The symbology of blood has many representations throughout different cultures. Some have literal views, and others have figurative, but one view that is shared throughout most cultures is the mixed view that your blood is the essence of everyone that came before you and that blood is to be honored by following the way of life your predecessors did. This way of life can be called Tradition or can be called a culture itself, and one of the greatest “sins” that can be thought to be committed by cultures is the dishonoring or disgracing of one’s blood, or in other words dishonoring one’s way of life that is shared through those that share blood. This belief has had lasting effects and influence on history and how people are treated harshly within their own culture, and a prime example is the effect it had on Maxine Hong Kingston and her aunt as told in the first reading of The Woman Warrior: No Name Woman.
Depending on the culture one resides in, it can determine the magnitude of how tradition or a following the shared life is treated. This will affect the rewards and punishments given when the way of life is not followed. China is an example where tradition is one of the profound things about their culture. This can be thought of as a result of the clan system that was practiced through ancient times and carried its influence even into the present. In a general sense clan were similar to tribes, they were families that were tied to an ancestral village who practiced and shared the same ideals. If one strayed from these things, they were seen as not part of the clan or in other words “family” and could be punished for it. This is because when dishonors their own way of life it is life, they are dishonoring everyone else’s way of life, including those who have died. I believe this is the reason why when I heard the story of her aunt, it was so graphic and disheartening. The way the people acted was possibly a result of feeling that she dishonored the way of life that has been practiced for a very long time, although it’s not nearly as tightknit and strict as it was centuries prior. But religious ties have persisted, and it seems like the smearing of blood by animals and just the use of them in general is a very common practice throughout many cultures. They even essentially stoned her house which can be a common practice of traditional punishment as well.
The way they reacted seemed like they had done it before and was a common thing that is a part of their tradition. It was a very harsh reaction, to impose on anyone and would traumatize most, especially after having to give birth in the pigsty as a result. It was so traumatizing in fact that it led to her suicide. Then also led to a young girl hearing that story once she first started menstruating and told not to humiliate the family as her aunt did. The harsh effects of tradition seem to keep passing down which only cause harsh reactions as a result. Having to keep up to tradition can have a profound effect on anyone, especially children, it’s like how Kingston states, “The villagers are watchful”(9), kind of like ghosts who haunt you to make sure you don’t dishonor the tradition that has been kept for so long, and everyone knows that people have been led to crazy things because of being haunted, so having to keep up tradition can do the same. Like the tradition of decapitation in old Japanese war culture, or the tradition of witch-hunting in old European culture, or the tradition of persecution throughout world culture. A cycle of tradition that should be kept can be harmful, but there are traditional practices that are beneficial, it’s not all bad. Kingston stated that, “Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one, a story to grow up on”(10). Instead of hearing tragic stories like this one, there could be stories told meant to inspire one to grow up, not frighten one. Which leads into the questions below:
- Do you believe there was possible potential benefit to Kingston’s mother telling her that story of her Aunt?
- How impactful do you think tradition is on today’s society?
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Hey Kenari, nice post and I like how you gave examples of some of the other instances of tradition such as the witch hunting. To answer your first discussion question, I feel there was not a direct benefit to her mother telling her the story of her aunt, but there may be a benefit from her being able to tell that story and point out what goes on in some traditions that can be damaging. It is clearly a kept secret in her family as shown in the very first sentence when Kingston quotes her mom saying, “You must not tell anyone” (Kingston 3). It is made clear from this point on that the story is not supposed to be told and she is disobeying her family in order to shed light on the horrible things that happened to her aunt, possibly in hopes that such actions in certain cultures stop.
Hi Kenari, I really enjoyed your post. I loved your whole point that tradition for some cultures is everything to them in their families or in their society as a whole. To answer your first question, I don’t believe there was a specific reason why her mother told Kingston what happened to her aunt. Her mother could have explained the story to her because she wants to educate her but it seems she is trying to possibly protect the family name in some sort. Kingston’s mother is already trying to do that by telling her “you must not tell anyone”. Her saying this is showing that she doesn’t want anyone else to know the horrible “crime” her aunt did that could potentially ruin their family. Tradition is a very powerful thing that some cultures have that can be very serious in their lives. There are strict expectations that Chinese culture has.
I really like the direction that you took your blog post! I am going to answer your first question.
Kingston’s mother told her the story about her aunt in order to try to scare Kingston out of making decisions that would humiliate the family. The aunt got pregnant while her husband was working in America. This pregnancy destroyed the family’s reputation in their village since she did not get pregnant with her husband. The situation brought so much disgrace to their family’s name that Kingston’s mother states, “we say that your father has all brothers because it is as if she had never been born” (Kingston page 3). Kingston’s mother purposely waits till she gets her period since she will now be able to get pregnant if she chooses to have sex before marriage. She uses stories as a way to scare them into making decisions that would best represent the family. Kingston’s mother threatens them by saying, “you wouldn’t like to be forgotten as if you had never been born” (Kingston page 5). The families in the village take pride in their names and want their families to represent them in the best possible way. Even though the family is now in America, Kingston’s mother tells her, “the villagers are watchful” (Kingston page 5). This shows that even though they do not live there anymore, their identity in the village is still connected to them and the village will still find out if someone hurts their family’s name. The benefit to Kingston’s mom telling her the story is to make sure that she represents the family well so the village does not get disappointed in her like they did her aunt.
Hey Kenari, I really like how deep you went with your post. I think you made an interesting observation about the villagers almost being like ghosts who want to keep the same traditions. To answer your first question, I do not think there was a direct benefit to Kingston’s mother telling her the story. I think that she was simply telling her daughter the story in hopes that she won’t make the same mistake as her aunt. While she is looking out for her daughter, she is also looking out for the reputation of her family. Kingston’s mother states, “‘Don’t let your father know that I told you’” (Kingston 5). If anything, telling the story to Kingston would be more likely to get her in trouble with her husband than benefit her. Therefore, I don’t think Kingston’s mother had any intentions of benefitting herself, only her daughter and the reputation of the family.
Hey Kanari, I really enjoyed reading your post. I am going to be answering your first question. I believe that there was possible potential benefit to Kingston’s mother telling her that story of her aunt. Kingston’s mother shares this story with her about her aunt as way to make sure that Kingston does not humiliate the family. Kingston’s mother says to her “Don’t let your father know that I told you. He denies her. Now that you have started to menstruate, what happened to her could happen to you. Don’t humiliate us. You wouldn’t like to be forgotten as if you had never been born. The villagers are watchful.” (Kingston page 5). I believe that Kingston’s mother said this to scare Kingston and make sure she does not make bad choices at such a young age. I also believe that her mother shared this story with her because she cares about her daughter and does not want to see anything bad happen to her.
Hi Kenari great job on your post. For the first question, I think she tells her so her daughter can learn from the mistakes her aunt made. She does not want the same for her own daughter. She wants the best for her. I think the importance of this goes back to the beginning of the book, the opening line, “you must not tell anyone” (Kingston page 1), just showing the severity of it. For the second question, I think tradition is extremely important to society today. Everybody and every family has one. It brings people together in a very special way. Whether it is holidays, religion, or just familial traditions, they all matter so much to people.
Hey Kenari, I really enjoyed this post. I am going to address your first question and try to tie in some of the points you made as well. I believe that there could be some beneficial aspects about learning about her aunt’s story. I believe while it is beneficial, it is upsetting that it seems important for Kingston to have this knowledge in order to protect herself. Kingston’s mother tells her, “Now that you have started to menstruate, what happened to her could happen to you. Don’t humiliate us. You wouldn’t like to be forgotten as if you had never been born. The villagers are watchful.” (Kingston page 5). This line is important because it shows how Kingston having this knowledge is important for her safety, but the way her mother approached the situation or portrayed the message to her daughter was very harsh. It gives me mixed feelings. It sounds more like her mother is protecting herself rather than her own daughter.
Hey Kenari! Great job on your blog post. aid love to answer your first question. I of course believe that there was benefit to telling the story of her fathers sister. Maybe not in the literal sense in her running the streets shouting her fathers story, but in a more real sense to help her. “You must not tell anyone… what Im about to tell you.” (Kingston, Page 1) I believe she isn’t telling her daughter so she can tell the world, but she is telling her daughter so that she knows the implications of culture and tradition have on people. She is telling her for the purpose of saving her. She doesn’t want her daughter to have to go through such horrible things.
Continuation of comment.
She knows it is already too late for herself, but if she can save her daughter from the troubles of the past, it will feel like she has done something. She is protecting her from the bad choices that she might make down the line by telling her this story
Kenari,
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog post. Your title, “The Impact of Blood: How Tradition effects Lifestyle,” was perfect for your post, and did a great job at drawing in the reader and summarizing the post without giving away too many details. As for the content of the blog itself, your comparison of the importance of blood and familial lines to ancient Chinese clans and dynasties was very profound, and aiding in your point of the Aunt’s story being so “graphic and disheartening,” because to go against your family and blood is an extremely dishonorable act. I’m going to answer your second question, “How impactful do you think tradition is on today’s society?” I think that, just as you said, it depends on the culture, and even more so in a modern aspect. Tradition is very important, especially in a melting pot like America, and I think that people here really value their blood and culture and lineage.
Hey Kenari! I really enjoyed your blog post, specifically how you talked about tradition and how it affects us. To answer your first question; I do think that there were some positive affects from her mother telling her the story of her aunt, even if she didn’t tell it for the right reasons. If her mother had never brought up her aunt again, her life and story would just be lost forever, and now this is a story that the author gets to tell. Her mother tells her, “Don’t tell anyone you had an aunt. Your father does not want to hear her name. She has never been born” (pg.15). This quote shows just how stubborn her family was about keeping this story hidden, and Kingston deciding to share this breaks the cycle and the norms and ultimately introduces something new.
Kenari I thought your blog post really explained the culture aspect of the beginning of this book. After reading your blog post and the first two memoirs I believe Kingston’s mother told her the story of her aunt to benefit her daughter and overall keep her safe. For Kingston this was only a story to her, a lesson and she feels her aunt’s ghost from it. I think Kingston’s mother purposefully shared this intense story to teach her daughter lesson and not hide the harsh factors that their culture involves. Another example of this would be from the second memoir named “White Tiger”. On page 46, when Kingston shares another intense memory of her after she met with the new emperor, it was because the emperor called her names and phrases that her mother shared with her beforehand. Doing this so helped Kingston be stronger when meeting with the emperor and facing him for rights for all. “When you were little, all you had to say was ‘I’m not a bad girl,’ and you could make yourself cry, my mother says, talking-story about my childhood.”. Although this memory was harsh for a little girl it made her be able to defend for herself and her background when going up against the new emperor, because she had these past experiences from her mother growing up.