Blog Post 4

            Maxine Hong Kingston is a first-generation Chinese immigrant who wrote a noteworthy memoir/novel called The Woman Warrior about her experiences being raised in America by Chinese parents. The excerpt we read in class reveals the intimate childhood memories that she experienced while growing up surrounded by a vast amount of varying influences and pressures. Maxine expresses the challenges of assimilating to her environment due to the struggle between the clashes of the Chinese and American cultures at school and at home. I relate to her experience since my parents immigrated to the United States 28 years ago, leaving me to be the first generation of my family to experience the American dream. Her descriptions, although sprinkled with some over exaggeration, still have deep roots in truth that coincides with most first-generation children experiences, like my own.

            Maxine shares the hardships that come with balancing the cultural standards imposed by her parents and the contrasting cultural and social norms enforced by the US. This aspect of balancing two cultures holds true to many experiences that immigrants have during their transition to a new country especially with the language barrier that arises. In the book, Maxine describes the tedious and unforgiving occurrences that took place at her American school, and describes having an especially hard time speaking in a confident voice during her American classes. She was not the only one who experienced this, she says “…other Chinese girls did not talk either, so [she] knew the silence had to do with being a Chinese girl,” (Woman Warrior) showing that there is an overarching struggle for most immigrants to let go of their Chinese language and adapt to the English language that seems impossible to comprehend. Maxine eloquently portrays the struggle of having two different languages being interchangeably used in her life with both Chinese and English school, which is often seen in many immigrant households. I had to go to both English and Polish school, and mixing these two languages proved to negatively impact my learning experience because I would find myself being penalized for writing in the wrong language. I agree with Maxine’s representation of the hardships of balancing two different cultures because the overload of cultural influences proves to be merciless.

            There are some aspects of the book that are a bit embellished for the purpose of creating a more interesting and eventful novel, yet the root of the exaggeration is applicable. For example, the mother’s request for Maxine to get revenge on the mistake of the drugstore delivery boy by demanding free reparation candy seems to be harsher and more out of perspective than anything my culturally confused parents would force me to do. This extravagant part of the story was included to create a deeper sympathy for Maxine and isolate the mother completely into the realm of ignorance in terms of the social workings of her new country. There is truth beneath the inflated story because there is a very large gap in comprehension in regards to immigrant parents when immersed in the different ways of American people. They try to grasp onto their old culture, which creates a turmoil for the children because they must battle between the two major influences of their lives, home life and school life. When hearing the demands of her mother, Maxine is instantly mortified and resents her mother for believing that the boy had cursed their household and sending her to humiliate herself in the store since this task reflects the noticeable divide between American and Chinese cultures and perceptions of curses. Similarly, my parents have made me feel embarrassed about their misunderstanding of American culture, for example their rude remarks and confusion about Santa Claus since in the Polish Culture Angels bring presents Christmas Eve. Yet they never made me do things that went against the obvious American processes like demanding free candy but they definitely questioned aspects of the foundation of American culture. This coincides with The Woman Warrior perception of parents being out of the cultural loop but Maxine portrays her mother in a more negative and embellished manner than I believe is true for all immigrants.

            The similarities between Maxine’s experiences and my own growing up with foreign parents make me sympathize with her struggles. Her experiences lead the reader to believe that she is stuck in the middle of the two cultures, being constantly harassed by her mother to uphold their Chinese traditions and customs while getting forced in school to mold to the American idea of an exemplarity citizen. Times have changed since her novel was released yet most first or second generation children get stuck between two cultures. If I were the author, I would add more content about how truly lucky immigrants are to be able to call two places home. Having these experiences make you grow as a person, giving you a blend of traditions and a unique perspective on opportunity. If my parents never moved to America, I would never have the chance to study animal science at UC Davis and pursue my passion of becoming an equine veterinarian and I want to thank them for that opportunity every day. I believe that Maxine would not have developed into the writer she is today without the contrasting cultures she experienced as an immigrant child, which she should value by including it in her work.