Speaker
Quote/ Page
Thoughts

Narrator
“Now the woman was old. And she had a daughter who grew up speaking only English and swallowing more Coca-Cola than sorrow” (3).
The mom is disappointed that her daughter doesn't have a sense of the Chinese cultural and background. She got what she wanted, a perfect American child, but it became something she didn't actually want.

Jing-mei
“But everybody just nods to approve the minutes. Even my father's head bobs up and down routinely. And it seems to me my mother's life has been shelved for new business” (17).
In America we dwell on the loss of a loved one. We take time to remember and reflect on their life. The Chinese cultural seems to handle death in a way where they try to just move on. They forget rather than grieve.

Rules of the Game
Waverly Jong and Lindo Jong
“My mother graciously thanked the unknown benefactor sayin, “Too good. Cost too much.” At which point, an old lady with fine white, wispy hair nodded toward our family and said with a whistling whisper, “Merry, merry Christmas.” …. [Mom talking] “She not want it. We not want it (93-94).
In America, go by the saying “One man's trash is another man's treasure” but Lindo Jong believes that if one person does not want it then they don't want it either. It shows that there is a standard that Chinese people may feel the need to uphold by not wanting someone else's unwanted items.

Rules of the Game
Wavered Jong
“I left the table with half-finished bowls and nobody complained” (101).
It is very common in America to not finish our plates of food, but it seems that in the Chinese culture, that is something that is frowned upon.

Half and Half
Rose Hsu Jordan
“My mother had a superstition, in fact, that children were predisposed on certain dangers on certain days, depending on their Chinese birthday” (131).
They have a Chinese book that describes the danger a child will face on a certain day. However, An-mei Hsu, could not translate the American birthdays to the Chinese so she imagined all of those dangers happening to her children. In America we believe and know that things happen by accident or because of coincident. We don't believe things will happen because their is a book written on it. The Chinese cultural, however, does.

Half and Half
An-mei Hsu
“‘So maybe you hid him from us to teach us a lesson, to be more careful with your gifts in the future. I have learned this. I have put it in my memory. And now I have come to take Bing back’” (136).
She believes that her son disappearing was because she wasn't grateful of God's gifts. She thinks that if she “learns” to appreciate and accept the gifts, her son will be given back to her.

Rice Husband
Lena St. Clair
“She has a Chinese saying for what she knows. Chunwang chihan” (161).
Ying-Ying St. Clair believed that she can predict what happens. She doesn't believe in coincidences that we do in America. She believes something will happen based on other things. In a way, we do the something, but she says it about unpredictable things.

Rice Husband
Lena St. Clair
“Meanwhile she asks over and over again why we had to pay so much for a renovated barn with a mildew-lined pool on four acres of land, two of which are covered with redwood trees and poison oak” (163).
In America we tend to think about only material things. We base our self worth and popularity on what house we live in, what clothes we wear, or how much money we have. We are a very materialistic country. The Chinese cultural, however, does not care about material thing. They value family over everything. It doesn't matter what everyone else had, it only matters what the family does.

Four Directions
Waverly Jong
“‘Chopped off’ she said. “You must ask for your money back” (182).
Lindo Jong had very high expectations in America. Everything had to be completely perfect and met her standards. If it didn’t, she would make sure they would not about it. In America, we are more compassionate. Even if we don't like something, like a hairstyle, we pretend that we like it anyway.

Four Directions
Waverly Jong
“My mother knows how to hit a nerve. And the pain I feel is worse than any other kind of misery. Because what she does always comes as a shock, exactly like an electric jolt, that grounds itself permanently in my memory” (187).
In America, moms want to be very involved in their daughter's life. They ask questions about their boyfriends and want to know what is going on with their relationships. American moms tend to overlook the messiness of the house and skip to talking about personal things. Lindo Jong, however, would not talk about her relationships. All she did was criticize her for everything she saw.

“But everybody just nods to approve the minutes. Even my father's head bobs up and down routinely. And it seems to me my mother's life has been shelved for new business” (17).

My aunt had passed away a few years back and it affected each member of our family a different way. My uncle, of course, was at a loss for words. He couldn't control his emotions since his entire world just fell apart. It broke. My heart seeing him the way he was. My aunt’s brother, was completely different. He sat in silence. He was emotionless and numb to the pain. He pretended that his sister did not just die. We all handle death in our own personal ways. Her brother, my uncle, handle it in the way of the Chinese cultural.