The Woman Warrior | Style

The Woman Warrior Style

Literary experts both praise and criticize Kingston's writing style. She combines fact with fiction-relying on her own memories, her mother's "talk stories," and her own vivid imagination- to create a view of what it is like to grow up a Chinese-American female. The critics who appreciate her ability to mold stories in this way especially like the way she reworks traditional myths and legends to modernize their messages. This technique irritates other critics, however, especially those who are Asian Americans. They argue that Kingston's retelling of Chinese myths and legends detracts from the original purposes they were meant to serve. In addition, these critics state that her dependence on so much inventiveness renders her writing difficult to classify as autobiography or fiction.

Structure

In addition to having a unique writing style, Kingston also uses an unusual structure in her organization of The Woman Warrior. The central theme focuses...
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