"Vulgarity" in The Woman Warrior .
-----A Stylistic exploration .
The Woman Warrior is a book written by the great contemporary Chinese American woman writer Maxine Hong Kingston. It has not only become the milestone in the history of Asian American literature, but also become one indispensable part of American literature. Yet, in sharp contrast to such high acclaim in the circle of expertise, not an insignificant portion of American students do not feel inclined to read it. In this paper, I make a brief analysis on the stylistic feature of this book on the part of "the abuse of vulgarity", so as to find out whether it is so vulgar to offend the readers or it is just because of the postmodern tact that is arranged by the writer engenders the gap between the book and the readers.
Keywords: .
Vulgarity postmodern readerly writerly .
The Woman Warrior is a book written by the great contemporary Chinese American woman writer Maxine Hong Kingston. It has not only become the milestone in the history of Asian American literature, but also become one indispensable part of American literature. It has won the National Book Critic's Circle Award for Non-fiction and has been selected as must readings by many American high schools. Yet, in sharp contrast to such high acclaim in the circle of expertise, a significant portion of American students do not feel inclined to read it.
According to an internet based resource1, I find that "vulgarity" is alleged as one of the important reasons for its inaccessibility to some, especially student readers. To what extent is this claim true? .
First, we have to admit that there are really some indecent parts in the text. .
For example, in the first part of this book "No Name Woman", as Kingston recalled her grandfather, she writes: .
"There are stories that my grandfather was different from other people, crazy ever since the little Jap bayoneted him in the head'.
If the male characters only knew the vulgarity of Lady Macbeth and the role she played in the murder and in the eventual downfall of herself! ... Lady Macbeth also gives a speech on how she wishes she were not a woman so she could kill Duncan herself. ... Fear manipulated Macbeths every thought conforming him from a gallant warrior to a tyrannical king. ...