Woman Warrior

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Recommended: Cultural influences on identity

Maxine Hong Kingston and Jhumpa Lahiri’s literary works are mostly concerned with East and Mid-East Asians discourse in America. The lives of oriental Indians and Asians migrating to America were caught between their culture traditions that they have left behind and the newly founded American norms, thus they had to face an ongoing struggle with coming to a balance. It is this situation that some of the characters’ grapple with their identity, mainly the women. Indian and Asian woman immigrants faced the most complications when they came to the new word because back in their homelands they were condition a center way to act and uphold themselves throughout their daily lives woman, whereas men are able to find a balance because they had no restrictions …show more content…

Sen from “Interpreter of Maladies” assimilation leads to a traumatic failure unlike there counterparts. In “Woman Warrior” Moon Orchid enters America and faces a heartbreaking experience in regards to her inability to adapt to American culture. Moon Orchid arrives to America still in agreement with her Chinese customs because when she brings gifts to the children they are “shoes from Lovely Orchid” (119) and “paper dolls” (121). Moon Orchid gift-giving shows how out of touch she is with American culture because American born children do not like old traditional gifts they expect gifts that are fun not thoughtful and that’s why the the children grimace. Moon Orchid is deeply ingrained in her Chinese customs that she does not mind that her husband has married another woman because in Chinese culture the husband may have many wives, thus she thinks it’s perfectly fine for her return to her husband and does not consider the other woman as a barrier in their relationship. Moon Orchid fails to come to terms with the fact that in America culture a man can marry only one woman. The only way he could marry Moon Orchid is if he would divorce his current wife. The final event that makes Moon Orchid assimilation a failure is when she arrives to see her husband and he states “It’s a mistake for you to be here. You can’t belong. You don’t have the hardness for this country” (153) and when he brings up the distinctions between Chinese and American: “ I’ll mail you money I’ve always sent you. I could get arrested if the Americans knew about you” (153). In this moment the husband maliciously revels to Moon Orchid the reality of herself, and difference to American culture. Moon Orchid is to stuck into her past cultures that trying to introduce her to a new one would be a loss because her actions show that she is not able to change. This culture shock to America has left a mark

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