Background Information

Some  of the background information for At the Western Palace is as follows: in  Communist China in the 1960s-70s, during the terrible "Cultural  Revolution'' millions of youth were forcefully deported to the poorest  parts of the country and condemned to a life of hard labor and poverty.  Many students were denied opportunities such as going to college, whether they were straight A students or not. This is why many Chinese people immigrated to the United States, which further educed the Chinese Exclusion Act passed by congress which put restrictions on immigration limiting the number of Chinese immigrants to very few. This is why in the story, At the Western Palace Brave Orchid thinks to her self about how things have changed since she came to America, it had become a lot more strict and stressful.

Also some words I found in the story that were unfamiliar to me and might be helpful to learn, and might be to others as well are as follows with their definitions:

    Wakeful- unable to sleep; not sleeping; indisposed to sleep

    Intricacies- complications

    Benevolent-   characterized by or expressing goodwill or kindly feelings

    Exasperated- to irritate or provoke to a high degree; annoy extremely

    Proprietress- a woman who owns property or a business

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQs

-Why does the author exaggerate?

            Brave Orchid is an exaggerated character. She is so domineering that she has become a caricature.

-What is the significance of the “Gold Mountain”?

            It shows their “grass is greener on the other side” mentality.

-Why do Brave Orchid’s children seem untraditional?

            They have become Americanized. There are so many differences between the cultures that they have changed from growing up here.

-What is the significance of the title?

            It is the name of the story Brave Orchid told in the car.

-What is the meaning of the names Brave Orchid and Moon Orchid?

            Brave Orchid shows her domineering and confident nature, and Moon Orchid represents her soft, meek demeanor.

-What effect did Brave Orchid have on the meeting with Moon Orchid’s husband?

            Moon Orchid was embarrassed by the whole situation and Brave Orchid pushed her into it even though she didn’t want to do it.

-How does the history of communism affect the story?

            It affects their behavior, because their upbringing and manner is completely different.

-What does the relationship between the sisters show?

They’re very honest and confrontational with each other and show a sharper contrast between their personalities. Being in America has hardened Brave Orchid while Moon Orchid is still soft.

           

-Is the use of “Orchid” symbolic?

Yes, it shows that they are both two beautiful flowers.

-What made is difficult for Moon Orchid to complete tasks?

            Moon Orchid grew up relaxed and with Brave Orchid in control, so she isn’t used to having to do these menial tasks.

-What is shown by all the characters being women?

            It shows that women can be warriors. Even though, Moon Orchid is timid, she is still her own type of warrior.

-Why does Brave Orchid tell the story “At the Western Palace”?

            She tells it to try to influence Moon Orchid to talk to her husband, but it just scares her.

-Which character does Kingston relate to most?

            Moon Orchid because she’s more sympathetic to her personality or Brave Orchid because it’s more from her position.

-If you were Moon Orchid, would you go see your husband?

            No, because she’s more timid from her traditional Chinese upbringing.

-Are Moon Orchid’s hallucinations symbolic?

            Insanity is a theme in the novel.

-Do they use fallacies to express their opinions?

            Yes, Brave Orchid’s arguments for going and seeing her husband are riddles with fallacies.

-What does the story say about Chinese culture?

            Man is the leader. Honesty and humility are some of the core values of the culture.

-Why does Brave Orchid want her to be with her husband?

            She is looking out for her sister, but, in a more sinister way, she just wants her sister out of her house because she’s really annoying.

-What causes Moon Orchid’s husband to change?

            He also has a “grass is greener on the other side” mentality that was born when he arrived in America. 

Don't understand; need something to compare the story to? Well, here are some literary connections:

The entire chapter of At the Western Palace is an over-exaggeration of the things the author [Kingston] feels about the things her mother has done in the past. Speaking of over-exaggerations the Life of Pi is full of them. You've heard of the Life of Pi, right? Well, if you haven't then you should check it out. But back to the point: in the Life of Pi, Pi [the main character if you haven't already guessed] tells the story of the animals on the boat and the story of the humans on the boat. The story of the animals on the boat is favored because it is more interesting as is the story in At the Western Palace. If Kingston simply told her story of her mother then it wouldn’t be interesting at all in fact it would be rather harpy." Brave Orchid told her children they must help her keep their father from marrying another woman because she didn't think she could take it any better than her sister had. If he brought another woman into the house, they were to gang up on her and play tricks on her, hit her, and trip her when she was carrying hot oil until she ran away." See my point? That quote is much more entertaining than listening to harping.

Things Fall Apart for example is a parallel for Woman Warrior. In Things Fall Apart Okonkwo and his tribe fall from their culture just as Brave Orchid falls from her culture. In Woman Warrior Brave Orchid falls from her culture and her beliefs when she goes to America. In her traditional culture it is wrong to question a man especially a husband, but after living in America for thirty years she doesn’t follow her past beliefs but falls from them. In Things Fall Apart Okonkwo falls from his culture by killing a man, but not just that caused Okonkwo to fall but his constant fight to be completely opposite of his father.

In Joy Luck Club and Woman Warrior Chinese culture is unvarying between the two. Chinese culture is brought out in both novels and has several comparable examples in the Chinese culture. In Joy Luck Club there are individual stories which all contribute to different experiences in their life; Chinese culture is the background to every one of the stories told.

Chapter Summary

Brave Orchid's sister, Moon Orchid, is moving to America from Hong Kong. They have not seen each other for thirty years. Brave Orchid, her children (who are recklessly moseying), and Moon Orchid's adult daughter anxiously await her arrival at the airport. When they finally meet again, they are both amazed at how much their appearances changed. Moon Orchid, who has never been to America before, is thrilled by everything around her. She soon becomes an annoyance to the entire household because of her constant talking and reprimanding about the children and their accomplishments. She is useless in Brave Orchids mind because she cannot perform the most menial of tasks and household chores. 

Brave Orchid has brought her sister to America to help Moon Orchid reclaim her marital status, as the wife of a doctor in Los Angeles. Moon Orchid married in China just before her husband left for the America, and received a good sum of money from him while she was still living in China. However, It had become clear that her husband had no plans for bringing Moon Orchid over to “Gold Mountain”, and had in fact married again and started a family. Though Moon Orchid is too embarrassed to confront her husband, Brave Orchid wants her to march straight into his house and treat his new wife like a servant, to take his new children as her own. 

Moon Orchid's daughter returns home to Los Angeles. Moon Orchid reluctantly agrees to make the trip to Los Angeles. On the drive down, Brave Orchid tells of a Chinese myth of an Emperor with four wives. The Empress of the West had imprisoned the Emperor in the Western Palace, and it was up to the Empress of the East to rescue her husband.

When they finally arrive at her husband's office building, Moon Orchid is too scared to enter, so Brave Orchid goes to the man's office instead. Brave Orchid sees her brother-in-law's new wife, a pretty nurse, and decides to have her son trick the doctor in to coming down to the car. The doctor, younger than both of the two women, addresses them as "Grandmothers." When Brave Orchid tells him the truth, he rudely tells Moon Orchid that he wants nothing to do with her, and that he could get in trouble if anyone ever found out about their marriage. They never see each other again.

Moon Orchid moves to Los Angeles to be with near her daughter, but begins to have delusions about Mexican "ghosts" plotting to kill her. Brave Orchid brings her sister back to Stockton, but her delusions only become worse. She walks around the house turning off lights and locking doors, believing someone is going to come and take all of them away. At the end of the chapter, Brave Orchid takes her sister to a mental asylum, where she eventually dies.

'It’s a mistake for you to be here. You can’t belong. You don’t have the hardness for this country. I have a new life... You became people in a book I had read about long ago”

            This quote comes from Moon Orchid’s husband, after he recognizes who she is. This quote illustrates the hardening of her husbands heart and the way he views Moon Orchid – an old dusty book shoved under a mattress many years ago, something to be forgotten.

"You have to ask him why he didn’t come. Why he turned into a barbarian. Make him feel bad about leaving his mother and father. Scare him. Walk right into his house with your suitcases and boxes. Throw her stuff out of the drawers and put yours in. Say, ‘I am the first wife, and she is our servant’."

This quote shows Brave Orchids use of scare tactics to in order to get her sister to redeem her long lost husband. Moon Orchid is weary of the whole plan from the get-go. From this, its easy to see why Moon Orchid is timid and embarrassed during the confrontation with her husband, seeing as her sister tagged along and eventually took control of the situation.

            Use of the term “Gold Mountain”

Refers to America. Both Moon Orchid and her late husband used this term in context. It represents the Chinese’ view of America from afar. It can be inferred that Moon Orchids use of the term Gold Mountain deteriorated through the course of the chapter, especially after he husbands comment about not having the  “hardness” enough for such a country.