How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Suddenly Shirley understood why her father had brought her ten thousand miles to live amongst strangers. Here, she did not have to wait for gray hairs to be considered wise. Here, she could speak up, question even the conduct of the President. Here, Shirley Temple Wong was somebody. She felt was if she had the power of ten tigers, as if she had grown as tall as the Statue of Liberty. (6.78)
After Mrs. Rappaport's speech, Shirley finally gets why her dad was so eager to bring his family to America—all the difficulties she's gone through are worth it for the opportunities she can have. Although she's just a kid, Shirley has a place in society here in America, which makes her feel pretty spectacular.
Quote #5
Every time Number 42 came to bat, she imagined herself in Jackie Robinson's shoes. Every time the pigeon-toed runner got on base, she was ready to help him steal home. And when Jackie's sixteen-game hitting streak ended, Shirley blamed herself. On that day, she had had to accompany her parents to greet Mr. Lee from Chungking. Obviously, it was her absence from the radio that made all the difference. (7.11)
After learning all about Jackie, Shirley takes on a you-can-do-anything philosophy and uses it to urge him to victory. She cheers him on every chance she gets and imagines she's got the superpowers to make Mr. Robinson a champ. Shirley's got a new can-do attitude and wants to make her hero number one.
Quote #6
The problema was solved. It was amazingly simple. All that was left to be done was to convince Mother and Father. Was this not proof of yet another great opportunity in modern America? Surely they could not possibly think this was just Bandit's scheme to escape the tyranny of piano lessons for the joys of Jackie Robinson! (7.41)
Shirley sees America as the land of opportunities—including the chance to get rid of her piano teacher temporarily by sending her overseas and getting herself some more time to listen to Dodgers games. The freedom to manipulate parents is just one of the miracles of her new home. Hee hee.