American Born Chinese

by

Gene Luen Yang

A student and basketball player at Danny’s high school. He’s older than Danny and is somewhat overweight, but he’s a happy, good-humored, and confident student. Steve seems to take genuine interest in both Danny and Danny’s Chinese cousin, Chin-Kee, and he gives Danny a pep talk in which he insists that students at their school are better and kinder than to define Danny simply as Chin-Kee’s cousin. Though Steve’s concern and friendliness seem genuine, Danny still refuses to accept Steve’s mentorship. Steve is also the unfortunate recipient of a joke in which Chin-Kee urinates in his can of Coke.

Steve Quotes in American Born Chinese

The American Born Chinese quotes below are all either spoken by Steve or refer to Steve. 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:
Identity and Prejudice Theme Icon
).
Chapter 6 Quotes

“Every year around this time, I finally start getting the hang of things, you know? [...] Then he comes along for one of his visits.”

“Who?”

“Chin-Kee, my cousin. He’s been visiting me once a year since the eighth grade. He comes for a week or two and follows me to school, talking his stupid talk and eating his stupid food. Embarrassing the crap out of me. By the time he leaves, no one things of me as Danny anymore. I’m Chin-Kee’s cousin.”

Related Characters: Jin Wang/Danny (speaker), Steve (speaker), The Monkey King/Chin-Kee
Page Number: 126-27
Explanation and Analysis:

“People here aren’t like that. No one ever says anything about my weight. Well, maybe that’s because I broke Todd Sharpnack’s nose for calling me ‘Mr. Jiggles’ when we were freshmen. But whatever. People here are different. You’ll see. Heck, if anyone ever gives you trouble, I’ll break his nose.”

Related Characters: Steve (speaker), Jin Wang/Danny, The Monkey King/Chin-Kee
Page Number: 128
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire American Born Chinese LitChart as a printable PDF.
American Born Chinese PDF

Steve Quotes in American Born Chinese

The American Born Chinese quotes below are all either spoken by Steve or refer to Steve. 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:
Identity and Prejudice Theme Icon
).
Chapter 6 Quotes

“Every year around this time, I finally start getting the hang of things, you know? [...] Then he comes along for one of his visits.”

“Who?”

“Chin-Kee, my cousin. He’s been visiting me once a year since the eighth grade. He comes for a week or two and follows me to school, talking his stupid talk and eating his stupid food. Embarrassing the crap out of me. By the time he leaves, no one things of me as Danny anymore. I’m Chin-Kee’s cousin.”

Related Characters: Jin Wang/Danny (speaker), Steve (speaker), The Monkey King/Chin-Kee
Page Number: 126-27
Explanation and Analysis:

“People here aren’t like that. No one ever says anything about my weight. Well, maybe that’s because I broke Todd Sharpnack’s nose for calling me ‘Mr. Jiggles’ when we were freshmen. But whatever. People here are different. You’ll see. Heck, if anyone ever gives you trouble, I’ll break his nose.”

Related Characters: Steve (speaker), Jin Wang/Danny, The Monkey King/Chin-Kee
Page Number: 128
Explanation and Analysis: