In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson Foreignness and "The Other" Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #10

"What ya want to bring the midget for?"

"Oh no, ya don't. Not on my team."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Yeah. She'd bow first and then ask permission to copy a fly."

"Send her back to the laundry."

"The only way she can get in this game is to lie down and be the plate." (5.64-69)

Mabel invites Shirley to play stickball, but none of the other kids are having it. They make fun of her, think that Shirley's no good and will drag their team down, or should "go back to the laundry." That racial stereotype refers to Asian-Americans working in laundromats and is a really mean thing to say. Thankfully, Mabel sets them straight and Shirley scores.