The Warrior Woman is a captivating novel written by Maxine Hong Kingston. The novel won the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction after receiving widespread praise from critics. In his novel, Kingston uses various literary elements to reveal the theme. Through the use of conflict, symbolism, and characterization, the message behind the theme becomes important to readers. The use of conflict gives readers a vivid view of the role played by women in Chinese society. The symbols depicted in the novel make the message of the theme more obvious to the readers. Through characterization, Kingston tells readers how they can challenge stereotypes. Kingston weaves all of these elements together to develop a well-written story. The novel's theme that women could rise above the inferior position, dictated by the male-dominated society around them, is illustrated through the use of literary elements such as conflict, symbolism and characterization. The use of conflict in the story helps readers. in understanding the theme of global history. The author used “talk stories” that her mother told her to show the conflicts that women had to endure in China. The first story told to the narrator is that of her aunt, No-Name Woman. Her mother insisted that the story must be kept secret because her aunt is supposed to go unmentioned, "as if she had never been born" (3). Her aunt committed adultery while her husband was in America and the villagers reacted cruelly. “The villagers punished her for acting as if she could have a private life, secret and separate from them” (13). The aunt was simply trying to get out of the box that Chinese society has placed women in. The... middle of paper ... uh novel. She does this using copious amounts of literary elements. Some of the elements incorporated into his story include the use of conflict, symbolism, and characterization. . The use of conflict showed the harsh reality of what women had to endure in Chinese society. Placing various symbols throughout the novel allowed the reader to personalize the message of the theme, interpreting the symbols according to their own understanding. The characterization presented the characteristics that one must obtain to transform into a warrior woman. The use of these elements makes her theme of redefining female stereotypes extremely obvious to readers. Works Cited Foster, Thomas. How to read literature like a teacher. New York: HarperCollins PublishersInc., 2003. Print. Kingston, Maxine. The warrior woman. New York: Random House Inc., 1989. Print