Chinese American Womens Quest for Identity in The Woman Warrior 英語(yǔ)專業(yè)畢業(yè)論文

1、本科畢業(yè)設(shè)計(jì)（論文）誠(chéng)信聲明本人聲明：我所呈交的本科畢業(yè)設(shè)計(jì)（論文）是我個(gè)人在導(dǎo)師指導(dǎo)下對(duì)四年專業(yè)知識(shí)而進(jìn)行的研究工作及全面的總結(jié)。盡我所知，除了文中特別加以標(biāo)注和致謝中所羅列的內(nèi)容以外，論文中創(chuàng)新處不包含其他人已經(jīng)發(fā)表或撰寫的研究成果，也不包含為獲得北京化工大學(xué)或其它教育機(jī)構(gòu)的學(xué)位或證書而已經(jīng)使用過(guò)的材料。與我一同完成畢業(yè)設(shè)計(jì)（論文）的同學(xué)對(duì)本課題所做的任何貢獻(xiàn)均已在文中做了明確的說(shuō)明并表示了謝意。若有不實(shí)之處，本人承擔(dān)一切相關(guān)責(zé)任。本人簽名： 日期： 年 月 日本科生畢業(yè)設(shè)計(jì)（論文）任務(wù)書設(shè)計(jì)（論文）題目： Chinese American Womens Quest for Identit

2、y in The Woman Warrior 學(xué)院： 文法學(xué)院 專業(yè)： 英語(yǔ) 班級(jí)： 英語(yǔ)0701 學(xué)生： 指導(dǎo)教師（含職稱）： 盛海燕（講師） 專業(yè)負(fù)責(zé)人： 設(shè)計(jì)（論文）的主要任務(wù)及目標(biāo)主要任務(wù)：用女權(quán)主義理論分析湯婷婷女勇士中華裔女性的自身的屬性追求。目標(biāo)：加深對(duì)華裔文學(xué)作品中華裔女性的困境及其對(duì)屬性追尋的解讀。2設(shè)計(jì)（論文）的基本要求和內(nèi)容基本要求：1）英語(yǔ)5500字以上； 2）小四字體打?。?3）字體為Times New Roman。內(nèi)容：分析和探討華裔女性在性別歧視及文化沖突的雙重壓迫下對(duì)自我身份屬性的探索與追求。3主要參考文獻(xiàn)Huntley, E.D. Maxine Hong Ki

3、ngston: A Critical CompanionM. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001.Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Woman Warrior. Memoirs of a Girlhood Among GhostsM. London: Picador, 1981.白麗. 探尋女勇士中的女性主義J. 語(yǔ)文學(xué)刊：外語(yǔ)教育教學(xué). 2010 (3): 22-244進(jìn)度安排設(shè)計(jì)（論文）各階段名稱起 止 日 期1選題2010/102收集資料、進(jìn)行文獻(xiàn)綜述2010/12-2011/33開題報(bào)告2010/124初稿2011/

4、45定稿2011/5-2011/6注：一式4份：學(xué)院、指導(dǎo)教師各1份、學(xué)生2份：畢業(yè)設(shè)計(jì)（論文）及答辯評(píng)分手冊(cè)各一份 Chinese American Womens Quest for Identity in The Woman WarriorIs submitted byXie YuWeitoThe English DepartmentIn Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor ArtsSupervised by Sheng HaiyanBeijing University of Chemical

5、 TechnologyJune, 2011中文摘要美國(guó)華裔女作家湯亭亭于1976年發(fā)表了代表作女勇士，奠定了作者在美國(guó)文學(xué)界的地位。在女勇士中，湯亭亭以獨(dú)特的女性視角,生動(dòng)記載了華裔婦女在美的心路歷程，重新審視了華裔婦女的生存狀態(tài)及內(nèi)心世界。本文以女勇士為研究對(duì)象，旨在深入分析和探討華裔女性在性別歧視及文化沖突的雙重壓迫下對(duì)自我身份屬性的探索與追求。本文首先通過(guò)分析主人公親身經(jīng)歷以及聽聞的種種女性歧視現(xiàn)象，揭露華裔婦女所遭受的不公正性別待遇，論述在倡導(dǎo)男權(quán)中心主義的父權(quán)制社會(huì)，華裔婦女深受性別迫害的事實(shí)。接著本文主要探討文化沖突對(duì)華裔女性造成的困擾。由于特殊的身份背景,華裔婦女對(duì)她們的祖籍地中

6、國(guó)以及她們的所在地美國(guó)，或是暗藏在之后的兩種不同文化有著復(fù)雜的情感。一方面,她們對(duì)本族裔誤解重重由此造成對(duì)中國(guó)文化的疏遠(yuǎn)；另一方面,她們極力融入美國(guó)主流文化卻又遭到排斥和邊緣化。華裔婦女身陷兩難境地,對(duì)她們的身份提出質(zhì)疑。最后文章論述了華裔女姓在困境中不屈不撓，勇于挑戰(zhàn)性別歧視，化解文化沖突，追尋自我價(jià)值的精神。主人公借助花木蘭，蔡琰的故事,為華裔婦女在陌生世界中力求生存樹立了榜樣。然而正如花木蘭，蔡琰一樣,華裔婦女最終超越了性別，種族，實(shí)現(xiàn)了她們的精神成長(zhǎng)。結(jié)論部分總結(jié)了華裔婦女精神成長(zhǎng)的艱難歷程。在消除性別歧視及種族歧視的過(guò)程中，華裔婦女掙脫了精神枷鎖，實(shí)現(xiàn)了她們作為華裔婦女自我身份的尋求

7、。關(guān)鍵詞：美國(guó)華裔女性 性別歧視 文化沖突 身份追求 AbstractMaxine Hong Kingston plays a significant role in Chinese American literature. As a Chinese-American woman as well as a feminist, she depicts the life experience of Chinese American women and explores their inner heart as well as their quest in her famous memoir The

8、 Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts. This thesis adopts the theory of gynocriticism to study Maxine Hong Kingstons The Woman Warrior. The study will focus on Chinese American womens quest for identity they deserve and the painful efforts they make under the double pressions of sexual

9、discrimination and culture conflicts. First, it discusses the sexual discrimination the protagonist experiences by herself and learns from her mothers telling stories, thus showing the sexual unfairness Chinese American suffers. Then it talks in details about the culture conflicts which have caught

10、them into dilemma. Because of their special cultural background, they have complex feelings towards China and America, as well as the cultures behind two countries. They feel strange to the Chinese culture because of misunderstanding on one hand, and try hard to receive American culture but always g

11、et confused on the other. Stuck in such a dilemma makes Chinese American women reconsider the identity they need to deserve. Therefore, at the last part of the thesis, Chinese American womens pursuit of identity through their effort is highlighted. By retelling the stories of Fa Mu Lan and Ts an Yen

12、, the protagonist finds her courage to resist against sexual discrimination and reconcile culture conflicts. Just as Fa Mu Lan and Tsan, Chinese American women finally get spiritually free and have achieved their identity as women warrior through self-reconstruction.Key words: Chinese American Women

13、 sexual discrimination culture conflicts quest for identity Contents TOC o 1-3 h z u HYPERLINK l _Toc295487171 1. Introduction PAGEREF _Toc295487171 h 1 HYPERLINK l _Toc295487172 2. The influence of sexual discrimination PAGEREF _Toc295487172 h 3 HYPERLINK l _Toc295487173 3. Culture conflicts which

14、Chinese American women faced with PAGEREF _Toc295487173 h 6 HYPERLINK l _Toc295487174 3.1. Chinese American womens dilemma in American society PAGEREF _Toc295487174 h 7 HYPERLINK l _Toc295487175 3.1.1. Chinese American womens estrangement from Chinese culture PAGEREF _Toc295487175 h 8 HYPERLINK l _T

15、oc295487176 3.1.2. Feeling of strangeness in American society PAGEREF _Toc295487176 h 9 HYPERLINK l _Toc295487177 3.1.3. Confusion between collectivism and individualism PAGEREF _Toc295487177 h 10 HYPERLINK l _Toc295487178 3.1.4. Incomprehension between mother and daughter PAGEREF _Toc295487178 h 12

16、 HYPERLINK l _Toc295487179 4. Chinese American womens pursuit of identity and self-reconstruction PAGEREF _Toc295487179 h 13 HYPERLINK l _Toc295487180 4.1. Chinese heritage reflected in excellent women in ancient China PAGEREF _Toc295487180 h 14 HYPERLINK l _Toc295487181 4.2. Pursuit of identity of

17、the first generation: Brave Orchid PAGEREF _Toc295487181 h 16 HYPERLINK l _Toc295487182 4.3. Pursuit of identity of the second generation: Kinston PAGEREF _Toc295487182 h 18 HYPERLINK l _Toc295487183 5. Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc295487183 h 20 HYPERLINK l _Toc295487184 Endnotes PAGEREF _Toc295487184 h

18、23 HYPERLINK l _Toc295487185 Bibliography PAGEREF _Toc295487185 h 25 HYPERLINK l _Toc295487186 Acknowledgements PAGEREF _Toc295487186 h 271. Introduction Maxine Hong Kingston, as one of the most significant Chinese American writers, has made great contribution to feminist movement with her literatur

19、e works, among which is her masterpiece: The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts. Crowned the best nonfiction book by the National Book Critics Circle in 1976, The Woman Warrior mainly describes the authors own experience as a Chinese American and as a woman, and discusses how her gend

20、er and ethnicity affect the lives of Chinese American women. By blending autobiography with old Chinese folktales and thus exposing the typical problems confronted by Chinese American women such as cultural conflicts, racial and sexual discriminations as well as the problem of interaction between Ch

21、inese-born and American-born generations, Kingston tries to dig out Chinese Americans, especially Chinese American womens values and their own identity.Maxine Hong Kingstons view on Chinese American womens quest for identity and on feminism in her representative work The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a

22、Girlhood among Ghosts has aroused interest of many reviewers. According to E.D. Huntley, several themes can be dig out from the novel which include: “silence (both gendered and racially constituted); necessity for speech; the discovery of voice; the construction of identity and the search for self-r

23、ealization; the mother-daughter relationship and the conflicts that it engenders; memory; acculturation and biculturalism; and cultural alienation.” 1 For reviewer Miriam Greenspan, Maxine Hong Kingston captures “the pain of an American-born child who inevitably reject the expectations and authority

24、 of her family in favor of the values of the new land” 2. Linda B. Hall describes the book as “remarkable in its insights into the plight of individuals pulled between two cultures”; 3 and Susan Currier writes in Dictionary of Literary Biography that The Woman Warrior is a personal narrative that re

25、presents Kingstons effort “to reconcile American and Chinese female identities”. 4 However, since its publication in 1976, The Woman Warrior has maintained a vexed reception history that both attests to its popularity and questions it.5 Apart from praises the book received for it expresses female an

26、ger, many reviewers criticize it for its misrepresenting of Chinese American women and reinforcing stereotype in the name of feminism. Sau-ling Wong perceives Kingstons Orientalist effect 6 to be the result of Kingstons failure to critique patriarchal values or institutional racism, resulting in mis

27、conceptions about Chinese culture and Chinese Americans. She also points out, “According to Kinstons critics, the most pernicious of the stereotypes which might be supported by The Woman Warrior is that of Chinese American men as sexist”. 7 Benjamin Tong openly calls it a “fashionably feminist work

28、with white acceptance in mind.”8 Reviewer Michael T. Malloy thought the book to have an exotic setting, but deemed it too mainstream American feminist, dealing with only the Me and Mom genre in her book Biography of Maxine Hong Kingston.9 These critics on Kingstons feminism are always made based on

29、the view of culture authenticity and with the idea of foreignness and nativeness, most of which do not take the writers growing background into consideration. Actually, as one of the second generation of Chinese American immigrants, Kingston gains a mixed cultural background through her efforts of c

30、ulture reconciliation. This is also the reason for her reconstruction of the traditional Chinese stories. Besides, living under the double pressure of sexual discrimination and cultural conflicts gives Kingston a more unique insight to the idea of feminism. What she tries to express in The Women War

31、rior is her quest for identity as a Chinese American woman who not only suffers from sexual discrimination but also confronts with culture conflicts. Its this complex cultural background that has more influence on Kingstons feminism idea than the gender oppression of the society.Therefore, this thes

32、is intends to dig out how Kingston reveals Chinese American womens quest for identity and the painful efforts they make in the background of sexual discrimination and cultural conflicts, and therefore explore Maxine Hong Kingstons unique view on feminism as a Chinese American woman. 2. The influence

33、 of sexual discriminationSexual discrimination, according to The Oxford Dictionary, refers to the unfair attitudes or treatments on people, especially women, because of their sex. The phenomenon can be seen in many aspect of life in both American and Chinese societies. Especially in Kingstons times,

34、 the first immigrant generation was greatly influenced by the patriarchy idea that men were superior to women of old Chinese society. Therefore, being a daughter in an immigrant family, the narrator girl in the book, which is Maxine Hong Kingston herself, discovers early in life the glaring sexual d

35、iscrimination exercised in the Chinatown community where she grew up. Her discovery is further verified by the messages implied in many of her mothers stories. It is her own life experiences in China town and other womens experiences told by the narrators mother that give her the knowledge that Chin

36、ese American women are suffering a lot from sexual discrimination.Born in 1940 in a Chinese laundryman family in Stockton, California, the protagonist spent her childhood in the Chinese immigrant community. During her early years, she began to notice the gender discrimination attitudes within her co

37、mmunity. Since she is the oldest of six children, three of whom are boys, it is not long before she finds out that sexual discriminations start at the very moment of birth: while the birth of a boy occasions a joyful celebration that lasts as long as one month, the birth of a girl passes by unnotice

38、d. For instance, when a boy was born to Maxines Third Grand Uncle who already had three girls, the boys parents and his great grandfather gave him a full-month party, inviting all emigrant neighbors; moreover, they bought him toys, new diapers, new plastic pants. As for girls, no parties were given

39、in their name, and they had to play with used toys, homemade diapers, and bread bags. Besides, while willing to buy the boy giant toy trucks and a bicycle, the father would not purchase a typewriter for the girls, who he believed could be clerk-typists. Finally, before the advent of the boy, the gir

40、ls great grand father used to call them “maggots” at every meal, a name suggestive of their being good for nothing but eating up food.Sexual discrimination can also be seen in Maxine Hongs own house. She remember that their parents are ashamed to take she and her sister out together, for the emigran

41、t villagers will shake their heads at them. “one girland another girl,” they may say. And whenever her great uncle went shopping, he would take only the boys along with him and buy them sweets and new toys. 10“Come, children. Hurry. Hurry. Who wants to go out with Great-Uncle?” On Saturday mornings

42、my great-uncle, the ex-river pirate, did the shopping. “Get your coats, whoevers coming.”“Im coming. Im coming. Wait for me.”When he heard girls voice, he turned on us and roared, “No girls!” and left my sisters and me hanging our coats back up, not looking at one another.11Apparently, the word “chi

43、ldren” in her great uncles mind only means “boys”, and “girls” are definitely something inferior to “boys” that even have no right to go out with him. By roaring “no girls” her great uncle shows his prejudice toward girls which gives the protagonist and her sister such a disappointment and anger.Beh

44、ind these sexual discriminations lies the deep rooted concept that “there is an outward tendency in females” 12 or “When you are raising children for strangers.” 13. Therefore, when Maxine told her mother that she got straight As, her mother inevitably interpreted it as “she was getting straight As

45、for the good of future husbands family, not own”14. Its this kind of conventional idea that a woman, once married, becomes a member of her husbands family that has given rise to a pervasive anti-female trend as reflected in sayings like “Girls are maggots in rice.” “It is more profitable to raise ge

46、ese than daughters,” and “Feeding girls is feeding cowbirds”15. By comparing girls to maggots that eat up rice or cowbirds that build no nests but lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, the emigrant community has denied Chinese American females humanity on the one hand and stripped them of thei

47、r self-worth on the other.Apart from what she witnessed and experienced in Chinatown community, her mothers stories are also filled with sense of sexual descrimination, which have imprinted in her mind a vivid picture of China, where women were outrageously oppressed. When talking stories about her

48、life in China, Brave Orchid told Maxine how, after graduating from To Keung School of Midwifery, she purchased a slave girl in the market and trained her to be her nurse. In this case, Maxine cannot help herself to connecting the story of girls as sellable items. Brave Orchid also tells her of the i

49、nhuman practice of killing girl babies at the birth beds: “the midwife or a relative would take the back of a babys head in her hand and turn her face into the ashes” 16. Among these stories, which impressed Maxine most is the story of the unnamed paternal aunt, who got pregnant long after her newly

50、-wed husband had sailed for the Gold Mountain which was an embodiment of alienation from identity, self, family, society and nature at that time. The family remained silent about this fact, but the people of the village had noticed it, too. One night just before the due date of the babys birth, the

51、villagers wearing masks, raided the house of the no name woman as punishment. They destroyed the familys crop, slaughtered their livestock, broke their household goods, and ruined their supplies. During the raid, the family could only stand and stare in disbelief. The woman gave birth in the pigsty

52、that same night and Brave Orchid found her sister-in-law and the baby the next day drowned in the family well. This story reminds Maxine again of the brutally inequitable treatment of women in traditional Chinese society. And she also learns from the cautionary tale that in male oriented Chinese cul

53、ture a womans sexual mannerism poses a threat to the “roundness” of the community and that a woman is not supposed to indulge herself in personal whims.By telling these stories, the mother tries to put the idea that a girl should grow up as a wife and a slave and should behave good and obedient into

54、 the daughters mind. Such an idea, which is teemed with sexism, produces in the protagonist a mixed felling of righteous indignation and ineffable fear. She tends to express her anger either by refusing to do the domestic work which a conventional Chinese girl is expected to do, or by thrashing on t

55、he floor or screaming very hard. Meanwhile, she also harbors the fear that if she fails to justify herself worthy of eating the food, her parents might sell her upon their return to China, just like the girl in her mothers story. Living with sexual discrimination and with the fears brought by it is

56、a painful experience to Maxine as well as other Chinese American women. Such experience helps the girl gain their gender consciousness earlier and begin to think about seeking breathing space out side of her “home”.3. Culture conflicts which Chinese American women faced withAlong with the sexual dis

57、crimination, culture conflict is also a very big problem faced by Chinese American women. Amy Ling explains how “Minority parents own fear of losing their cultural heritage is intensified by the fear of losing their children to the foreign culture, and therefore they insist with greater vehemence on

58、 their childrens acceptance of family traditions and “Old World ties”(the culture and tradition of their motherland)17. Therefore Brave Orchid in The Woman Warrior tries to raise her children as if there were no ocean between her little circle of family members and the rest of her village in China,

59、as if they were fully participating members of the community “back home.” However, no matter how hard the first generation try to keep their Chinese heritage on their children and to mould their daughters into an ideal Chinese girl, they have to make their living in American, a totally different cou

60、ntry with completely alien cultures, and have their children speak English as well as receive Americanized education which advocates democracy, freedom, equality, and the most important, individualism. Hence, for these second generation Chinese Americans who have to be imposed Chinese culture on the