While reading the chapter “At The Western Palace” in Maxine Hong Kingston’s book The Woman Warrior, it became clear that it differs from the other chapters. What makes this chapter different from others is the fact that the narrator, Kingston, doesn’t show up as often, however, we are introduced to Brave Orchid, her mother and we learn about Moon Orchid, her Aunt, and her story. This chapter recounts the story of her Aunt’s life in America, she moves to the United States from Hong Kong after thirty years and we learn all about what she experiences.
One of the key themes of “At The Western Palace”, was the difference between old Chinese culture and the culture in America. At the beginning of the chapter we are introduced to Brave Orchid’s children, throughout the chapter we can see the difference between Brave and Moon Orchid’s standards of traditional Chinese and Brave’s children’s lack thereof. Moon Orchid comes to America with gifts to give to her family from China, she first gave them shoes, which Brave Orchid’s children then spoke about to one another in English, saying “She must give us the leftovers”(119), their mother, Brave then “glared sideways at her children”(120) to send them the message that they are lacking manners. The next thing she gave the children were paper dolls, the children went on to play with them, Kingston says “How greedy to play with presents in front of the giver. How impolite (“untraditional” in Chinese) her children were” (121), her children didn’t follow any of the traditional Chinese culture or manners.
This chapter also explores the immigrant experience of Chinese women in America, Kingston’s Aunt, like many Chinese women at the time, was sent to work in America as a young girl, without her consent or understanding of the life that awaited her. The chapter vividly portrays the harsh realities of life for many Chinese immigrants in America, who faced poverty, discrimination, and exploitation. Kingston describes the cramped and rundown tenements where many Chinese immigrants lived, in stark contrast to the luxurious surroundings of the Western Palace where her aunt worked. Kingston also highlights the strength required to survive, despite the abuse and mistreatment Moon had endured, she persevered, and she was able to find beauty and meaning in the midst of such hardship, this is an example of just how strong of a person Moon truly was. At the same time, however, the chapter also highlights the ongoing impact of the abuse and trauma experienced by Kingston’s Aunt, she begins to become paranoid, and eventually Brave received a letter from her niece about Moon that says, “she had overheard Mexican ghosts plotting on her life. She had been creeping along baseboards and peeping out the windows” (155). This shows how much the American lifestyle has broken Moon down as a person and how much trauma it truly caused.
Overall, “At The Western Palace” is a thought-provoking chapter that shows us the difference between Brave and Moon Orchids’ belief that traditions should still be followed and how Brave’s children are Americanized, whereas they follow American traditions rather than Chinese. Throughout the story of Moon, Kingston illuminates the harsh realities faced by Chinese immigrants in early 20th century America and highlights the resilience and strength required to survive in such challenging circumstances.
Discussion Questions
- Do you think the difference between Brave and Moon Orchid’s choice to follow traditional Chinese standards makes it hard for them to build relationships with other family members?
- What do you think Kingston is trying to say about the lasting impact of trauma and abuse on individuals and communities?
Citation
Kingston, Maxine Hong. “At The Western Palace”, The Woman Warrior
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Great job Kayla at explaining the different ways that Kingston’s mother and Aunt decided to raise their children and show what was normal Chinese culture versus the Chinese-American culture. Answering your first question, I think that choosing to raise your kids differently from your family’s traditional culture won’t exactly ruin your relationship with your family. It will just be harder for them to understand how your life works and be skeptical about it but at the end of the day you are still family. “If she was in her sister’s place, Brave Orchid would have been on the phone immediately” (pg 127). This quote really shows how different their lives are from being in America and not Hong Kong. Kingston’s aunt is trying to find a job but she doesn’t exactly know where to start because labor in America is so much different from Hong Kong so Kingston’s mother is trying to help her and explain that the world here is a different place from what she’s used to back home. And this shows that although they chose to raise their children differently, they still care for each others well being.
Hi Kayla, you did a great job comparing the differences in the Chinese American culture vs the American culture. I think it’s important that you compared the two sisters deeply and allowed us to see the drastic difference in them due to the cultures in which they have been surrounded in. This difference in culture has caused moon and brave to upbring their children in different ways. Moon Orchids unfamiliarity with American culture has caused her to be out of touch with her family and be seen as crazy and disconnected with everyone to the isolation that she has been under in China. In the text it states, “You don’t have the hardness for this country.”(pg 153). In this quote we can see how Moons husband’s harsh words have some truth to them and help to highlight the idea that Moon is not used to American culture, nor does she understand it, which ultimately causes a disconnect between moon and her relationship with her family since they are well adjusted to American culture.
Hi Kayla, I agree entirely with your writing about the cultural differences between China and America. This was exemplified when Moon Orchid meets her husband for the first time and he tells her about how different life in America is. He states, “‘It’s as if I turned into a different person…You became people in a book I had read a long time ago’” (154). He assimilated into American culture and ways of life leaving Chinese customs in the past. What he says almost dehumanizes them and makes them seem like characters in a fiction work instead of his chosen family. Even the expressions on his face signify a difference in culture as seen through the quotation, “Again the rude American eyes” (153). This shows how Moon Orchid’s husband looks at her judgingly and condescendingly. He chooses to forget about his Chinese heritage approaching Moon Orchid and her family with a sense of hostility and lack of acceptance.
First of all, you are a great writer! Your word usage was awesome like, “illuminate” and “ thought-provoking chapter”, etc.. The whole piece flows nicely. I find it interesting that you noticed the concept of trauma and how it impacts someone because that is a recurring theme I picked up on as well. Kingston speaks a lot about the past and storytelling, this makes the reader have empathy toward the character being described. In this chapter as well as throughout the book, this writing style reveals characters such as her mother, Kingston’s Aunt and Kingston herself. Throughout this chapter as you mentioned, it is made clear that the new characters have been through a lot in life, for example Moon Orchid being an immigrant. The subtle hints of trauma or do i dare refer to them as trauma dumps, are scattered throughout the read, “ I was born in the middle of World War II.(96) Although I do think this information is necessary for readers to be fully immersed in Kingstons story, I do believe there is an alternate motive to prove a point regarding how strongly ones past affects their present character, how past trauma and hardships alters they way one views life and absorb experiences.
Hi Kayla, I liked the way you looked into old Chinese culture, vs new American culture. I also really loved your language while reading this blog post. I had just looked into language and writing and how drastically it can help your readers. I believe one of the best differences that is talked about is when moon Orchid meets her husband. There is many differences between them and it is shown greatly in this book. One great example is “Again the rude American eyes” (153) this quote does an excellent job at showing how most Americans view them selves as the superior race. This is one big difference because asian culture such as Chinese usually has respect for everyone until they don’t deserve it anymore, whereas Americans typically believe they are better than most recesses such as the Chinese. Moon Orchids husband seems to forget about his Hines heritage and just automatically assumes he is better.
Hi Kayla, your post was very intriguing and informative. You did a very good job at using strong vocabulary as well as giving a well detailed summary of the chapter. I think although the sisters may choose to live different lives in America than what they were familiar with in Hong Kong, they still care for each other and have each other’s back. It is stated by Brave Orchid “I’ll hit him. I’ll protect you.” (145). This shows that they are still their for each other especially as they struggle in America. Moon Orchid finds herself in tough situations but Brave Orchid expresses that she loves her and will always be there for her. It is not easy to adjust to the “American life” and that is clear especially when they grew up differently. Maybe not all of their family supports their decisions but no matter what they have each other.
Hi Kayla, I love how well-written and thorough your post is! To answer your first discussion question, I believe that this cultural disconnect between Brave Orchid/her children and Moon Orchid does make it somewhat more difficult to form a relationship. For example, Brave Orchid encourages her children to speak Chinese with their aunt (both to make her more comfortable and to prove to her sister that Brave Orchid has not forgotten her roots), but the children seem unwilling to do so and are slightly embarrassed by Moon Orchid’s presence. Throughout the chapter, Brave Orchid admonishes her children for being too American, and it is clear that Moon Orchid feels the same way. She says that she “marveled at their vanity” (90) when the children accept compliments rather than adamantly refusing them and accuses them of “smell[ing] of milk” (91), which is a reference to how westernized the children appear. Even as she tries to connect with them, Moon Orchid judges her nieces and nephews for their overtly American behavior, which makes it difficult for them to form a meaningful relationship. This is not entirely one-sided, though; the children are also judgmental of Moon Orchid, and although we see less of their internal dialogue, this fact is still shown through their actions.
Hi Kayla! Great job with your analysis! To answer your first question, I believe their difference in whether or not they follow Chinese standards has made it hard for them to develop relationships. For example, Moon Orchid has difficulty building relationships with her sister’s children. Moon Orchid says, “How greedy to play with presents in front of the giver. How impolite (“untraditional” in Chinese) her children were” (121). Moon Orchid believes that the children are impolite towards her, whereas the children most likely don’t realize that they are doing anything wrong. In American culture, playing with presents in front of the giver would not be considered rude. In short, because Moon Orchid has stayed in China for so long, she still has traditional Chinese views that are not practiced in the United States, thus making it hard for her to create connections with the people around her.
Hi Kayla, I think your post was very well thought out and truly accentuated the premise of the reading as you really discuss the class between both cultures in an attempt to retain a connection to their Chinese roots. When exploring the immigrant experience, it is commonly seen that there is a culture shock when arriving to America as the way that they were brought up differ entirely. In this, once they arrive, there is a clear difference between American and Chinese children as their manners and attitudes completely differ from the poised ones they are used to. Although their new American life awaited them, so did the struggles in which they, like many other immigrants, experienced harsh discrimination along with differences. Strangely so, not much has changed since the immigrant experience remains the same today. However, with this and the struggle to remain connected to their former life they distinguished that they would not have “American children [who] had no feelings and no memory”(115). This again reverts to the discussion prior where the balance of culture is difficult as there is no true key to maintaining their identities in an assimilated world. This chapter is one of the most important as it not only describes shame, culture clash and struggles of immigrant people but also shares a familiar experience to those who have experienced this or their ancestors who have. Truly, the struggle remains to discover where the balance is and although immigrant life is difficult, the tough truth is that it only gets harder to assimilate when one does not want to.
Hi Kayla! I really enjoyed reading your blog and thought you did an excellent job explaining the differences shown in the book between traditional Chinese culture and modern American culture. To answer your first question, I don’t think their difference in choice to follow traditional Chinese standards or not makes it extremely hard for them to build relationships with other family members but, it definitely isn’t easy which you’ve explained in your blog post and a proper relationship between the family will need a lot of time to build. We can see in this chapter that the relationship between Moon Orchid and Brave Orchid is one of tough love, “Brave Orchid thought that her niece was like her mother, the lovely, useless type. She had spent so much time trying to toughen up these two” (pg. 118). In this chapter it shows Brave orchid giving advice to Moon orchid in order to help her adjust but with Moon Orchids unfamiliarity with American culture, she becomes more closed minded which causes her to struggle to adjust to American life. We can see that there is a rift between their sisterly relationship however they are still a family that will help each other, it will just take time.
Hey Kayla, I agree with your analysis that the chapter describes the different cultural perceptions and traditions between Brave and Moon Orchid versus the children’s. Being American born with foreign parents, there can absolutely be cultural disparities. The Western/Americanized traditions are a lot different than those of other countries. “She tried all kinds of compliments and they never said ‘Oh, no you’re too kind. I can’t play it at all. I’m stupid. I’m ugly.’” Moon Orchid had expected for the children to repel her compliments and demean themselves as Moon Orchid was always surrounded by. However the children accepted the compliments confidently being fully aware of their skills. This is definitely a large cultural difference between the two perspectives, the view of humility. Where Moon Orchid believes the children should be completely humble and not accept the compliments while the children show gratitude to receive such a compliment. To answer your question, I absolutely do believe that traditional Chinese standards make it harder for them to build relationships because they have completely different ways of thinking. There will always be this barrier of cultures and ideas which will never be broken unless one side is willing and open to the other.
Hi Kayla, I really like your analysis on the chapter “At the Western Palace.’ (111-160). When I was reading this chapter, I was also trying to think of the similarities and differences between Chinese Culture and American Culture. Moon orchid was one that stood out how they go against the Chinese standards like you established in your blog. Another quote that stood out to me was when they “The last time I saw him was in China- with you. What a terrible, ugly man; I’ll bet he’s hoping you’d be satisfied with his money” (131). I think this quote fits how the standards of Chinese culture and shows more in depth on how there is trauma and abuse that you brought up in your discussion questions. I feel like this chapter and your blog really helps show the difference between cultures and how stories are different in connecting one another.
Hi Kayla! I really liked how you analyzed and explained the differences between Chinese American culture and Traditional Chinese culture. I recognized this gap through Brave Orchid’s resistance to assimilation of herself and her children to Chinese American Culture. There are many instances in which wee see Brave Orchid become frustrated with her children and she criticizes the way they act as well as compare them to the way’s of her niece’s. I noticed this when Moon Orchid brought back gifts for the children and while they were opening them Brave Orchid judged her own children for playing with the gifts in front of “the giver” because this was seen as untraditional in traditional Chinese Culture. “How greedy to play with presents, in front of the giver.” (pg. 142)