After reading the Chapter ‘Shaman’ in the woman warrior, it gave me a good understanding of who the mother is and who the mother wants Kingston to be, as well as how similar they are. The mother was a very strong-willed person who persevered mostly during her old age it seems. When the mum went to study medicine, her age wasn’t told true, she did not want anyone to know her age, ‘My mother did not let it be known that she had already had two children and that some of these girls were young enough to be her daughters’(125). ‘Older people were expected to be smarter;’ (127). Though she studied for 20 years before going to school for medicine, she told them it was just 10 years. She did not want her age to affect how she got her education. Looking at this, it reminded me of the previous chapter ‘White Tigers’, how Kingston compared herself to Fa Mu Lan, and how they had to change their identity just to succeed in life as a woman. Fa Mu Lan had to disguise herself as a male in order to fight in the war just to help her family. Kingston refused to give in to the pressure women were given just to be called a wife or slave. Now learning the story of her mum, having to lie about her age so she could peacefully learn medicine as she wanted to.
There were a lot of Ghost mentionings in the book, from when the mum went to medical school, straight to when they migrated to America, yet in America, the ghosts seemed to take a more defined shape than the ones in China. In China they had names for the ghosts, ‘Boulder’ or ‘Sitting’ ghost, ‘Sit Dom Kuei’ and such, yet in America, it was very simple, ‘Police Ghost’, ‘Bus Ghost’, ‘Taxi Ghost’ and such. This gives the idea that China seems complex yet simple, while America was simple yet complex, meaning in China when it comes to its culture, or ancestral history, it seems very complex from an outsider’s point of view, while the living style for the most part, is simple, yet in America, things just seem straightforward, this is that and that is this, while it is hard to have a good and simple life from an immigrant’s perspective, yet, in the end, it all comes down to a person’s perspective, whether they are native to a specific country or not. Kingston though doesn’t seem to like hearing about ghosts, or seeing them anymore, she stated to her mum, “I don’t want to hear Wino Ghosts and Hobo Ghosts. I’ve found some places in this country that are ghost-free”. It may have been fun or interesting to her when she was little, but she seems to lose interest in ghosts now.
The mum also expressed what it’s like migrating to a new country, how the minute she stepped into America, she started working, she started to regret moving there, stating how time seemed to move more slowly in China than in America and how you wouldn’t seem to rush a lot as they do in America. “This is terrible ghost country, where a human being works her life away”(208), implying that she simply worked her life away, just to make a better life for her children. “I have worked too much. Human beings don’t work like this in China. Time goes slower there.”(210) which gives us an immigrant perspective of what it’s like working in a different country than their own. “I can’t sleep in this country because it doesn’t shut down for the night.”(210), 24/7 people are working just to make ends meet.
Kingston also made a connection to her parents and grandmother, how her grandmother always send letters to her parents to come back to China, and how she misses them, and the parents refused, now that the mum is growing old she also would love to see her house full of relatives, her children, her children’s children, and her in-laws, yet they haven’t been, so the mum is feeling so lonely, the same way the mum is feeling. “The gods pay her and my father back for leaving their parents. My grandmother wrote letters pleading for them to come home, and they ignored her. Now they know how she felt.”(207), which leads to the question, would this continue along their family line, would the gods pay her, and her siblings, back as well for not going back to their parents, or would there be a change along the line.
This whole chapter was definitely a bit confusing, and I am not sure if this blog post helps clear up anything based on this chapter for anyone but hopefully, this helps and as well gives some helpful insight to anyone.
Questions
- How did the story of the “spy” who was stoned play into Kington’s mum’s story? Did her death play into the reason her mum left China?
- Do you think that the setting or time that the mum gave birth to Kingston (Middle of World War 2), played some type of role in how she wanted her to grow up, and why she told her all these stories?
Citations
‘Shaman’, The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston
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Hi Michelle, I think that this was a great blog post analyzing Chapter 3, Shaman. Like you mentioned, this chapter definitely helped us understand Kingston’s mother, Brave Orchid, a lot better. We get to see how independent and successful her mother was. The chapter starts out with “once in a long while, four times so far for me, my mother brings out the metal tube that holds her medical diploma” (58). Her mother shows Kingston her medical diploma and is very proud of her success of becoming a midwife, especially all the hard times and “ghosts” she had to battle along the way. In my interpretation, these “ghosts” that her mother often encountered and successfully beat, were actually just obstacles in her way of success. These ghosts became more simple when they moved to America. Like you mentioned in your post, the simple names include “Mail Ghost, Meter Reader Ghost, Garbage Ghost” (98). I believe that these are all white people that her mother taught her were ghosts like in her stories, and these are again people who are obstacles in her way of success in America, potentially because they are racist towards her family. The ghosts when she was in China were fewer but more powerful, and the ghosts she encountered in America were simple but plenty. I agree that this chapter was a little confusing but I thought your blog post definitely gave helpful insight!
Hi Michelle, this post gives great insight about Shaman! In regards to your question about the “spy” I felt like she may have played a part in why her mother moved. I feel like this may have deeply traumatized her as she was trying very hard to keep the villagers from stoning her, just for them to end up murdering her brutally via flying rocks. In this chapter, her mother runs into the mountain clearing trying to get her headdress after the crazy woman has been accused of being a spy, and says, “Here, here, I’ll get her mirrors” (95.) This shows how hard she tried to get the villagers away from her, as she didn’t even trying to refute their theories; she just wanted to get them to stop viewing her as a target. She cared enough to run towards the lady and confront her even while the villagers tension grew. It may have something to do with ghosts and humanity, and the way that it is so easily disregarded when a person has been socially rejected, but this scene stood out to me a lot and I haven’t pinpoint an exact meaning behind it yet.
Hey Michelle! Great analysis, this chapter really focuses on her mother and her background. Throughout the chapter we see from an exceedingly early age that she was a strong independent woman and established this as her identity from the start. I infer that because she was a “warrior” figure that avenged her village this is why she tells her so many stories and encourages her to become a warrior and follow her. However, in explaining her life she also brings to the surface many stereotypes of Chinese women that are upsetting and offensive. “’The other students fought over who could sit next to me at exams,’ says my mother. ‘One glimpse at my paper when they get stuck, and they could keep going’” (Kingston, 64). This adds to the stigmatism that Chinese people are very smart and shows some of the struggles she faced while at boarding school that she had no control over.
Hi Michelle! This analysis you made is well thought out and you made connections to different chapters which shows your understanding of this post’s chapter! Kingston’s mother’s role as a shaman in Chinese culture and its significance hold importance to what Kingston’s life is supposed to be like as a Chinese-American girl. I agree with you about the way Kingston’s mother presents herself. In the chapter she says “Even the ghosts work, no time for acrobatics. I have not stopped working since the day the ship landed. ” She is passing her knowledge and strength along to her daughter as motivation that she can persevere even when facing discrimination. I feel like this characterization was done on purpose (the mother) so Kingston knows what she needs in order to become just as strong as her mother. This could also be why Kingston has so much added pressure to please her family and everyone around her.
As you wrapped up your thoughts on the ghost themes, you said she was losing her interest in ghosts. The presence of ghosts is a significant theme throughout the chapter, representing the spiritual realm that exists alongside the physical world. That thought got me thinking maybe she lost her love for ghosts because the dangers of the real world killed that part of her childhood. This connection can foreshadow some struggles she will face through this process.