Necessity of Invention

Terinna Chen

Professor C. Mau Primavera

English 200

11 October 2012

Necessity of Invention

I am the product of my parent's perplex reality of the perfect Chinese American daughter. Growing up was difficult because I had no role model to look up to. The only thing I had to guide me through my adolescent years was my parent's threats and ultimatums. I, like Maxine Hong Kingston, understand the effects of stories that "...tested our strength to establish realities," (Kingston, 5). "No Name Woman" is a short story written by Maxine Hong Kingston that explores her struggle with her family's unspoken secret. Her strong opening leaves the reader no choice but to pay attention to what she was about to share with you. The subtle but effective use of repetition helps Kingston make aware to her reader what she struggled with. Although Kingston uses many literary elements to compose a deep and personal story, it is the use of irony that truly helps her convey the meaning behind her story.

Kingston's short story opens with a threat given to her by her mother. She does this because it forces her reader to jump right into the story. Being forced to do something is not a pleasant gesture however it helps the reader connect to Kingston. The reader gets a glimpse of what she must of felt like when she was child. A child that was forced to hear something that she did not ask for. Besides giving the reader a taste of what it must have felt like for her she was also setting the mood. "'You must not tell anyone...'" gives the reader a sense of gravity (Kingston, 3). The reader can already hear the threat behind her mother's voice. It worked for me because I immediately heard my mom's stern and commanding voice in the back of my mind. An effective writer is capable of captivating a reader's imagination merely by sharing her own experiences, that is exactly what Kingston is doing. She is unconsciously repeating what her mother did to her to us.

Kingston's use of repetition is so subtle that many readers might overlook it. Kingston does not just repeatedly put us into the same situation she went through, but she is also repeating the secret her mother told her. At the end of the fifth and beginning of the