Amy Tan's "Yes and No"

Amy Tan’s
Yes and No

Amy Tan’s Yes and No discussed what is was like for Tan to grow up in a bi-cultural household. Tan was raised in America by her parents who her Chinese immigrants and she explains the stereotypes from each of the cultures she is a part of. Tan goes into detail about the stereotypes of Chinese natives first. She states that they are known to be “discreet and modest” as well as very “comprising”, due to the fact that there are not even words in Chinese for “yes” and “no”. She then relays that technically there are no words for saying “yes or “no”, but that does not mean there are no other means to express these words. For example, later in the story she gives an example of a phone conversation between her and a telemarketer, she wonders if it was the stereotypical “Chinese patience and respect” that kept her on the phone with the telemarketer for so long. However, Tan then discussed her “American” side when the telemarketer called back one week later stating she had “missed her appointment”, to which Tan replied in a way she claims was “aggressive and blunt”. To me, this narrative was about the dichotomy of a woman who grew up in two cultures at the same time. She can see both sides of the stereotypes that plague her two cultures because she has lived with them her whole life.

Coming from a tri- cultural family, I can empathize with Tan when she wonders if it is her “Chinese” or “American” side when she reacts to certain things. I too have wondered from time to time whether or not I have certain attributes that come specifically from one of the cultures I was brought up in. Did I get my “toughness” from my Greek Father, or accepting personality from my Spanish mother, or maybe even aggressive attitude from being a New Yorker? It is a very difficult question to answer. I also found the underlying tone of the story which is “you cannot base culture on the vocabulary a certain culture shares” quite fascinating as well. If I could, I would like to go more in depth with Tan and talk with her more about her experiences of growing up in a bi- cultural household. I would also ask her if f she would bring her children up leaning more towards the American or Chinese culture.