and the fear of forgetting all play a part in why people struggle with change. In Ceremony the crossing of cultures creates “half-breeds,” usually bringing disgrace to their family’s name. In Jodi Lundgren’s discourse, “Being a Half-breed”, is about how a girl who struggles with understanding what cultural group she fits into since she is a “half-breed.” Elizabeth Evasdaughter’s essay, “Leslie Marmon Silko’s “Ceremony”: Healing Ethnic Hatred by

Traditions and old teachings are essential to Native American culture; however growing up in the modern west creates a distance and ignorance about one’s identity. In the beginning, the narrator is in the hospital while as his father lies on his death bed, when he than encounters fellow Native Americans. One of these men talks about an elderly Indian Scholar who paradoxically discussed identity, “She had taken nostalgia as her false idol-her thin blanket-and it was murdering her” (6). The nostalgia represents the old Native American ways. The woman can’t seem to let go of the past, which in turn creates confusion for the man to why she can’t let it go because she was lecturing “…separate indigenous literary identity which was ironic considering that she was speaking English in a room full of white professors”(6). The man’s ignorance with the elderly woman’s message creates a further cultural identity struggle. Once more in the hospital, the narrator talks to another Native American man who similarly feels a divide with his culture. “The Indian world is filled with charlatan, men and women who pretend…”

Accepting where one comes from can affect one’s life in so many different ways. The novel, “the house on mango street” by Sandra Cisneros is composed of how much a negative view of that person's self can affect them in their lives. Coming to terms with where you come from can affect someone's life so much. As you grow up your always wondering to yourself where you stand in life. Esperanzas negative view of herself slowly changes as she begins to focus on her larger community and her place within it. Through this, Cisneros shows that knowing and accepting where one comes from is an important part of growing up and determining one’s identity.

Over the course of your life, you come to struggle with the philosophical idea of personal identity; the thing that makes you, you. Oneself may shape their identity around aspects of their life that they have no control over like race and physical traits, as well as decisions that are made throughout their lives like affiliations and religion. Your personal identity can be seen through your passions and interactions with others. An individual’s search for their identity is something that may occur in everyone’s’ life. In the novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie highlights the theme of how the search for identity is always prevalent, through the conflicted characters of Junior and Mary throughout the novel.

In “No Name Woman,” the theme of silence starts with the elementary words of the memoir stating you must not tell anyone. This statement is ironic because Kingston is in fact telling everyone, giving voice to Chinese customs and the lives that are foregone. As written in her memoir, she states, “You must not tell anyone,” my mother said, “what I am about to tell you. In China your father had a sister who killed herself. She jumped into the family well. We say that your father has all brothers because it is as if she had never been born.” (Deshazer 308). It is especially notable and ironic that the memoir begins with the phrase “You must not tell anyone.” Her effort in No Name Woman is to write about that which is never said; her unnamed dead aunt, and the outrageous behaviors in her mother’s Chinese village. Kingston was not necessarily silenced direct by a male figure; however, the words said by her mother “You must not tell anyone” is a representation of Kingston father’s authorization voice through her mother’s explanation. Kingston’s effort is also about discovering a voice, as both a Chinese-American

Additionally, another example that implies that Kingston aunt had no “voice” is when the author states, “The work of preservation demands that the feelings playing about in one’s guts not to be turned into action. Just watch their passing like cherry blossoms” (Kingston 8). This sentence can be interpreted that a women’s feelings and wishes were not allowed to be turned into reality or to be expressed. On the contrary, their feelings and wishes were only allowed to be kept to their selves as if

“But there is more to this silence: they want me to participate in her punishment. And I have”(Kingston 2520). In Maxine Kingston’s No Name Woman, there is a clear theme in her short story, and it is found in the minor details of the lines. Kingston is going against her family’s wish and is discussing her aunt. Her family wanted to keep her unnamed aunt a secret, and for a while, Maxine Kingston did.

As part of the first generation of Chinese-Americans, Maxine Hong Kingston writes about her struggle to distinguish her cultural identity through an impartial analysis of her aunt’s denied existence.  In “No Name Woman,” a chapter in her written memoirs, Kingston analyzes the possible reasons behind her disavowed aunt’s dishonorable pregnancy and her village’s subsequent raid upon her household.  And with a bold statement that shatters the family restriction to acknowledge the exiled aunt, Kingston states that, “… [she] alone devote pages of paper to her [aunt]...”   With this premeditated declaration, Kingston rebelliously breaks the family’s cultural taboo to

The novel, I am not Esther, written by Fleur Beale follows Kirby Greenland, a fourteen year old girl, who is suddenly abandoned by her mother. Kirby is then forced to live with family members she has never met before in an unfamiliar, religious community with strict rules and regulations. During her time in the community, also considered as a ‘cult’, Kirby faced the challenges of identity change and loss as well as abandonment and isolation. This helped me develop a deep understanding of Kirby and how she undergoes a large character development throughout the text.