Eleanor & Park Race Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

"Now there's a girl who might want a piece of you," Cal said. "Looks like somebody's got jungle fever."

"That isn't even the right kind of racist," Park said, looking up. (7.25-26)

More cluelessness, this time from Park's good friend Cal. Goes to show that even Park's friends don't think twice about making racist comments.

Quote #5

Most of the kids here were black, but most of the kids in her honors classes were white. They got bused in from west Omaha. And the white kids from the Flats, dishonor students, got bused in from the other direction. (7.42)

At Eleanor and Park's school, it's easy to see dividing lines like race and class, as Eleanor describes here. ("Dishonor students"—too clever, Eleanor.)

Quote #6

(Stupid, perfect Asian kid.) (10.5)

Even when Eleanor's falling for Park, she never stops thinking of him this way, which reflects the culture she's grown up in—the stereotype of Asians as "perfect" is a pretty typical one.