Language, Culture, and Gender in "Two Deserts"

Introduction and Question

For this essay, we were asked to imagine ourselves as the main character of a short story and then answer a simple question about her motivation. The challenge is that the main character is a Japanese-American woman living more than fifty years ago. The story "Two Deserts" by Valerie Matsumoto tells of Emiko Oyama, a young mother who lives in California's Imperial Valley. Emiko is married with one daughter.

As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Emiko was interned during World War Two. This is undoubtedly one of the two deserts referred to by the story's title. Emiko also reveals in the story that she has never been to Tokyo and, therefore, we assume that she has never been to Japan. Her relationship with new neighbors is the heart of the story. More specifically, Emiko's relationship with Roy, a retired man who is very pushy, forms the story's central conflict. Emiko suffers Roy's advances and adapts her life to try to discourage him from bothering her, but she does not confront him directly. At the end of the story, Emiko kills a scorpion, signaling that she has overcome her fears and that Roy will no longer bother her.

The central question is: Why doesn't she confront Roy sooner or in a more direct manner? Can language, culture, and gender explain this apparent passivity? By examining Emiko's behavior through three separate but interconnected lenses—linguistic patterns, cultural background, and gender dynamics—we can understand that her reluctance to confront Roy stems not from weakness, but from deeply ingrained communication styles and social expectations shaped by her heritage and her position as a woman.

Linguistics and Language Patterns

One reason Emiko doesn't confront Roy directly has to do with linguistics. Robin Lakoff wrote about "Women's Language and Men's Language" and detailed how women are more likely to use expressions that soften their opinions rather than the direct or even harsh words that men use to make their point clear (7). Emiko is very quiet with her opinions and routinely hides her feelings from her words. When she is making paper flowers, she is reminded of her time in the internment camp, but she only says that she has folded flowers before. She does not go into any more specifics about the circumstances (Matsumoto 75).

The softness of Emiko's voice reflects patterns Lakoff identifies in gendered speech. While Lakoff examines "meaningless particles" on pages 8 and 9, Emiko's speech is notable not for the presence of these softening markers but for their absence—replaced instead by complete reticence. The only time she has passion in her words is when she insists on the use of her Japanese name. Thus, language plays a major role in the way Emiko approaches the situation, but not because she has trouble with English. The fact that Emiko's ancestry is Japanese does not cause a direct linguistic obstacle but rather presents a cultural one.

Cultural Context and Communication Styles

The second complication is firmly rooted in Emiko's cultural background. Amy Tan, a Chinese-American author, wrote an essay titled "The Language of Discretion." In this essay she responds to a newspaper article that paints Chinese people as being overly polite and unwilling to be direct for fear of losing face. Tan refutes this stereotype, but along the way, hints at ways the stereotypes may be perceived as having some truth. On pages 66 and 67, she is forced to wonder if her upbringing has made her overly polite. Tan is courteous as a telemarketer convinces her to sign up for a timeshare introduction that she has no intention of following through on.

Similarly, Emiko is caught in a situation where she forces herself to be more polite than she actually feels. One day, Roy questions why his wife wastes her time gardening. Emiko quietly points out that she herself also enjoys gardening, but does so almost apologetically and then adds that she is not very good at it (Matsumoto 76). The traditional Japanese style of being polite—much like the Chinese approach Tan describes—could be seen from an outsider's perspective as weakness or indecision.

In her essay titled "What's Behind the Asian Mask?" Alexandra Tantranon-Saur describes her childhood and how she learned to hold a conversation. The key was the pause and how one reacted to it. Tantranon-Saur notes that if someone reacts to a pause by immediately grabbing that moment of silence, they must not have been listening—clearly a disrespectful way of acting toward the speaker (249). Roy never respects Emiko's pauses, and in this way, they are both acting as their cultural backgrounds suggest they would. When Emiko refuses to quietly agree with the nickname "Emily," Roy quickly dismisses her passionate objection by cautioning her to mind her temper and then completely changes the subject, ignoring her point and disrespecting her further (Matsumoto 78). Conversational norms across cultures reveal how deeply Emiko and Roy are at odds—she expects respect for silence and careful listening, while he dominates the conversation space.

Gender, Sexism, and Social Roles

Another reason for Emiko's reluctance to confront Roy involves the effects of gender. Rosalie Maggio writes about language and gender in an article titled "Language and Gender." In this brief article, Maggio asserts that sexist language affects attitudes and shapes perceptions. While Emiko is not directly vexed by overtly sexist language, she does inhabit the role of a stereotypical woman who lacks agency. She suggests to Roy that perhaps he would be happy with a hobby like gardening or becoming active in a group like the Elks (Matsumoto 77). Notably, she never thinks about doing more with her own life. No one else suggests that she might feel better or more empowered by continuing her education or seeking a job. In this way, she seems trapped in the role of a meek housewife who does not even know that she is capable of more.

Alleen Pace Nilsen suggests that women are portrayed as sexy while men are portrayed as successful. Through her essay, Nilsen lists a great many words and how those associated with women usually refer to a provocative body part or in some other way suggest sexuality (9–12). Roy often refers to Emiko in a sexually suggestive way, from winks to calling her "sweetheart" to references to her beauty to an outright comparison to a geisha. Clearly, Roy is not valuing Emiko as an individual but rather as an object of sexual desire (Matsumoto 76–77, 79–80). This objectification further silences her, making direct confrontation even more difficult.

Conclusion: The Intersection of Language, Culture, and Gender

Linguistics, culture, and gender all play a role in Emiko's failure to stand up to Roy. Emiko is polite, gentle with her words, and fearful of offending Roy. Roy is very chauvinistic and forward, especially in his insistence that Emiko accept "Emily" as a nickname. The story ends after Emiko kills a scorpion and asserts her dominance over the pest. By taking control, she shows Roy that she is not the meek girl he assumes her to be. Roy retreats home, and we believe that he is no longer a source of fear in Emiko's life.