The Woman Warrior is a narrative from the perspective of a Chinese immigrant. The text discusses the phases she encounters as she grows up in the American society. A very interesting phrase that the narrator uses is 'black ghosts' when she refers to African Americas. If this phrase is taken out of context, it can be interpreted as a very derogatory term; it may even be classified as a racist remark however, the intentions of the Chinese girl is pure and not meant to hurt anyone. This shows that a word in itself cannot be taken offensively and it is only the context a word is used in that can form the complete meaning and intention of it.
Another meaningful message this text conveys is that humans generally seek familiarity for a comfort zone. The anecdotalist talks about how in the Chinese school the children are very loud and vocal, including herself, and this shows a change of personality between the American school and the Chinese school. Her change in personality is because in the American school, she isn't familiar with the people around her as there's a difference in language and culture.
Later on in the text, the narrator corners a Chinese girl and questions about why she keeps quiet, even in the Chinese school. At this point, the anecdotalist had become more confident as she was growing more and more familiar with the environment in the American school. The silence of the Chinese girl in a way shows that she gained power over herself and she isn't letting language control her in any way even though she would be considered from the subaltern group. Speaking a language can shape your personality and this is evident when the narrator states that her mother's superstition about the curse from the drug store seller was absolutely absurd and superstition was a huge part of the Chinese society. Another instance where it is seen that the English language is gradually changing the narrator's personality is when she doesn't approve of the loud soap operas that can be heard from the Chinese neighbourhood and the spit that flies across when they sing along to it. This may also be the reason why the narrator is always irritated towards the silent girl; she realizes that the silent girl hasn't let the surroundings change her whereas the narrator herself has changed a lot. The embrace of the American culture by the anecdotalist shows hybridity as she tries to adjust with the Chinese and American culture during her period of growing up.
Another meaningful message this text conveys is that humans generally seek familiarity for a comfort zone. The anecdotalist talks about how in the Chinese school the children are very loud and vocal, including herself, and this shows a change of personality between the American school and the Chinese school. Her change in personality is because in the American school, she isn't familiar with the people around her as there's a difference in language and culture.
Later on in the text, the narrator corners a Chinese girl and questions about why she keeps quiet, even in the Chinese school. At this point, the anecdotalist had become more confident as she was growing more and more familiar with the environment in the American school. The silence of the Chinese girl in a way shows that she gained power over herself and she isn't letting language control her in any way even though she would be considered from the subaltern group. Speaking a language can shape your personality and this is evident when the narrator states that her mother's superstition about the curse from the drug store seller was absolutely absurd and superstition was a huge part of the Chinese society. Another instance where it is seen that the English language is gradually changing the narrator's personality is when she doesn't approve of the loud soap operas that can be heard from the Chinese neighbourhood and the spit that flies across when they sing along to it. This may also be the reason why the narrator is always irritated towards the silent girl; she realizes that the silent girl hasn't let the surroundings change her whereas the narrator herself has changed a lot. The embrace of the American culture by the anecdotalist shows hybridity as she tries to adjust with the Chinese and American culture during her period of growing up.
I agree with your reflection. I really enjoyed reading the part about humans seeking comfort and conforming to their roles as an outsider or insider to the specific culture. I did not thing of the situation that way. Great post!
ReplyDeleteNice job, Deeksha! I liked the point you made about how the connotations of the phrase she uses differs depending on context. It would be really interesting to explore how the power of an individual changes the meaning of what they're saying (i.e. the Chinese girl is relatively powerless at this point, so what she means is seen as innocent...?). :)
ReplyDeleteI never thought of how derogatory terms in specific contexts differ so vastly in their meaning. Also, you talked about how the change in the authors surroundings led to a change (or evolution..?) in her identity, which is something I completely agree with. Just wanted to point out that the use of the word 'timid' here is also in a very powerful context. This polarises the meaning of the word, which is an interesting thing. Anyway, great job Deeksha, I got to look at this from a different lens after reading your blog post. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis of this text and think the concepts you discussed are so interesting. I especially liked the way you talked about how the narrator felt anger at the shy girl because she was able to not let her surroundings change her. Great post :)
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