Comparing Kingston and Cisneros' Takes on the Immigrant Experience

Blog Post #4

Maxine Hong Kingston and Sandra Cisneros describe life as an immigrant in the United States similarly, though the ways in which they describe the experience differs. Kingston suggests that Americans are quite different than her place of birth, China, yet she does so entirely in English. Cisneros has a similar take on the life of an immigrant, yet she makes her point by integrating her native language, Spanish, into the piece in order to emphasize the cultural differences. In other words, Kingston and Cisneros describe cultural differences between immigrants and the United States, yet make their points differently.

In Kingston’s “The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts,” it is clear that there are huge cultural differences between the Chinese immigrants and Americans. There is a scene where the main character’s mom asks her to get “reparation candy” because the drugstore delivered the wrong order. She states that they “have tainted [her] house with sick medicine and must remove the curse with sweetness” (Kingston, 66). However, once the drug store owner hears the request, he is obviously mystified as to why anyone would request such a thing. Also, Americans, whether they are white or black, are referred to as ghosts. The connotation behind ghosts is obvious: they are not of this world and are scary. Therefore, it does not take a great imagination to see that Kingston is suggesting that Americans are very different from the Chinese immigrants and thus invoke fear. With that being said, it is worth noting that the entirety of  “The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts” is written in English, and therefore, all of these cues about the immigration experience are observable due to the descriptions rather than the style of writing.

Similarly, in “Woman Hollering Creek,” Cisneros alludes to cultural differences between her homeland, Mexico, and the United States.  For example, the main character, Cleófilas, describes an American woman who “drove a pickup [...] but when [she] asked if it was her husband’s she said she didn’t have a husband.” This woman also went on to describe another car as a “pussy car” (Cisneros, 78). “Everything about this woman amazed Cleófilas” which makes it clear that there are cultural differences between Mexico and the United States that she did not even expect. Furthermore, Cisneros is able to show where certain differences lie through her use of the Spanish Language. Throughout the text, she inserts Spanish phrases that help show the differences between Mexico and the United States. For instance, there are times when Cleófilas tries to cope with hardship by imagining what her favorite soap opera star, Lucia Mendez would do. She remembers “Tú o Nadie. ‘You or No One.’ The title of her current favorite telenovela. The beautiful Lucia Mendez having to put up with all kinds of hardships” (Cisneros, 74). She also hopes that her move to the United States will allow her to “wear outfits like the women on the tele, like Lucia Mendez” (Cisneros, 74). These references to Mexican popular culture intertwined with Spanish words demonstrate that Cleófilas is having difficulty adapting to the culture in the United States and thus, is clinging to what she is comfortable with.

Accounts such as the ones given by Kingston and Cisneros are important for Americans who did not have to adapt to life in the United States as an immigrant. They help us see that it is difficult to adapt and even though they may seem different, they are trying to fit in. In all, Kingston and Cisneros’ different ways of showing those differences provide a look at two different types of immigrants that will help broaden the understanding of those who cannot experience the immigrant experience for themselves.