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Wong Lai-Tsao
A blond girl who goes to school with Jin beginning in third grade, but whom Jin only begins to take notice of her when they’re in seventh grade. Amelia wears overalls over a tank top that reveals her bare shoulders, which excites Jin and triggers an intense crush on her. Jin shares with the reader that Amelia isn’t especially pretty, speaks with a lisp, and has some dandruff, but this doesn’t dull his affections for her. Amelia seems like a genuinely nice individual; she agrees to the movie date with Jin and appears to enjoy his company. However, when (unbeknownst to Amelia) Greg tells Jin to back off so Amelia’s popularity doesn’t suffer once they reach high school, Amelia doesn’t stand up for Jin. Aside from being the only white character who treats Jin like a full person, there’s little else defining about Amelia—she exists mostly as the object of Jin’s romantic fantasies.
Amelia Harris Quotes in American Born Chinese
The American Born Chinese quotes below are all either spoken by Amelia Harris or refer to Amelia Harris. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 5
Quotes
“When I move here to America, I was afraid nobody wants to be my friend. I come from a different place. Much, much different. But my first day in school here I meet Jin. From then I know everything’s okay. He treat me like a little brother, show me how things work in America. He help me with my English [...] I think sometimes my accent embarrass him, but Jin still willing to be my friend.”
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Chapter 8
Quotes
“It’s just that she’s a good friend and I want to make sure she makes good choices, you know? We’re almost in high school. She has to start paying attention to who she hangs out with.
Aw, geez. Look, Jin. I’m sorry. That sounded way harsher than I meant it to. I just don’t know if you’re right for her, okay? That’s all.”
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I replayed the day’s events over and over again in my mind. Each time I reached the same conclusion: Wei-Chen needed to hear what I had to say. It was, after all, the truth. And at around three in the morning, I finally believed myself.
I dreamt of the herbalist’s wife.
“So, little friend. You’ve done it. Now what would you like to become?”
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Get the entire American Born Chinese LitChart as a printable PDF.
Amelia Harris Quotes in American Born Chinese
The American Born Chinese quotes below are all either spoken by Amelia Harris or refer to Amelia Harris. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 5
Quotes
“When I move here to America, I was afraid nobody wants to be my friend. I come from a different place. Much, much different. But my first day in school here I meet Jin. From then I know everything’s okay. He treat me like a little brother, show me how things work in America. He help me with my English [...] I think sometimes my accent embarrass him, but Jin still willing to be my friend.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8
Quotes
“It’s just that she’s a good friend and I want to make sure she makes good choices, you know? We’re almost in high school. She has to start paying attention to who she hangs out with.
Aw, geez. Look, Jin. I’m sorry. That sounded way harsher than I meant it to. I just don’t know if you’re right for her, okay? That’s all.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
I replayed the day’s events over and over again in my mind. Each time I reached the same conclusion: Wei-Chen needed to hear what I had to say. It was, after all, the truth. And at around three in the morning, I finally believed myself.
I dreamt of the herbalist’s wife.
“So, little friend. You’ve done it. Now what would you like to become?”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
