A Study Of Rhetorical Narrative Strategies In The Woman Warrior

The Woman Warrior: Memorial of Girlhood Among Ghosts, the first novel ofprestigious Chinese American woman writer Maxine Hong Kingston, has had a greatimpact on American literature academia. It not only establishes Kingston’s uniqueposition in American literature but also lays a foundation for the flourishingdevelopment of Chinese American literature. The Woman Warrior is a novel thatnarrates four women’s different fates through a Chinese American little girl’s talking.By employing such a way of talk-story, Kingston tactfully integrates Chinese culturewith American culture as well as reality with fancy.Since the publication of The Woman Warrior, numerous relevant monographs andpapers have sprung up like mushrooms. Among those researches, there are also somepapers on narrative strategy, most of which, however, are under the guidance of classicalnarratological theories. Researches related to post-classical narratological theories arerare.As one of the most important theories of post-classical narratology, rhetoricaltheory of narrative focuses on the recursive relationship among author, text and reader.Furthermore, as a relatively new theory, rhetorical theory of narrative has not been utilized systematically in the research of The Woman Warrior. Hence, the dissertationwill apply rhetorical theory of narrative to discuss the narrative strategies that the authoruses to convey knowledges, emotions, values and beliefs to readers.This dissertation consists of five chapters. The first chapter firstly offers a briefintroduction to Kingston and her works, and then it depicts the significance and frameof this research. The second chapter is devoted to summarizing the previous researcheson The Woman Warrior and rhetorical theory of narrative at home and abroad,particularly on rhetorical narrative strategies. Chapter three elaborates the concept ofJames Phelan’s rhetorical theory of narrative. By comparing classical narratology andpost-classical narratology, this chapter points out the new development of post-classicalnarratology and the peculiarity of applying it to analyzing the novel. The fourth chapter,as the main part of this dissertation, focuses on discussing the narrative strategiesemployed in the novel, including alternations in narrative levels, unreliable narration,dual focalization, narrative time and narrative voice. By analyzing the strategies indetail, this chapter discusses how these strategies help to make narration go smoothly,and how they facilitate to reveal the theme of novel and arouse audience’s interest to geta deeper understanding of the work. The last chapter is the conclusion of this paper. Byskillfully arranging those rhetorical narrative strategies, Kingston makes readers realizeher consciousness of pursuing the integration of Chinese and American cultures.Based on the research, it can be concluded that the skillful alternations amonginner level, middle level and outer level in The Woman Warrior help readers to realizeChinese Americans’ ambiguous consciousness of eastern and western cultures.Unreliable narration inspires readers’ curiosity and guides them to discover the facts andKingston’s real thoughts. The shift between internal focalization and externalfocalization represents Kingston’s dream of being a woman warrior so as to overcomesexual and racial discriminations, and integrate eastern and western cultures. The usageof order, duration and frequency highlights Kingston’s thought of integrating bothcultures. While, narrative voice reveals that the integration of both cultures is not onlythe personal pursuit of Kingston but it is also the communal aspiration of all ChineseAmerican women. In a word, the discussion on rhetorical narrative strategies in TheWoman Warrior not only expresses how the author tactfully arranges strategies to makereaders read in a fresh way but it also leads readers to dig out author’s inner state ofconsciousness. Furthermore, the dissertation also provides a new vision for readers toappreciate other literature works.