There are few identities that fit neatly into conventional binary thought systems. The binary oppositions that exist in the spheres of race and gender are unique to the individuals who occupy the intersections of these identities. In The Woman Warrior, Kingston's goal is not to erase these binary oppositions, but to demonstrate that the narrative of a Chinese-American woman does not and cannot fit into them. In this way, Kingston must resist binary systems of thought to adequately convey a specific narrative: a narrative that is typically excluded and misrepresented. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In “White Tigers” Kinston tells the historical story of Fa Mu Lan in order to establish representation where none can be found. In the original tale, Fa Mu Lan fights to defend his country, but in Kingston's version he fights against a corrupt emperor. This narrative decision destabilizes the divide between fiction and nonfiction, but not simply for theatrical purposes. At the end of “White Tigers” Kingston writes: “My parents had bought their own coffins. They would sacrifice a pig to the gods I had returned. From the words on my back and the way they came to fruition, the villagers would create a legend about my perfect filiality. My American life has been a real disappointment” (45). These lines initially serve to demonstrate a stark contrast between the binary of fiction and nonfiction. The narration of Fa Mu Lan's imagined story is abruptly interrupted by Kingston's subsequent thoughts on America. Ultimately, this narrative choice is not meant to reinforce the divide between fiction and nonfiction, but to show that Kingston's desired and actual narrative lacks representation in history and in the present day. There is a certain pointlessness in the phrase “My American life has been such a disappointment” (Kingston 45). He understands that his story is not fiction, but that doesn't negate Kingston's very real experience of it. Kingston must rewrite Fa Mu Lan's story to adequately represent her identity as a Chinese-American woman. The original story appeals to the conventional ideals of Chinese culture and even Chinese womanhood: loyalty, obedience and perseverance. Kingston's decision to fight against the corrupt emperor, however, hints at his own struggles against an oppressive patriarchy. In this oppression, her narrative is not erased: she is simply not given a platform on which to exist. Kingston must forge its own story to represent its identity. Kingston struggles against oppressive power hierarchies but must also deal with more internal binary oppositions. Much of her narrative is complicated by the fact that it was conveyed to her through unstable and opposing sources. Kingston must constantly grapple with the binaries of subjectivity and objectivity, reality and falsehood when attempting to present his narrative. For example, much of what her mother, Brave Orchid, conveys to her is full of inconsistencies and elusive, elusive explanations. At the beginning of “Shaman,” Kingston's mother tells her that she once had two other brothers: “Their two sons had been dead for ten years” (60). However, at the end of the story Brave Orchid retorts: “No, you must have been dreaming. You must have made up some stories. You are all the children there are” (103). Here we see how Kingston fails to clearly mark the gap between fact and fiction or between subjectivity and objectivity: her mother's narrative is simply not presented in this way. Furthermore, this can be interpreted as aproduct of Brave Orchid reports grappling with restrictive binary thinking. His stories are inconsistent because binary thought systems prevent acceptance of his identity. The possible shame and cultural disgrace of having dead children would prevent Kingston's mother from speaking explicitly on the topic: she must mother the dead children but also appear to be an adequate mother. Likewise, Kingston must accept his mother's stories while maintaining an unexpressed doubt. She writes, in “No Name Woman,” “In the twenty years since I heard this story I have not asked for details or told my aunt's name; I don't know” (Kingston 16). Here we see a fundamental opposition at play that permeates all of Kingston's attempts to grapple with his narrative. The story of her ghostly aunt haunts her, yet she doesn't even know her aunt's name. With the unstable oppositions between fact and fiction and between subjectivity and objectivity at the root of Kingston's story, it is clear how his narrative would consequently challenge binary thinking. The struggle to appeal to both ends of binary oppositions is a major root of Kingston's narrative. The expectation to maintain honesty but also utmost discretion extends to the sphere of race relations that Kingston manages in America. His identity is complicated by the intersection of Chinese and American he occupies. Kingston recounts his days in American school, and describes a time when the divide between Chinese and Americans, foreigners and non-foreigners, is particularly stark: “The class laughed at how stupid he was for not noticing things. "She calls him my father," she said. We laughed too, even though we knew that his mother did not call his father by name, and a son does not know his father's name” (177). Here we see that the desperate need for assimilation prevents non-white Americans from being able to, in some sense, fully exist within their own identity. Kingston and the other Chinese American students are aware of the boy's plight, yet they laugh along with their American classmates. This is because no space is created for those who are foreign or otherwise: they must appear fully Chinese and face discrimination, or attempt to “Americanize” themselves to please their white peers. Kingston cannot convey a story that adheres to racial binaries because she herself opposes them simply by existing. She must respond to both American and Chinese identities and is not given the opportunity to occupy a space on the platform. Furthermore, Kingston must further deconstruct her identity through appealing to American ideals of femininity. At this point the many binary forces that govern Kingston's identity have begun to reveal themselves, and the intricate nature of his oppression is clear. Kingston is doubly oppressed as a Chinese American and as a Chinese American woman. He cannot simply assimilate into American culture; it must do so while taking into account the gender expectations of both cultures. She writes, “When we Chinese girls listened to the stories of adults, we learned that we would fail if we grew up to be only wives or slaves” (Kingston 19). Here Kingston is referring to the rigid structure of the gender binary and the consequently oppressive expectations for gender performance. She must grow up as a wife or slave or risk being considered a useless woman. Kingston further writes, “We American-Chinese girls had to whisper to make ourselves American-feminine” (173). This reveals a truly complex intersection of binary oppositions. Kingston references the fact that American womanhood is different from Chinese womanhood, which puts a strain on a Chinese American woman struggling to assert her identity..