The Most Familiar Strangers: Navigating Parent-Child Dynamics Through Communication

Abstract

The essay analyzes the complex parent-child relationships in Yiyun Li’s Gold Boy, Emerald Girl and A Thousand Years of Good Prayers. It focuses on the lack of effective communication between parents and children, leading to emotional estrangement. Chinese parents, often exerting control over their children’s lives, assume they understand their needs, while the children feel misunderstood due to insufficient emotional exchange. In both stories, the characters suffer from imposed decisions and unspoken feelings, exemplifying how familial love, when mixed with cultural expectations, can become oppressive. The essay calls for mutually agreeable communication to bridge the gap and prevent families from becoming “the most familiar strangers.”