The manner that Hong Kingston uses the narrative voice and the writing style she has chosen to express her personal emotions of perplexity and the distorting of the past is quite effective in illustrating the misogynistic society she is referring to. Throughout this chapter, readers are informed of the destructive effects of major themes like assault, submission to the patriarchy, and solitude on women’s lives. These concerns examine patriarchal conventions, women’s subservient, helpless role, and ensuring the continuation of their oppressive lives. The general tone of the themes is dark, and the emotions which first appeared after the reading are complex, with the potential urge to understand the text altogether. Several parts, including the first phrase, “You must not tell anyone… what I am about to tell you. (Kingston, 1976, p. 1)” feel heavily influenced by the emotions of the writer, and they set the tone of the whole reading. The dark atmosphere supports the themes and provokes the reader to rethink the words alongside the main character.
However, some lines directly state the hidden allusions and metaphors to distinguish additional meanings. For instance, to reflect the traditional and cultural subtext, the author writes, “Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one, a story to grow up on. She tested our strength to establish realities (Kingston, 1976, p. 2).” Such an approach to describing talk-story format highlights the importance and influence of traditional methods that alludes to folkloric style, which probably was added later. The talking-story format makes it seem as though the voices of others have drowned out the author’s aunt’s voice, and at other moments in the narrative, her very existence is denied.
All aspects combined created the sensation of alienation and uncertainty correlated to the main character’s emotions. I would respond to the text emphasizing that the author’s aunt experienced such severe oppression that her children could not help her. Because of the exclusion of women from their families due to the absolute dominance of men over women, Hong Kingston feels a distance from her aunt. Therefore, sentences’ precise and logical formation compounds the perception of specific information the author conveys.
Reference
Kingston, M. N. (1976). No name woman. In The Woman Warrior. Viva.