The Woman Warrior
by Maxine Hong Kingston
read: 2012
The Woman Warrior is the ninth book for
Yale Professor Amy Hungerford's class on the American Novel Since 1945, and Professor Hungerford uses it as an example of what she calls "the identity plot": basically, the main character, a member of a minority of some sort, does not identify with the minority nor with the larger majority.
The Woman Warrior is clearly an example of this; the narrator (Maxine Hong Kingston, presumably, as the book is classified as non-fiction) feels that as a Chinese-American, she can neither fully endorse the superstitious, sexist Chinese culture, nor entirely divorce herself from it. She spends the first part of the book describing how her aunt was shamed into suicide and infanticide by her village because she committed adultery, then she journeys into an extended fantasy where she is trained as warrior and seclusion and comes back to rescue her village (disguising her gender to do so). Ultimately, Kingston comes to an understanding that her identity will always incorporate elements of Chinese culture and the America she was born in.
Of the other books Hungerford prescribed for the class,
Black Boy and
The Bluest Eye are obviously in this vein. She suggests you could make arguments for the other books -
On the Road,
Lolita,
Franny and Zooey,
Wise Blood,
Lost in the Funhouse,
The Crying of Lot 49 - and I think depending on how you define "minority, it's possible, though I'd say
Lolita and
The Crying of Lot 49 are less obviously about self-discovery and self-definition. What about the other (non-genre) post-World War II novels I've reviewed on this blog?
The French Lieutenant's Woman - you could make an interesting argument for this one, as the titular woman is oppressed by larger society because of her sex, but the narrative thrust isn't really her quest for identity. We're never really allowed in Sarah's head..
All the King's Men - self-identity does seem important, but I have a hard time finding a minority group that Burden belongs to. Maybe it's whether he belongs with the morally righteous (as symbolized by Adam Stanton) or the amorally pragmatic (as symbolized by Willie Stark).
Infinite Jest - I think you can, particularly with Don Gately and finding an identity in the world as an ex-addict. Hal is also looking for himself in some fashion, though the resolution of his story is less clear.
Falconer - Again, I think there's a decent argument, with Farragut trying to figure out his life as a convict and drug addict and how he relates to the world at large.
Catch-22,
Slaugherhouse Five,
Gravity's Rainbow - I would say no; I think the backdrop of the war makes the kind of solemn self-reflection on personal identity a bit silly.
The Catcher in the Rye - Yes, probably.
Tinkers - Maybe. Howard Crosby has to carve out a life despite epilepsy (though there's no real society he's part of).
Go Tell It on the Mountain - Yes
Never Let Me Go - Maybe. Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy are clearly part of a minority group, but the schism with larger society is so complete that it seems impossible to carve out an identity.
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret - I'd say yes.
Midnight's Children - Yes, probably on a few levels. Saleem is finding an identity as a child of midnight, just as India is finding an identity in the world.
The Bell Jar - I think so. Esther struggles with the expectations others have of young urban women and tries to find an identity in that society.
The Moviegoer - The quest for identity and meaning is key, but what is the minority group Binx belongs to?
Beloved - Yes
Atonement - Probably not
A Dance to the Music of Time - Probably not
Deliverance - Maybe, but if so it's subservient to "man vs. nature" and "man vs. man" plot structures
The Adventures of Augie March - Concerned with identity, certainly. Augie's minority group is a little less clear; maybe poor Americans?
A House for Mr Biswas - I think so, with Mohun trying to find himself as an outsider in the Tulsis.
