A Critical Examination of Race Relations in Gish Jen's 'No More Maybe'

This essay analyzes the theme of race relations in Gish Jen's short story, "No More Maybe." It explores the cultural clashes between Chinese and American cultures, highlighting the biases and prejudices present in the interactions between characters. The essay examines how differing perspectives on technology, lifestyle, and cultural practices reveal racial tensions and stereotypes. The author discusses the mother's experiences and her observations of American society, the grandfather's traditional values, and the narrator's experiences with American culture. The essay also explores how fear and misconceptions about different racial groups are portrayed in the story. The essay uses specific examples from the text to support its arguments, such as the reactions to a black man with a cardboard box and the incident with the cake. The analysis reveals the story's commentary on the complexities of racial identity and the challenges of navigating cultural differences.

Running head: RACE RELATIONS IN NO MORE MAYBE
Race Relations in No More Maybe
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

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Gish Jen is the name of a contemporary American writer whose parents emigrated
from that of China in the era of 1940’s. The story, “No More Maybe” throws light on the visit
of the mother of Wuji to his son’s family in America and the struggles that she had to
encounter in the event of visiting the new place. This essay talks about the element of race in
the short story, “No More Maybe” and its implications for the characters of the story. This
essay argues that the biasedness pertaining to the race relations gives rise to hatred for the
people of another race that helps in forming the opinions of the people.
The race relations have been made evident in “No More Maybe” as the mother of
Wuji talks about why America calls itself capitalist when in reality China is the capitalist.
The story has harped on the differences in between the culture of the Chinese and the
Americans and the characters in the story show their aversion towards the American culture.
The government of America used to watch who was coming to that of English lessons that
shows the racial biasedness on the part of the American culture. The Americans have been
labelled as “lazy” by the mother-in-law of the narrator that speaks of the racial hatred in the
mind of the person. The English teacher has recommended that of an English-language app to
the mother-in-law of the narrator but the father-in-law instructed not to install it that speaks
volumes about the hatred that the people have for the other cultures.
The narrator was made to eat all kinds of special food as she was pregnant. The
narrator was having the American prenatal vitamins, calcium along with the DHA. The
mother-in-law made her have the steamed egg porridge along with the millet porridge that
talks about her likeness for the Chinese culture. The pregnant women of China used to have a
lot of blueberries and the mother-in-law of the narrator made her consumer the blueberries as
she felt that this would prove to be good for the baby. The Chinese people used to have the
concept that the eating of the blueberries can make the eyes of the baby shiny. It can be said

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to be a discourse on the race as the story talks about the differing preferences of the people on
the basis of the culture.
The Chinese people believe in a lot of superstitions that has been made evident by the
fact that of keeping the feng-shui within the apartment. The grandfather moved the bookcase
to that of entrance of apartment as he felt that this would help in bringing good fortune for the
family. The small wall inside that of the front door can help in blocking the evil spirits. The
grandfather did not like the disorganized and the clutter prevailing in the lives of his son. The
grandfather used to clean stove along with the microwave that speaks of the traditional way
of thinking of the Chinese people. On the other hand, Wuji used to prefer the fast way of
living of the Americans that speaks of the differences in between the Eastern and the Western
culture.
The traditional mentality of the Chinese have been put forward in the course of the
short story as Wuji talks about the fact that even if they buy a bigger house, their parents may
not move into the place right away. The narrator talks about having a Chinese store in China.
The designs of the clothes were outstanding it helped him in earning a little amount of
money. It was however found that the Americans did not like the clothes that were made by
the narrator. This helps in pointing forward to the racial differences that prevail in the social
structure. This has been pointed out with the help of the following lines:
“And now I say, “The Americans just do not like our clothes.” (Newyorker.com. 64).
Wuji’s father told him that he felt surprised that there was not any kind of screen in
the car that can help in showing how far they are from the car that is behind them. The
children of his friends had that kind of car and he liked the car having that kind of screen. He
felt that this kind of car can serve great use for the people. Jane has talked about race
relations and she has talked about the fact that the Chinese are technologically more advanced

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as compared to the people in the United States. There are many people within United States
who like making use of cash that talks about the conventional mind set of the Americans. The
following lines from the story show that the people in the United States were backward:
“Of course, he understands that, in terms of technology, the United States is often quite
backward”. (Newyorker.com. 24)
Jen has used the story to spread ideas about the element of race. Wuji had become the
US citizen and this meant that he has accomplished a great thing. It talks about the superior
position that are attributed to the Americans and how they are thought of to be the superior
race. Wuji’s father has talked about the fact that the Japanese cars looks all the same that
talks about the lack of innovation of the Japanese people.
The people of United States used to perceive the black people with a great deal of
apprehension. This has been brought forward with the fact that with the appearance of the
black man having the cardboard box the other people started to view him with a lot of
concern. The father-in-law was holding very firmly the apartment doorknob so that it can
offer him protection from the unknown man (Wnyc.org.). They were surprised owing to the
fact that the black man had a newer car as compared to that of Wuji’s. The black people in
the community was thought of to be poor and it was assumed that they had a poor standard of
living. Jeff asked the family of Wuji whether they felt that they had stolen the car that talks
about the fear that the black community have to face in the United States. Jeff left a box that
contained a cake on which was written “thank you”. The opening of the cake revealed that
abusive words were written on the cake that talks about the hostility that the American people
had for the Chinese people. It showed that the black people did not like the Chinese people on
account of the fact that they were smarter. They felt that the people from outside would take
away their place and this made them more hostile towards the other people.

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The story has focussed on the difference in between the American and the Chinese
culture by talking about the hatred of the Chinese for the norms of the Americans. The
American government used to watch who were attending the English lessons as a mark of
their loyalty for the American culture. It helped in showing the racial biasedness that
prevailed among the American people. The narrator was made to consume the American
vitamins along with that of steamed egg porridge that was a specialty of the Chinese culture.
People who were living within United States used to view the black people with a great deal
of fear. The black man appearing with the cardboard box has helped in conveying the terror
that lurks in the mind of the people for the outsiders.

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References
Newyorker.com. "“No More Maybe”". The New Yorker, 2019,
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/19/no-more-maybe.
Newyorker.com. "Gish Jen Reads “No More Maybe”". The New Yorker, 2019,
https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-authors-voice/gish-jen-reads-no-more-maybe.
Wnyc.org. "Gish Jen Reads "No More Maybe" | The Writer's Voice: New Fiction From The
New Yorker | WNYC". WNYC, 2019, https://www.wnyc.org/story/gish-jen-reads-no-more-
maybe/.