AP Language & Composition
Blaber
“No Name Woman” by Maxine Hong Kingston
pp. 485-495 The Writer’s Presence
pp. 27-37 The Blair Reader
1. What is the mother’s attitude toward the aunt, as revealed in her story (retold by
Kingston)?
2. According to the mother, what is the purpose of telling the story? How does her
purpose set the stage for Kingston’s questions and reflections throughout the
essay?
3. What do you think Kingston means when she writes that her mother’s stories
“tested our strength to establish realities” (para. 10)?
4. In paragraphs 21-29, why does Kingston give so much imaginative description to
her aunt’s concern with appearance?
5. Why does Kinston add information in paragraphs 34-35 about her own
adolescence and personal experience with dating?
6. Starting around paragraph 40, the pace of this essay begins to quicken, the
descriptions become more graphic, the action more dramatic. What is Kingston’s
intended effect? Has she prepared the reader for this change?
7. How do the final two paragraphs serve as a kind of coda for the rest of the piece?
8. How would you describe Kingston’s attitude toward her aunt by the end of the
essay? Try thinking in terms of pairs of words that capture the complexity of her
response, e.g., ambivalent reverence.
9. Gender is a primary motif in “No Name Woman.” Judging from the evidence in
this piece, how would you characterize Chinese expectations of men? Of women?
10. How much do these gender stereotypes determine the events of the story about
Kingston’s aunt?