In Maxine Hong Kingston's semi-autobiographical memoir, Woman Warrior and Alice Walker's short essay “In Search of the Our Mother's Gardens", the maternal figure, the "warrior woman" of each tale, plays an important role in the author's conception of the personal or racial identity. Nevertheless, although Kingston's and Walker's mothers do not behave alike - in the Woman Warrior tale "Shaman", Kingston's mother, Brave Orchid, displays a visibly proud personality that contrasts with the calmer character of Walker's unnamed mother – the matriarchs of both "Shaman" and "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens" are truly the embodiment of the "Woman Warrior" as they find positive ways to express themselves. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay In their respective environments, Brave Orchid and Walker's mother wisely use their skills, not their voices, to demonstrate their independence . At medical school in China, Brave Orchid, who "quickly established a reputation as a brilliant, natural scholar, who could look at a book and know it" (Kingston 62), was proud of the fact that her classmates had never seen her cram so well. she “studied long in advance” (Kingston 64). Brave Orchid realizes the power and respect she is capable of gaining from her peers and teachers if she gracefully surpasses others without elaborate displays of intelligence, and therefore chooses to live this way. Even though Walker's mother could not choose to use her physical voice or actions to show self-determination because she did not have the legal right to do so, she, like other black women, used what little she had. had to express himself: his creativity. Walker writes: “Even though [our grandmothers and mothers] did not recognize [their creativity] beyond what happened in church singing... they never intended to do so. renounce” (637). For black women warriors, including Walker's mother, they found their identity through other non-confrontational media like singing, quilting, or, in the case of Walker's mother, gardening. Additionally, Brave Orchid and Walker's mother used education and gardening as a means to have complete freedom of expression in a typically male-dominated or white-dominated world, respectively. For Brave Orchid, returning home after attending medical school in Canton allowed her to return “to her hometown as a doctor.” She was greeted with garlands and cymbals, as we welcome “barefoot doctors” today” (Kingston 76). Kingston's mother defies societal norms by not deferring to the male-dominated figure by being a housewife, and attending school, returning as a heroine. For Walker's mother, gardening offered a respite from the racist white world because her gardens, where "everything she planted grew like magic," allowed her to express her personal emotions. Thus, “her fame as a flower grower extended over three counties” (Walker 639). It didn’t matter that she was black and a woman: the only label that defined her was “flower producer.” Indeed, Walker's mother and Brave Orchid received praise because they found positive ways to demonstrate their sense of being a warrior. For the first, Walker recalls: “And I remember people coming to my mother's garden to receive cuttings of her flowers; I hear again the praises that were given to him.