The Chinese are fearful of the drowned one, whose weeping ghost, wet hair hanging and skin bloated, waits silently by the water to pull a substitute. Kingston is deeply affected by the fact that no one is allowed to know the name of her aunt and that her aunt has no descendants honoring her. She tries to rectify this in her own way by telling her aunt's story. Kingston fears that she will become the next no name woman in her family for some new indiscretion and bring shame and dishonor on her family, but most of all that she will never be accepted for who she is. At this point of the book I began to relate to Kingston. I understood her need to know the unknown about who she was and the reasons for her families silence.
The second part of the book, "White Tigers", contains another talk-story, the tale of Fa Mu Lan, another woman who did not follow the traditional Chinese path but instead of bringing shame upon her family, is hailed nationally as a hero. She adapts the ancient legend of Mu Lan, the warrior woman to Fa Mu Lan, incorporating elements from another tale so that the swordswoman becomes a wordswoman, with her culture inscribed on the body. The swordswoman and I are not so dissimilar. May my people understand the resemblance soon so that I can return to them. What we have in common are the words at our backs. The idioms for revenge are "report a crime" and "report to five families". The reporting is the vengeance not the beheading, not the gutting, but the words. And I have so many words "chink" words "gook words too that they do not fit on my skin (p53). In my own words what Kingston was speaking in her own silent words, is that we are all affected by others who speak in a negative manner towards us and leave the emotional scars behind.
In chapter three Shaman, this chapter tells Brave Orchid's story. Kingston tells of her mother's documents, her diploma, her class picture, and a scroll of words.
