Introduction: “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang
“Saying Yes” by Diana Chang was first published in the chapbook Saying Yes (Review Women Writers Chapbook No. 10: Translation) in 1997, though it had earlier appeared in her 1982 collection The Horizon is Definitely Speaking. The poem explores questions of cultural identity and belonging, highlighting the tension and harmony between being both Chinese and American. Structured as a dialogue, it resists the restrictive binaries of “either-or” by affirming the empowering inclusivity of “both-and.” Its popularity lies in the way it captures the lived realities of immigrants and bicultural individuals, offering a confident assertion of identity through the repeated affirmation of “yes.” This insistence on acceptance rather than fragmentation gives the poem enduring relevance in Asian American literature and beyond.
Text: “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang
“Are you Chinese?” “Yes.”
American?”
“Yes.”
“Really Chinese?” “No . . . not quite.”
“Really American?” “Well, actually, you see. . .”
But I would rather say yes
Not neither-nor not maybe,
but both, and not only
The homes I’ve had, the ways I am
I’d rather say it twice,
yes
Annotations: “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang
| Line | Simple English Explanation | Literary Device | Explanation of Literary Device |
| “Are you Chinese?” | Someone asks the speaker if they are Chinese, questioning their cultural identity. | Dialogue/Question ❓ (Red) | The question format creates a conversational tone, reflecting external scrutiny of the speaker’s cultural heritage and introducing the theme of identity. |
| “Yes.” | The speaker confidently confirms their Chinese identity. | Monosyllabic Response ✅ (Green) | The single-word answer emphasizes certainty but its brevity hints at an incomplete exploration of identity. |
| “American?” | Another question probes whether the speaker is American, focusing on their national identity. | Dialogue/Question 🇺🇸 (Blue/Red) | The repeated question format continues the external probing, highlighting the speaker’s dual identity. |
| “Yes.” | The speaker confidently affirms their American identity. | Monosyllabic Response ✅ (Green) | The brief response mirrors the earlier “Yes,” showing confidence but suggesting complexity beneath the surface. |
| “Really Chinese?” | The questioner doubts the speaker’s Chinese identity, seeking further confirmation. | Repetition 🤔 (Yellow) | Repeating the question with “Really” intensifies scrutiny, implying skepticism about the authenticity of the speaker’s identity. |
| “No . . . not quite.” | The speaker hesitates, admitting they don’t fully identify as Chinese. | Ellipsis/Hesitation 😕 (Gray) | The ellipsis indicates a pause, reflecting the speaker’s uncertainty and struggle to define their identity. |
| “Really American?” | The questioner now doubts the speaker’s American identity. | Repetition 🤔 (Yellow) | The repeated “Really” mirrors the earlier question, emphasizing ongoing external judgment about the speaker’s identity. |
| “Well, actually, you see. . .” | The speaker hesitates again, struggling to fully explain their American identity. | Ellipsis/Hesitation 😕 (Gray) | The ellipsis and qualifiers like “Well, actually” convey discomfort and the complexity of claiming a single identity. |
| But I would rather say | The speaker shifts to internal reflection, wanting to define their identity on their own terms. | Transition/Contrast 🔄 (Blue) | The word “But” marks a shift from external questions to the speaker’s inner thoughts, asserting their agency. |
| yes | The speaker expresses a desire to confidently affirm their identity. | Repetition/Emphasis ✅ (Green) | The lowercase “yes” repeats earlier affirmations, but its softer tone suggests a personal, resolute claim. |
| Not neither-nor | The speaker rejects being undefined or caught between identities. | Negation/Contrast 🚫 (Red) | “Neither-nor” negates binary categorizations, emphasizing the speaker’s refusal to be limited to one identity. |
| not maybe, | The speaker rejects uncertainty or indecision about their identity. | Negation/Contrast 🚫 (Red) | “Not maybe” dismisses ambiguity, reinforcing the speaker’s desire for clarity and self-definition. |
| but both, | The speaker embraces both Chinese and American identities. | Affirmation/Parallelism 🤝 (Purple) | “Both” asserts a dual identity, using parallelism with “not neither-nor” to emphasize inclusivity. |
| and not only | The speaker suggests their identity extends beyond just these two labels. | Amplification ➕ (Blue) | “Not only” expands the scope, hinting at additional layers of identity beyond Chinese and American. |
| The homes I’ve had, | The speaker reflects on the places they’ve lived, which shape their identity. | Metaphor 🏡 (Brown) | “Homes” metaphorically represents physical places and cultural/emotional belonging, tying identity to experience. |
| the ways I am | The speaker acknowledges their multifaceted identity, shaped by experiences. | Metaphor 🌈 (Rainbow) | “Ways” metaphorically captures the speaker’s diverse characteristics and lived experiences. |
| I’d rather say it | The speaker reiterates their desire to confidently define their identity. | Repetition/Emphasis 🗣️ (Orange) | Repeating “I’d rather” reinforces the speaker’s agency in claiming their identity. |
| twice, | The speaker emphasizes their dual identity by wanting to affirm it multiple times. | Hyperbole ✌️ (Yellow) | “Twice” exaggerates the act of affirmation, underscoring the strength of their conviction in their dual identity. |
| yes | The poem ends with a final, confident affirmation of the speaker’s identity. | Repetition/Emphasis ✅ (Green) | The final “yes” echoes earlier affirmations, concluding with a strong, positive acceptance of their complex identity. |
Literary And Poetic Devices: “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang
| Device | Example from Poem | Explanation |
| Alliteration ✨ | “not neither-nor not maybe” | Repetition of the ‘n’ sound creates rhythm and emphasizes the rejection of uncertainty. |
| Anaphora 🔁 | “Yes.” / “Yes.” | The repeated beginning creates emphasis on affirmation and identity acceptance. |
| Antithesis ⚖️ | “Chinese” vs. “American” | Contrasting terms highlight the struggle of bicultural identity. |
| Assonance 🎶 | “homes I’ve had, the ways I am” | Repetition of vowel sounds (a/ai) produces a musical quality and unity. |
| Caesura ⏸️ | “Really Chinese?” “No… not quite.” | A pause within the line mimics natural speech and hesitation in identity questions. |
| Climax 📈 | “Not neither-nor not maybe, / but both, and not only” | Builds from negation to affirmation, strengthening the final resolution. |
| Dialogue 🗨️ | “Are you Chinese?” “Yes.” / “American?” “Yes.” | Conversational format makes the poem direct, personal, and realistic. |
| Ellipsis … 🌌 | “No . . . not quite.” | Suggests hesitation, trailing thought, and the complexity of defining identity. |
| Epiphora 🔄 | “Yes.” repeated at line ends | Repetition at the close of lines emphasizes affirmation and resolution. |
| Imagery 🌄 | “The homes I’ve had, the ways I am” | Evokes visual and emotional pictures of belonging and identity. |
| Irony 🎭 | “Really American?” / “Well, actually, you see…” | Shows the absurdity of questioning someone’s identity with rigid labels. |
| Juxtaposition 🌓 | “Chinese” beside “American” | Side-by-side placement underscores cultural duality. |
| Minimalism ✂️ | Short responses: “Yes.” | The simplicity reflects directness and quiet strength of identity. |
| Paradox ♾️ | “Not neither-nor not maybe, but both” | A statement that seems contradictory but reveals a truth: identity can be dual. |
| Parallelism 🪞 | “Are you Chinese?” / “American?” | Similar sentence structures create balance and rhythm. |
| Personification 🌱 | “the ways I am” | Attributes human-like existence to abstract “ways,” making them part of identity. |
| Repetition 🔔 | “Yes… Yes” | Reinforces affirmation and creates a musical, emphatic rhythm. |
| Symbolism 🕊️ | “Yes” | The word symbolizes acceptance, empowerment, and inclusivity of multiple identities. |
| Tone 🎨 | Gentle, conversational, affirming | The relaxed yet firm tone makes the poem accessible and relatable. |
Themes: “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang
🌏 Theme 1: Bicultural Identity and Belonging: In “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang, the central theme revolves around the challenges and affirmations of bicultural identity. The poem opens with direct questions: “Are you Chinese?” “Yes.” / “American?” / “Yes.”—a dialogue that instantly situates the speaker in two cultural worlds. Rather than choosing between them, Chang’s speaker asserts both identities, showing the refusal to be confined to a singular national or cultural definition. By embracing this duality, the poem challenges the conventional idea that belonging must be singular, affirming instead that identity can be expansive and inclusive.
⚖️ Theme 2: Rejection of Binary Thinking: In “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang, another strong theme is the rejection of binary categories that force people into narrow definitions. The speaker resists the pressure behind probing questions like “Really Chinese?” and “Really American?” Instead of accepting limiting binaries, the speaker asserts: “But I would rather say yes / Not neither-nor not maybe, / but both, and not only.” This declaration illustrates how identity cannot be captured by rigid categories. The poem therefore rejects reductionist thinking, advocating for fluid, layered selfhood instead of restrictive labels.
🪞 Theme 3: Affirmation and Self-Acceptance: In “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang, affirmation emerges as a central theme, particularly through the repetition of the word “yes.” The speaker’s insistence—“I’d rather say it twice, / yes”—demonstrates not just acceptance but also celebration of who they are. Saying “yes” becomes a metaphor for embracing multiple identities with confidence, rather than apologizing for or explaining them away. This affirmation is not passive; it is a bold redefinition of selfhood that transforms a potentially marginalizing interrogation into a moment of empowerment and pride.
🕊️ Theme 4: The Universality of Hybrid Experience: In “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang, the theme of hybrid experience extends beyond the personal to a universal level. The lines “The homes I’ve had, the ways I am” point to the multiplicity of influences that shape a person’s life. Here, identity is shown not as fixed but as a dynamic product of experience, culture, and belonging. By presenting this truth, Chang highlights that hybrid or multicultural identity is not an exception but a broader human reality in an interconnected world. The poem’s simple yet profound dialogue resonates with all who navigate more than one cultural space, making it universally relatable.
Literary Theories and “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang
| Literary Theory | Application to “Saying Yes” | References from the Poem |
| Postcolonial Theory | This theory examines the effects of colonialism, including hybrid identities and cultural displacement. In “Saying Yes,” the speaker navigates a hybrid Chinese-American identity, confronting external expectations and stereotypes about their cultural authenticity. The poem reflects the postcolonial struggle of defining oneself in a world that imposes binary cultural categories, ultimately embracing a hybrid identity. | – “Are you Chinese?” / “Really Chinese?” / “No . . . not quite.”: These questions reflect colonial legacies of categorizing identity, doubting the speaker’s authenticity. – “but both, and not only / The homes I’ve had, the ways I am”: The speaker asserts a hybrid identity, rejecting imposed binaries and embracing their multifaceted cultural experience. |
| Feminist Theory | Feminist theory explores gender dynamics and the marginalization of women’s voices. In the poem, the speaker (implied to be female, based on Diana Chang’s identity and context) resists external attempts to define her identity, asserting agency in a patriarchal society that often silences women of color. The poem challenges gendered expectations by prioritizing the speaker’s self-definition over societal questioning. | – “But I would rather say / yes”: The shift to “I” emphasizes the speaker’s agency, a feminist act of self-assertion against external judgment. – “Not neither-nor / not maybe, / but both”: The speaker rejects ambiguity and claims a dual identity, defying reductive labels often imposed on women of color. |
| Reader-Response Theory | This theory focuses on the reader’s role in interpreting the text. “Saying Yes” invites readers to reflect on their own identities and experiences with cultural duality, especially those from multicultural backgrounds. The poem’s conversational style and universal themes of belonging prompt readers to project their personal struggles onto the speaker’s journey, making meaning through emotional resonance. | – “Are you Chinese?” / “American?”: These questions engage readers by mirroring common experiences of being questioned about identity, prompting personal reflection. – “I’d rather say it / twice, / yes”: The affirmative ending encourages readers to interpret the speaker’s confidence as a call to embrace their own complex identities. |
| New Criticism | New Criticism emphasizes close reading of the text’s formal elements, such as structure, imagery, and tone, without external context. In “Saying Yes,” the poem’s concise structure, dialogue-to-monologue shift, and repeated affirmations (“yes”) create a cohesive exploration of identity. The tension between external questions and internal resolution is conveyed through deliberate word choice and pacing. | – “Yes.” / “No . . . not quite.” / “Well, actually, you see. . .”: The short lines and ellipsis create a hesitant tone, reflecting identity struggles, while the shift to “yes” at the end conveys resolution. – “Not neither-nor / not maybe, / but both”: The parallel structure and negation emphasize the speaker’s rejection of ambiguity and embrace of duality, showcasing the poem’s formal unity. |
Critical Questions about “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang
❓1. How does “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang challenge rigid notions of cultural identity?
In “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang, the poem directly challenges rigid notions of cultural identity by refusing to choose between being “Chinese” or “American.” The repeated responses—“Yes.” / “Yes.”—defy the expectation that identity must be singular and exclusive. When pressed further with “Really Chinese?” “No . . . not quite.” and “Really American?” “Well, actually, you see…”, the speaker highlights the inadequacy of such binary questions to capture lived experience. By declaring “Not neither-nor not maybe, / but both, and not only,” Chang rejects the pressure to conform to rigid categories. Instead, the poem insists that bicultural identity is not contradictory but expansive, offering a critique of narrow cultural definitions.
🔄2. What role does repetition play in reinforcing the poem’s central message?
In “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang, repetition functions as both a poetic device and a thematic strategy. The repeated answers—“Yes.”—in the opening dialogue convey quiet but firm affirmation. This repetition builds toward the emphatic closure: “I’d rather say it twice, / yes.” The insistence on repeating “yes” symbolizes the speaker’s refusal to be diminished or divided by external labels. The echoing of the same word creates a rhythm of assurance, allowing the poem to move from hesitation (“No… not quite”) to self-affirmation. Thus, repetition reinforces the central message: identity is not fragmented but doubled, and to embrace both sides is an act of empowerment.
🧭3. How does the conversational structure of the poem contribute to its meaning?
In “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang, the conversational structure gives the poem immediacy and authenticity. The dialogue format—“Are you Chinese?” “Yes.” / “American?” “Yes.”—mimics real-life interrogations faced by those with bicultural backgrounds. The speaker’s calm yet firm answers reflect lived negotiations of identity. The pauses, ellipses (“No . . . not quite”), and hesitations mirror the awkwardness of such exchanges while simultaneously exposing the absurdity of constantly being asked to prove authenticity. This conversational mode makes the reader a participant in the dialogue, helping them grasp the frustration but also the empowerment in the speaker’s choice to “say yes.”
🌍4. In what way does the poem universalize the immigrant or bicultural experience?
In “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang, the immigrant experience is presented not as an isolated struggle but as a universal human reality. The lines “The homes I’ve had, the ways I am” move beyond fixed national or ethnic categories, emphasizing the fluidity of identity shaped by multiple places and influences. By presenting bicultural existence as “both, and not only,” the poem universalizes hybridity as a common thread in human experience, especially in an interconnected world. The speaker’s affirmation “I’d rather say it twice, / yes” thus resonates with anyone negotiating multiple cultural, social, or personal identities. Chang’s poem transforms a personal experience into a broader statement about belonging, adaptability, and the richness of plurality.
Literary Works Similar to “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang
- 🌏 “Legal Alien” by Pat Mora – Similar to “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang, it explores the bicultural experience of being both Mexican and American, showing the tension of belonging to two worlds at once.
- 🪞 “Half-and-Half” by Naomi Shihab Nye – Like Chang’s poem, it highlights the struggles and affirmations of hybrid identity, portraying the speaker’s acceptance of multiplicity rather than division.
- 🕊️ “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes – Resonates with Chang’s affirmation of identity, as Hughes reflects on race, individuality, and the interconnectedness of being both Black and American.
- ⚖️ “Two Countries” by Naomi Shihab Nye – Similar to “Saying Yes”, it deals with straddling cultural lines and finding meaning in duality and belonging across borders.
- 🔄 “Child of the Americas” by Aurora Levins Morales – Like Chang’s affirmation of “both, and not only”, this poem celebrates cultural hybridity, asserting identity as a fusion of multiple histories and traditions.
Representative Quotations of “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang
| Quotation | Context | Theoretical Perspective |
| 🌏 “Are you Chinese?” “Yes.” | Opening dialogue that begins the interrogation of identity. | Postcolonial Identity Theory – highlights how identity is framed through external questioning. |
| 🗨️ “American?” / “Yes.” | The immediate doubling of cultural affiliation. | Hybridity (Homi Bhabha) – reflects dual belonging without contradiction. |
| ⚖️ “Really Chinese?” “No . . . not quite.” | Shows the pressure of authenticity tests within cultural labels. | Essentialism vs. Constructivism – challenges fixed definitions of ethnicity. |
| 🕊️ “Really American?” “Well, actually, you see. . .” | Reveals hesitation and the struggle with imposed national categories. | Critical Race Theory – exposes systemic expectations of proving “Americanness.” |
| 🔄 “But I would rather say yes” | Marks the speaker’s shift from defense to affirmation. | Identity Politics – emphasizes agency in self-definition rather than imposed labels. |
| 📖 “Not neither-nor not maybe,” | Rejects uncertainty and exclusion. | Binary Opposition (Structuralism) – dismantles “either/or” categories in cultural identity. |
| 🪞 “but both, and not only” | Asserts inclusivity of identity rather than limitation. | Intersectionality (Crenshaw) – affirms multiplicity and overlapping cultural positions. |
| 🌱 “The homes I’ve had, the ways I am” | Invokes personal experience and belonging across spaces. | Narrative Identity (Ricoeur) – identity constructed through lived histories and places. |
| 🔔 “I’d rather say it twice,” | Intensifies the insistence on affirmation. | Performative Identity (Judith Butler) – repetition as performative empowerment of self. |
| ✨ “yes” (final line) | Concludes with affirmation and empowerment. | Affirmation Theory / Cultural Resistance – claiming power through acceptance of hybridity. |
Suggested Readings: “Saying Yes” by Diana Chang
- Hamalian, Leo, and Diana Chang. “A MELUS Interview: Diana Chang.” MELUS, vol. 20, no. 4, 1995, pp. 29–43. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/467888. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.
- Ling, Amy. “Writer in the Hyphenated Condition: Diana Chang.” MELUS, vol. 7, no. 4, 1980, pp. 69–83. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/467169. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.
- Lynch, Joy M. “‘A Distinct Place in America Where All Mestizos Reside’: Landscape and Identity in Ana Castillo’s ‘Sapogonia’ and Diana Chang’s ‘The Frontiers of Love.’” MELUS, vol. 26, no. 3, 2001, pp. 119–44. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3185560. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.
- Ling, Amy. “A Perspective on Chinamerican Literature.” MELUS, vol. 8, no. 2, 1981, pp. 76–81. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/467153. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.