No Name Woman
"No Name Woman", by Maxine Hong Kingston, is a story of Maxine's family who are Chinese-Americans. When Maxine's mother warned her about life, she told stories that tested her strength to establish realities. Maxine's mother told her a story from her Chinese culture that stood out from the rest of the stories she told. Maxine was reaching womanhood when her mother told her this story, and that she must never tell anyone. She told Maxine that her father had sister who had premarital sex and became pregnant. The villagers in China would not accept this, so they tried to punish her. They raided her house. Maxine's mother told Maxine that this was shameful to become pregnant by someone whom you are not married to. The day after the raid, the aunt and her baby was found dead in the family well. In "No Name Woman", Maxine uses differences and similarities in three seperate
She literally became a lost soul because the family refused to remember her after her death, so she "remains forever hungry" in the afterlife, with no ancestors to send offerings to her. The aunt's narrative leads readers to understand the traditional view at a personal level. After being told the story of her aunt, Maxine realizes that there was a point to why her mother had told her about her aunt. The No Name Woman became a ghost to her family when she became pregnant. In the story the aunt never gave up the name of the father of her child. Although, Maxine never knew her aunt's real name, the symbolic way of naming the woman, No Name Woman honors her forgotten ancestor's memory. Or maybe her mother wanted to make a feeling of support to show that she was behind her daughter all the way. The family forgot that it was their obligation to support the woman, especially when the whole world was against her. In conclusion, I believe a family should take every step of life together whether it's a step up the economic ladder, or a step down in the social ladder. The villagers and her family outcasted her. The mother is supportive of the aunt's final fate, and symbolizes the traditional view of women in society. The family in "No Name Woman" should have helped and supported Maxine's aunt because it was their god given obligation. Family members should support their members no matter what and comfort those in need of help. In this essay, Maxine explores the life of her aunt, trying to piece her life and her aunt's together to find a meaning and to try to figure out a connection between her and her aunt.
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Acceptance Essays
