n to get their coats he would yell "no girls" at them. Maxine, to escape the sexism and to compromise between the Chinese and American cultures, rebelled against everything feminine. She wrote that "I refused to cook. When I had to wash dishes, I would crack one or two." Even as an adult she cant cook, almost always burning the food. To find her place in the American culture Maxine rebelled against things she saw as feminine.In order to find her own place in America, Maxine was forced to move away from her mother and Chinatown. In the "Shaman" chapter Maxine talks about how she was always sick at her mothers house. How she always had colds, went to the doctor, and used up her medical insurance. Maxine, to find her own place in society, was forced to sever almost every tie to her Chinese heritage. But Maxine, like Tsai Yen, still carried her Chinese heritage with her into the barbarian world. And they both accepted parts of the barbarian culture into their own identity. Tsai Yen sang about China to the accompaniment of the barbarian reed pipes while Maxine talked story about China and growing up in Chinatown. As Maxine wrote, "It translated well."Maxines autobiography, The Woman Warrior, is about Maxines search for a compromise between her parents Chinese culture and the American culture. Maxine forms this compromise with the help of her mothers stories and her own experience. This balance comes with the cost of nearly severing her ties to her parents and her past. But she does find a balance between the two cultures....
