Shirley has a lot of balls in the air. She's from China and has to adjust to living in America, so she looks, speaks, and acts differently from the kids into whose presence she is thrust when she moves to the U.S. At first, the other kids aren't really into this girl who can't speak English, and they often cut her out of things—she's the "other" whose defining trait is that isn't one of them. At the same time, Shirley thinks of American things, like big bridges and fish markets, as pretty weird.
Eventually, Shirley loses some of her differences. She learns to speak English, loves baseball, and makes friends. She's still Chinese, but by the end of In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson, she's also Chinese-American.
Questions About Foreignness and "The Other"
- How does Shirley's foreignness display itself in her school life? Her home life?
- What exactly makes Shirley the "other" sometimes? Is it just her nationality?
- What makes her classmates alienate Shirley?
- Who is Shirley "the other" for? Her classmates? Her parents?
Chew on This
Culture more than language is the major communication roadblock between Shirley and her classmates.
Emily helps Shirley finally transition out of being "the other."