When reading the chapter “At The Western Palace”, there was so much that took place that started to make more sense now then when first reading the book. So many different obstacles occurred which made the characters in the book to be more brave and stronger. One of the characters, Moon Orchid, finds out some horrible news that her husband that she married back in China has remarried and started a new family in America. Her husband moved to Los Angeles to become a successful doctor about thirty years ago and they have not seen each other since. The reason being they have not seen each other in so long was due to money issues and not being able to afford a plane fare. When she first lands in America she is absolutely thrilled and is so happy to finally be able to live in this country. Moon refers to America as “ The Gold Mountains”, which in my opinion is a great way to describe a place that someone has wanted to come visit and now finally has. Unfortunately, her sister brought her to America to confront her cheating husband and his new family that he has started with this new woman. But she is too embarrassed and doesn’t want to confront the man, so Brave starts to encourage her to do so and says if she doesn’t do anything about it that she will do it herself. When reading this chapter, so many thoughts and questions were going through my head about this situation that took place. It makes me wonder what Moon was mentally going through when she found out about the horrible news that she received.
While reading this chapter and seeing how the characters were dealing with this situation, there were several lines that really stood out to me due to the way each person would be speaking with each other. “Maybe we ought to put your aunt in the middle of the street, and she can lie down with her legs bent over. But Moon Orchid kept shaking her head in trembling no’s.” “Why don’t you push her down in the intersection and pour ketchup on her? I’ll run her over in a little bit. Said her son”(150). From an outsider’s perspective, I was in total shock by the way the characters would be communicating knowing that Moon Orchid was going through a tough situation. They way they would say these things and not put her feelings into consideration, it mind blowing to me. Having to read this chapter about this type of situation makes it more appealing to me how important it is to always think before you say or do something toward someone. Connecting this lesson towards the book, readers can see that this is not the only time a character says something that is totally uncalled for towards someone else regardless if they have a different obstacle going on in their life. As the chapter continues, the “ghost” gets brought back up towards the end of the chapter and continues to make connections from the previous chapters when they would also mention the “ghost”. Bringing up the “ghost” makes the book even more mysterious and draws the readers into the book even more. The author created these “ghosts” with different occupations that are attached to their name throughout the book. Reading about these ghosts and how they go along with the story line, makes me think about why the characters are even thinking about ghosts. “That week a letter came from my niece saying that Moon Orchid had become afraid. Moon Orchid said that she had overheard Mexican ghosts plotting on her life. She had been creeping along the baseboards and peeping out the windows.” (155). Reading this quote makes the readers wonder why the ghosts have such an important role in this book and what they could be foreshadowing. In some class discussions, we have talked about what the ghost could represent when they use an occupation word when talking about the ghost. As a class we have come up with some ideas that they could mean or what they could be signs of. We came up with how they could stand for fears that people have or even some of the unexpected events that could try to happen in the book. This keeps the outside viewers on edge when reading about this and makes them wonder if that is the true meaning.
When reading this chapter, the author made so many different obstacles to occur that would make the readers on edge. Having to see how the characters interact with each other and communicate, it is so interesting to hear and wonder why they talk to each other with rude comments. Then when the author continues to talk about the “ghosts” it makes sure the readers are thinking of what could happen in the future with the characters. In conclusion, reading this chapter keeps the readers on their toes and wonders what could happen in the future for the characters.
Discussion Questions
- Why do you think Kingston keeps creating these types of situations that the characters have to face? Do you think there could have been a better outcome?
- How does the title of this chapter “At The Western Palace” connect to the obstacles that occurred in this chapter?
Citations
‘At The Western Palace’ , The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston
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Hi Brooke, I think this was a great blog post. I absolutely agree with you that this chapter made a lot more sense than all of the other chapters. I think your analysis did a great job of highlighting some of the key aspects of this chapter such as Moon Orchid coming over to America and the betrayal of her husband. Reading the scene in which she confronts her husband absolutely broke my heart. She did not even want to see him and confront him, her sister wanted her to, and this interaction left her shattered. You can see her apprehensiveness to confront him when she says to her nephew, “please turn back. Oh, you must turn the car around. I should be returning to China. I shouldn’t be here at all. Let’s go back. Do you understand me?” (145). Her sister urges her to confront him and tells her son he is not allowed to turn the car around. At the end of the interaction when her husband tells her that he wants nothing to do with her she is described as “so ashamed, she held her hands over her face. She wished she could also hide her dappled hands” (153). She is in a brand new country where she does not speak the language and only has her very close family members surrounding her, many of whom think she is weird. She is already struggling as it is, and the denial from her husband is when you see her break. This was such an emotional scene of the chapter and I believe that it directly leads to her downfall.
Hi Brooke! I thought your blog post was insightful and mind-opening. The perspective you took on the most recent chapter of Kingston’s book regarding “ghosts” was interesting. Your analysis highlighted key aspects in the chapter as well as the overarching themes Kingston is making. The idea of story-telling and ghosts has been the most consistent recurring theme in all of the chapters we have read so far in “The Women Warrior”. After reading the scene about the “Mexican ghost plotting on her life” I was deeply confused. Before this point, I was under the impression that the “ghosts” were in fact Americans or maybe even Chinese Americans. Reflecting on the scene where ghosts are mentioned and your analysis of the chapter I now think maybe ghosts could be future selves/scenarios. I think your point of foreshadowing/future characters is shown when the readers get a description of her husband’s new wife, “She wore pink lipstick and had blue eyelids like the ghosts.”(Kingston, pg 2137).
Hi Brooke! This is a really great analysis of this chapter. You broke things down really well considering just how much happened. You brought up what Moon was potentially going through mentally and that’s also something that caught my attention throughout this chapter. The way she was characterized stood out to me, as she seemed very timid and meek, but also bubbly and kindhearted at the same time. Her desire to not confront her husband about abandoning her could be indicative of feeling ashamed, and her desperation to not have this interaction makes me feel like she’s mentally overwhelmed by the situation and she wishes she could detach from it entirely. When Brave is explaining to Moon how bad her husband is for doing this to her, she goes, “But if he is so ugly and mean, maybe I shouldn’t bother with him” (131.) This shows that she doesn’t want to try and talk to him, that if he’s done something to reprehensible that they should just drop it and let it go. She’s trying to flip the situation so Brave can believe that he isn’t worth the effort so the confrontation can be avoided entirely.
Hi Kayla!
I chose your blog post because you took a different take on interpreting the chapter in a culture aspect. The comparisons between the two families represent that there are different ways of interpreting one’s culture.In “At the Western Palace,” she uses the story of Fa Mu Lan to connect with her cultural roots and to explore the ways in which her heritage shapes her sense of self. She writes, “The next morning, when I opened my eyes, I saw that the house was empty. I lay there for a long time, feeling my roots stretch down deep into the earth” (p. 57). With culture, also comes discrimination and sometimes even an identity crisis. You also acknowledge that the same cultures can have different meanings of what their culture is to them and their family. Brave and Mood Orchids families have those core family dynamics.But in the chapter we learn more about how Kingston was brought up. She has shown herself to be a respectful woman. How you look, wear, act and present yourself are all parts of your culture. The intersectionality between these two families of the same heritage shows that everyone was raised differently. Kingston is molding herself to be who her mother wants her to be.This point you made struck me “Kingston also highlights the strength required to survive, despite the abuse and mistreatment Moon had endured, she persevered” ,In a way, the way Kingston’s mother raises her is a way of preparing her to be the best woman warrior she could be inside and out. In your second question, I think Kingston is trying to make us understand that being a woman warrior doesn’t just require skill. Maybe she is trying to teach us that Being a woman warrior is about who you are and embracing your culture to its fullest. The abuse and discrimination is just half of the battle and Kingston perseveres because its who she wants to be. (She faces discrimination but yet wants to see her journey through) Overall, “At the Western Palace” dives deep into the themes related to gender, identity, and cultural heritage.