“The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts.”By Maxine Hong Kingston 1. Why do you think Kingston starts her essay with this story about how her mother cut her
frenum underneath her tongue?

2. How is Kingston using the word tongue — literally, figuratively (as a metaphor for speech and expression), or both? What effect does this have?

3. Where is this "ghost country," and what information can we infer from this single line of dialogue?

4.How does Kingston describe her relationship with English?

5.What other groups of students does Kingston say she identified with at school, and how did she get along with each?

6.How does Kingston describe the internal struggle she experienced when trying to read aloud? How did the teacher seem to interpret her struggle, and was the teacher's reaction helpful?

7.How does Kingston use figurative language to describe what speaking felt like for her and her sister? Why do you think she does this?