 |
Maxine Hong Kingston Woman Warrior
Website Evaluators
Kim Deskin - Overlake Hospital Adolescent Psychiatric Program, Washington
Wink Rush - Millington Central High School, Tennessee
Joseph Taylor - Perryville High School, Maryland
Website Reviewer and Compiler
Patricia Penrose- Nogales High School, California
Site Ratings
1 = Poor 2 = Fair 3 = Good 4 = Excellent
Chinese Culture in Mulan
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/5082/culture.html
Enhanced with Disney illustrations, this excellent collection focuses on the Chinese
culture as seen in the ballad of Mulan, detailing the characters, symbols, setting, actions and attitudes presented in the film. Primarily a source for research or background material, the scope of the site
is broadened by the use of audio clips and now familiar visuals. The site includes an interesting discussion of the role of the dragon in Chinese literature.
Overall Rating: 4
Daily Life in Ancient China
http://members.aol.com/Donnclass/Chinalife.html
All you would ever need to know about the last
11,000 years of Chinese history is contained on this site. Presented in a stimulating manner, this resource covers all facets of Chinese daily life, explains the major philosophies of Confucianism, Taoism and
Buddhism and provides links to major people and events. Five specific lessons, one tied directly to the site, offer considerable teacher support; students will be drawn to "this fun look at
history." "The site is delightful in every sense: friendly, colorful, easy to navigate, highlighted with appropriate graphics."
Overall Rating: 4
A View of Three Cultures through the Eyes of Three Contemporary Women Writers
http://www.cis.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/guides/1992/4/92.04.10.x.html
An excellent source of information for both teachers and students,
this site begins with the question: "What is multicultural literature?" It then defines the term and provides a historical overview of the role of Asian-American women from the late 1700s forward. Of
particular interest to teachers is the three-week unit of Kingston's The Woman Warrior, complete with lesson plans, discussion questions, activities and assignments, supplemental reading, notes and
bibliographies. "Excellent resource. The background material is more than helpful, and topics for discussion and writing are appropriate and extensive."
Overall Rating: 4
Angel Island: Asian History
http://www.a-better.com/LK-AHSTY.HTM
This site offers a historical look at Asian history in
California. "Overall, the content is good and interesting. However, there are some minor gaps in the narration, which might be overlooked by a casual reader; and the work ends on a depressing, though
perhaps realistic, note." The teacher support is fair with potential application to the history of Kingston's work. "While the site provides a brief introduction to Chinese-American history, it includes
no direct student application." The site itself has "beautiful detail; every page is enhanced with pictures."
Overall Rating: 3Becoming Chinese-American
http://hist264.clt.binghamton.edu/yang.htm
This essay was written by a Chinese-American student at SUNY, Binghamton, for an honors history
class. She quotes extensively from Maxine Hong Kingston, Amy Tan and Lawrence Yep as she connects her personal experiences in her search for an ethnic identity with the same kind of experiences described in the
authors' writings. While the site offers good background and interpretational material, there is little support for teachers and students beyond a good example of the essay form. The site is clear but not
spectacular.
Overall Rating: 3Exploring Ancient World Cultures: China
http://eawc.evansville.edu/chpage.htm
"This site provides an invaluable
index of Internet resources on Chinese culture, art, history, and philosophy." From a detailed timeline of thousands of years of Chinese history to numerous images of works of art spanning the range of
Chinese culture, to discussions of philosophy, the site offers teachers and students a wide variety of information, but no specific classroom support. The site is easily maneuvered, loads quickly and offers
"beautiful enhancement and quick connections."
Overall Rating: 3Maxine Hong Kingston
http://www.georgetown.edu/bassr/heath/syllabuild/iguide/kingston.html
As part of Heath's electronic support for its Anthology of American
Literature, this site is an online instructor's guide to The Woman Warrior. It provides teachers and students with a good source of information on genre, historical context, themes, form, style, audience
and literary comparisons. Several discussion questions, hints on classroom application and a bibliography of Kingston's work offer additional support. The site is "direct, attractive, and easy to
read."
Overall Rating: 3The Ballad of Mulan
http://www.hk.super.net/~shung/favorites/mulan.html
This colorful, well-designed site offers teachers and students little beyond a retelling of the Mulan
legend in Chinese with a link to the English translation. A fair amount of information is presented with a brief commentary on the legend, a review of the Disney version and a link to Maxine Hong Kingston's Mulan reference in
The Woman Warrior. The site is enhanced with graphics and photographs and is linked back to its home page, "an intriguing Chinese website."
Overall Rating: 2The Good Life
http://bsd.mojones.com/mother_jones/MJ95/krasny.html
While this article by Michael Krasny describes the books that influenced a host of major
writers, both European and Asian, there is only one text linked to Maxine Hong Kingston. Another link is for the book by Buddhist leader Thich Nhat Hanh, For a Future to be Possible: Concepts on the Five
Wonderful Precepts. "Because the article contains profanity, it may be offensive to some." Navigation to the site may be problematic because an "alternate issue in (the) Mother Jones
' archive is titled 'Teen Sex Wars.' Invested students, however, would have no problem locating similar articles."
Overall Rating: 2Maxine Hong Kingston
http://www.gale.com/gale/cwh/kingsto.html
Beginning with a brief biography of Kingston in which she recounts a fourth grade writing
experience, working feverishly on what was ultimately a thirty-verse-poem, the site also contains summaries, early influences and critical appraisals for three of her novels: The Woman Warrior, China Men
, and Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book. Gale "offers plenty of information on (the) person; great for starters but lacks substance." There is little more for teacher resources and no student
support.
Overall Rating: 2Maxine Hong Kingston: Warrior Woman
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~natasha/usauto_html/kingston
"Very sophisticated students may wish to check out the link sponsored by the College Writing and Research Lab of the University of Texas at
Austin." Created by students, this page contains a guided focus and commentary on Kingston's work, looking at issues of gender, culture and class, offering teachers a viable resource. Because of the
elevated prose style of the work, few high school students might find this accessible. The site is "well-designed, attractive and colorful."
Overall Rating: 2Women's Stories of Triumph
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1997/08/20/home/home.1.html
From the electronic archives of The
Christian Science Monitor, this piece compares four women writers: Helen Keller, Maya Angelou, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Eva Hoffman. The site briefly discusses the women's memoirs and presents moving paragraphs from
each text. The teaching support is fair in that the article could prompt class discussion but student resources are nonexistent. The site is simple and spare with no links to other resources.
Overall Rating: 2To see a student generated essay on Maxine Hong Kingston, go to the California Literary Map |
