Critical Writing (debating cultural idea) - Essay Example

Most traditional cultures have strong attachments to certain beliefs that define accepted moral conduct and virtues. For instance, the case of the Chinese culture under consideration, the author of “No Name Woman”, Maxine Hong Kingston discloses that a number of customs seem impossible in the United States remain sound and commonly acceptable in China (Kingston, 1976). The traditional China regarded women as low-level residents in the society. The women had no chance of making an opinion that can define either social-economical or political fate of a society.

The women were required to follow and value the doubt of the customs. In the case under consideration, the Chinese woman who committed suicide was never counted as one of the children. The culture did not allow even mentioning that, the victim was part of the bereaved family. This is an assurance that had no place in democracies such as the US, which appreciated a better culture (Kingston, 1976). The author Chinese-American immigrant finds it difficult to accommodate the US culture, with her Chinese mind.

Equally, the case indicates that, the author’s aunt, committed adultery when her husband had travelled to America. According to the Chinese culture, the woman acted against the Chinese norms on social and family life, which called for stoning, but instead she was sent back to her parents. This indicates the strength of the Chinese customs, which makes the author difficult to take in the American culture (Kingston, 1976). These acts created a cultural conflict between members of the family who believed that a taboo should not be broken.

This resulted to the woman considered an outsider, who could not be allowed to be one of the family members. The author of the case study expresses a cultural conflict on these acts. The author feels that the Chinese culture is too ancient in comparison with the American one. The sees the acts of the villagers on the home house as