Find quotes from this poem, with commentary from Shmoop. Pick a theme below to begin.
Identity Quotes
the name had been changedsomewhere between Angel Island and the sea (7-8)
Foreignness and 'The Other' Quotes
[…] my father the papersonin the late 1950s (9-10)
Language and Communication Quotes
I am Marilyn Mei Ling ChinOh, how I love the resoluteness of that first person singular followed by that stalwart indicativeof "be," without the uncertain i-n-gof "becoming." (1-6)
Race Quotes
And there I was, a wayward pink baby,named after some tragic white womanswollen with gin and Nembutal. (17-19)
Family Quotes
the name had been changedsomewhere between Angel Island and the sea,when my father the paperson in the late 1950sobsessed with a bombshell blond transliterated "Mei Ling' to "Marilyn." (7-12)