As Amy Tan looks deep into the relationships between first and second generation mothers and daughters, we begin to realize as the reader that in these Chinese families are very complicated and there is so much to understand within each one. The basis of all communication within the stories are told from mother to daughter, from one generation to the next. The stories are intended to instill fear, happiness, a sense of who one is, and much more as well. Though morals and traditions are common ground in the Chinese culture, the question that remains is are they truly beneficial or inherently destructive.
             The mothers use these stories to tell their daughters all about life and hopefully instill good morals, yet the lives that the mothers lived growing up in a different culture doesn't benefit there daughters who are Americanized to such a degree that this form of communication is not only ineffective, it is destructive. A Chinese mother will demand respect and and could be considered a dictator in some situations. This may not have been so difficult if the daughters were to grow up in China, but it is a real challenge and it questions the relationship between the mother and daughter. Frustration begins on both sides and builds to a boiling point as each finds the other's methods either useless or impossible. The mothers in the story are teaching the only way they know how and with so much faith in the in the Oral Traditions,
             while their daughters have so little understanding. The third story, "American Translation" touches on these concepts, and proves that over time and through each generation there is a new interpretation from the child that is brought up in the American culture.
             "Now I must tell her everything about my past. It is the only way to penetrate her skin and pull her to where she can be saved."(274) Ying-Ying realizes that she needs to let her daughter know her stories in hope that one day
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