Running head: Pairing Classical and Young Adult Texts

Pairing Classical and Young Adult Texts:

The Woman Warrior and Shanghai Girls
Rebekka Inglefield
Towson University

Abstract
People are hesitant to teach novels whether they may be classical novels or young adult
novels, on the topics of immigration and first-generation Americans because of the themes that
are present in these novels. People are correct about the themes that come with teaching these
novels; Throughout The Woman Warrior and Shanghai Girls, the prominent themes are
traditional roles of women, immigration, and violence. These themes are what some teachers try
to avoid, but I believe there is a benefit to teaching these specific novels, especially when pairing
these two novels together because they each offer such different viewpoints. From the Alan
Review, Japanese and Japanese American Youth in Literature, Although Asians Americans,
including those of Japanese heritage, have lived in the United States for over 150 years, too little
about their experiences, their history, the country of their heritage, and their literature is reflected
in the curriculum of the public schools (Zitlow, Stover). If teachers have to teach on these
subjects, Zitlow and Stover say that teachers will teach right out of a history book so they can get
the facts of the history, rather than teaching about the experiences of first generation
Japanese/Chinese Americas. This is all why I believe this pairing is crucial in a young adult
classroom.
This article will discuss the benefits of pairing Maxine Hong Kingstons The Woman
Warrior and Lisa Sees Shanghai Girls. Along with talking about the benefits this article will also
consist of how these stories will be placed in the classroom and what supplement resources will
be available for teachers who are wanting to teach this lesson.

Using both The Woman Warrior and Shanghai Girls, students will compare the
experiences of first generation American women who have traveled from their home country to
America to seek out a better life for her and her family, whether this decision was forced or by
choice. Students will see the differences of these experiences as well as the similarities.
A quick summary of the novel would be through the lives of these five women, Kingtons
Aunt, Fa Mu Lan, Brave Orchid, Moon Orchid and Kingston herself. The novel The Woman
Warrior integrates Kingstons own lived experience through her life of a first generation Chinese
America. The story begins with Kingstons mother telling her she can never tell anyone about the
story she is about to tell, is about her aunt. This story is told even though her aunt is no longer
living, she is known as a disgrace to the family. The theme of silence and disgrace are portrayed
throughout this specific talk story. These themes are also apparent in Shanghai Girls, which is
something the students will pick up on during their readings. Pearls father talks about her as a
disgrace to the family and that she should be more like her sister, or stay silent. In The Woman
Warrior, Kingstons aunt was shunned from the family because she had a baby while not being
married. This was something that was a major disgrace in the traditional Chinese values and so
she killed herself. The next woman that Kingston focuses on is Fa Mu Lan, Kingston was
determined to transform traditional Chinese values in order to portray women as warriors. A
warrior is someone who fights until her body cannot fight anymore, Fa Mu Lan emulates this
persistence and willingness. A warrior can also be portrayed through May and Pearl during their
constant battles to make it to America. Brave Orchid, Kingstons mother is seen as intelligent but
misguided, proud of her heritage but also guarded and tries to erase part of her past. I believe

these roles of women and how they are shaped through the novel is very important and can really
benefit students.
Additional resources that could help teachers in further researching Maxine Hong
Kingston and The Woman Warrior, would be an interview of Maxine Hong Kingston from the
National Endowment for the Arts. This is a credible website that participated in an interview with
Kingston. The interview discusses her life as a pioneering author who in many ways cleared the
path for both ethnic and womens literature (Josephine Reed). The interview will also talk
briefly about The Woman Warrior and some of her other popular works. This will give teachers
who are looking to teach this lesson a better understanding of who Maxine Hong Kingston is as a
woman and as an author.
The second novel in this pairing is Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. In this novel, May and
Pearl are both being married off by their father for money. Their experiences throughout this
journey are rough, Pearl was attacked, raped and just as she is getting over this incident, her
sister gets pregnant accidently. May cannot continue her journey to meet Old Man Louie because
he will know it is not his sons baby. According to Old Man Louie, May will be seen as a
disgrace and not fit to marry his son. This is she wants Pearl to pretend the baby is her own; May
talks about how the baby will not be seen as such a disgrace because it is known that Pearl was in
a potential marriage situation. The women talk about their experiences entering America as very
negative. They stay at Angel Island until they are allowed into Los Angeles. Angel Island is
known as the place that is meant to keep the Chinese out, rather than to allow them to enter in
America. The women have no choice on when they are allowed to eat or when they are forced to
go to sleep. The story continues on going through the life of Joy, May and Pearl as they live their
lives as first generation Chinese women living in America. Joy leaves a note for her mother and

aunt saying that she has left to China to find her real father and the end of the novel ends with
Pearl going after Joy. This novel will be a novel that the students read at home because it is a
novel that is not as tough to comprehend and is an easier read for the students. I want the
students to be reading the novels at the same time, this will take a lot of reading on the students
part but I believe it will be worth it to be able to connect these two readings. That way the
students will be able to pair these significant themes and understand the similarities and
differences in the novels.
In both of these novels, the women had very different experiences in America, Maxine
Hong Kingston did not as tough of a time entering into America as May and Pearl did, but
instead had a tougher time connecting to the fast pace life of America. Both of these novels are
very different but that is why I believe it is a very good pairing between a classical novel and a
young adult novel. The students get to read about two very different experiences living as a first
generation American.

Resources:
Norris, M., (2009). Shanghai Girls Details A Chinese-American Odyssey. NPR. Retrieved
from: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104534381
Reed, J., (2013). Maxine Hong Kingston. National Endowment for the Arts. Washington, DC.
Retrieved from: https://www.arts.gov/audio/maxine-hong-kingston
Stover, L., Zitlow, C., 1998. "Japanese and Japanese American Youth in Literature". Alan
Review. Web. Retrieved from: http://Scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/spring98/
zitlow.html