How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"Hah? Plenty of Chinese workers—plenty of colored workers. They so short on labor even Boeing hiring Chinese now. Todd Shipyards is hiring and paying the same wage as Caucasian," his father said, smiling. (15.21)
Henry's father is completely unconcerned by the fact that the government is forcing people out of their homes on the basis of race alone. He has a "better them than us" mentality about the whole thing.
Quote #5
The clerk stood there, her fist dug into her hip. "We don't serve people like you—besides, my husband is off fighting…"
"I'll buy it," Henry said, putting his "I Am Chinese" button on the counter next to Keiko's two dollars. "I said, I'll buy it please." (24.41-42)
All it takes for the clerk at the department store to serve him is Henry saying that he's Chinese and not Japanese. The clerk's making snap judgments about people like Keiko based entirely on race. Not cool, clerk.
Quote #6
Almost as scared as he was to tell his parents he was meeting Keiko. He'd hinted to his mother—in English no less—that he had a Japanese friend, and she had immediately shot him her stink-eye, a look of shock so profound he immediately dropped the subject. (25.12)
Henry knows his parents won't approve of Keiko no matter how kind, smart, or respectful she is. All they see when they look at her is her Japanese ancestry—and that's enough to turn them against her.