Woman Warrior captures the heroic struggle of finding ones identity in a harsh and unforgiving world. This recurring theme resonates throughout the novel but is particularly noticeable in the contrast between silence and speaking out. In the final chapter, titled “A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe,” Kingston explains how she felt unable to communicate to others growing up. She was caught between worlds. Her Chinese influences taught her “a ready tongue is an evil.” (164) “A dumbness—a shame—still cracks my voice into two, even when I want to say ‘hello’ casually… A telephone call makes my throat bleed and takes up a day of courage.” (165)

Her silence leads her to bottle things up inside which eventually burst out at her mother. “…my throat burst open. I stood up talking and burbling” (201)

The story was one of finding her place in the world and in her past—a reconciliation of her Chinese background and her American surroundings. She struggled to find her voice in her hybrid world.