Para. 29

Three days after watching the Ed Sullivan Show my mother told me what my schedule would be for piano lessons and piano practice. She had talked to Mr. Chong, who lived on the first floor of our apartment building. Mr. Chong was a retired piano teacher, and my mother had traded housecleaning services for weekly lessons and a piano for me to practice on every day, two hours a day, from four until six.

my mother had traded housecleaning services for weekly lessons.. until six: My mother would do housecleaning for Mr.Chong. As a form of payment for her services, she got free weekly piano lessons and a piano for her daughter to practice on everyday, two hours a day from four until six. At this stage, the little girl was too young to appreciate the efforts and sacrifice her mother made for her.

Para. 30

When my mother told me this, I felt as though I had been sent to hell. I whined, and then kicked my foot a little when I couldn't stand it anymore.

whined, I complained in a sad, annoying voice.

Para. 31

"Why don't you like me the way I am?" I cried. "I'm not a genius! I can't play the piano. And even if I could, I wouldn't go on TV if you paid me a million dollars!" I cried.

Para. 32

My mother slapped me. "Who ask you to be genius?" she shouted. "Only ask you be your best. For you sake. You think I want you to be genius? Hnnh! What for! Who ask you!"

My mother slapped me: This tells us two things. First, the mother was rather quick-tempered. Secondly, we are reminded that she was a Chinese mother. American parents would have hesitated to use physical punishment in dealing with children.

"Who ask you be genius? Only ask you be your best. For your sake. You think I want you be a genius? “If we put this part into more accurate English, it should be: Who asks you to be a genius? I only ask you to be at your best. For your sake. You think I want you to be a genius?

Para. 33

"So ungrateful," I heard her mutter in Chinese, "If she had as much talent as she has temper, she'd be famous now."

"So ungrateful":This reflects an important Chinese value concerning the relationship between parents and children. The parents do everything they can for their children and the children are supposed to feel grateful to their parents. The typical American idea is that since the parents have brought their children into this world, they have obligations for their children, and so the children do not have to feel that they owe anything to their parents.

I heard her mutter in Chinese: Note that when the mother communicated with her daughter sometimes she spoke English and sometimes Chinese. She switched to Chinese perhaps when the notions were so typically Chinese that it was easier for her to express them in her mother tongue or when she found that what she wanted to say was too difficult for her to put across in English.

“ If she had as much talent as she has temper, she would be famous now”:如果她的才气和脾气一样大的话,她早就出名了

Para. 34

Mr. Chong, whom I secretly nicknamed Old Chong, was very strange, always tapping his fingers to the silent music of an invisible orchestra. He looked ancient in my eyes. He had lost most of the h air on the top of his head, and he wore thick glasses and had eyes that always looked tired. But he must have been younger that I though, since he lived with his mother and was not yet married.

tapping his fingers to the silent music of an invisible orchestra:用手指随着一支无形乐团的无声音乐打着拍子

Para. 35

I soon found out why Old Chong had retired from teaching piano. He was deaf. "Like Beethoven!" he shouted to me: We're both listening only in our head!" And he would start to conduct his frantic silent sonatas.

"Like Beethoven…we're both listening in our head": The world famous German composer Ludwig van Beethoven(1770--1827) began to lose his hearing when he was only 28 and his2nd symphony was not yet finished. This was a terrible disaster for the young musician. Public performance eventually became impossible, but he never stopped composing. At first he could not bear to let anyone, even his best friends, know of his tragedy. In a letter he wrote to his brother about his deafness in 1802, he said:"What humiliation when anyone standing beside me could hear a distant flute that I could not hear, or a shepherd singing and I could not distinguish a sound! Such circumstances brought me to the brink of despair and almost made me put an end to my life: nothing but my art held my hand. "The disease worsened, and he became completely deaf in 1807. In spite of his deafness, Beethoven went on working with all his strength, though he was never able to hear most of his own finest music.

Para. 36

Our lessons went like this. He would open the book and point to different things, explaining, their purpose: "Key! Treble! Bass! No sharps or flats! So this is C major! Listen now and play after me!"

"Key! Treble! Bass! No sharps or flats", Please refer to Words and Expressions 7, 8 and 9.

Para. 37

And then he would play the C scale a few times, a simple cord, and then, as if inspired by an old unreachable itch, he would gradually add more notes and running trills and a pounding bass until the music was really something quite grand.

an old, unreachable itch: The word "itch" has two meanings. An itch is an uncomfortable feeling on your skin that makes you want to rub it with your nails. Informally it means figuratively a strong desire to do or have something

para. 38

I would play after him, the simple scale, the simple chord, and then just play some nonsense that sounded like a rat running up and down on top of garage cans. Old Chong would smile and applaud and say Very good! Bt now you must learn to keep time!"

keep time: to play a piece of music using the right rhythm and speed保持(正确的)节奏There are other phrases about music with the word "time" in them. Let’s have a few examples:

Waltzes are usually in three-four time.

He went through the motions in half-time.

She began moving her body in time to the music.

While his friends were singing, he beat time for them.

The girl was playing the piano for him, but he was always out of time with her.

Para. 39

So that's how I discovered that Old Chong's eyes were too slow to keep up with the wrong notes I was playing. He went through the motions in half time. To help me keep rhythm, he stood behind me and pushed down on my right shoulder for every beat. He balanced pennies on top of my wrists so that I would keep them still as I slowly played scales and arpeggios. He had me curve my hand around an apple and keep that shame when playing chords. He marched stiffly to show me how to make each finger dance up and down, staccato, like an obedient little soldier.

He balanced pennies on top of my wrists: This is a common method piano teachers use to train their students. The players' fingers dance on the keyboard but their wrists should not move up and down but be kept still.

He marched stiffly to show me how to make each finger dance.

(1) Here Old Chong was demonstrating to the girl how to play staccato

(2)staccato: (adv. When music is played staccato, the notes are cut short and do not flow smoothly. He was comparing playing staccato to marching stiffly like an obedient littlesoldier

Para. 40

He taught me all these things, and that was how I also learned I could be lazy and get away with mistakes, lots of mistakes. If I hit the wrong notes because I hadn't practiced enough, I never corrected myself, I just kept playing in rhythm. And Old Chong kept conducting his own private reverie.

conducting his own private reverie: He was conducting the invisible orchestra created by his reverie: dreamy thinking, imagining of especially agreeable things; fanciful musing daydreaming

Para. 41

So maybe I never really gave myself a fair chance. I did pick up the basics pretty quickly, and I might have become a good pianist at the young age. But I was so determined not to try, not to be anybody different, and I learned to play only the most ear-splitting preludes, the most discordant hymns.

I learned to play only the most ear-splitting preludes, the most discordant hymns: This is a metaphor, comparing her non-cooperative attitude to learning to play discordant music. “Ear-splitting” and "discordant" are used figuratively, meaning that she tried her best to be as disagreeable as possible in dealing with her mother.

Para. 42

Over the next year I practiced like this, dutifully in my own way. And then one day I heard my mother and her friend Lindo Jong both after church, and I was leaning against a brick wall, wearing a dress with stiff white petticoats. Auntie Lindo’s daughter, Waverly, who was my age, was standing farther down the wall, about five feet away. We had grown up together and shared all the closeness of two sisters, squabbling over crayons and dolls. In other words, for the most part, we hated each other. I thought she was snotty. Waverly Jong had gained a certain amount of fame as "Chinatown's Littlest Chinese Chess Champion."

Over the next year, I practiced like this, dutifully in my own way: If you say that you do something dutifully, you do what you are expected and behave in a loyal and an obedient way, with a sense of duty. Here by adding "in my own way", the girl meant that she practiced like that not according to her mothers expectation but to her own plans.

after church: After church service on Sunday. At the very beginning of the novel, jing-meitold the story about how her mother and the other three Chinese ladies met in the First Chinese Baptist Church.

My mother started the San Francisco version of the Joy Luck Club in 1949, two years before I was born. This was the year my mother and father left China with one stiff leather trunk filled only with fancy silk dresses. There was no time to pack anything else, my mother had explained to my father after they boarded the boat. Still his hands swam frantically between the slippery silks, looking for his cotton shirts and wool pants.

When they arrived in San Francisco, my father made her hide those shiny clothes. She wore the same brown-checked Chinese dress until the Refugee Welcome Society gave her two hand dresses, all too large in sizes for American women. The society was composed of a group of white-haired American missionary ladies from the First Chinese Baptist Church. And because of their gifts my parents could not refuse their invitation to join the church, Nor could they ignore the old ladies’ practical advice to improve their English through Bible study class on Wednesday nights and, later, through choir practice on Saturday mornings. This was how my parents met the Hsus, the Jongs, and the St. Clairs. My mother could sense that the women of these families also had unspeakable tragedies they had left behind in China and hopes they couldn't begin to express in their fragile English. Or at least, my mother recognized the numbness in these womens faces. And she saw how A quickly their eyes moved when she told them her idea for the Joy Luck Club.

We had grown up together and shared all the closeness…and dolls.

(1)The two girls had grown up together. Like sisters they often quarreled over crayons and dolls.

(2)squabble(over/ about): to quarrel continuously about something unimportant: The kids are still squabbling about whose turn it is to wash the dishes: In other words, for the most part, we hated each other: In other words, we hated each other most of the time. Their behavior is similar to sibling rivalry. Sibling rivalry is competition between brothers and sisters for their parents' attention or love. Although there is rivalry in all cultures, it may be more common in American families than in Chinese because of different family education and family values. In American families, every child is led to think he/she is the best. They are encouraged to compete for everything from an early age on. If we compare the relationships among sisters and brothers in Chinese and American families, we can find some differences. In Chinese families, elder sisters and brothers are told to look after their younger sisters and brothers. In return, younger sisters and brothers are supposed to show respect for the older ones. In American families, more stress is put on individual rights and equality than on relations in which the older and the younger siblings have different roles to play.

Para. 43

"She bring home too many trophy." Auntie Lindo lamented that Sunday. "All day she play chess. All day I have no time do nothing but dust off her winnings." She threw a scolding look at Waverly, who pretended not to see her.

“chinatown's Littlest Chinese Chess Champion”: A headline in a newspaper or magazine. Note the alliteration used here. Alliteration and puns are often used in newspaper headlines in order to catch readers' attention. In the novel there is a part told by Waverly. She learns to play chess at an early age. By her ninth birthday, she was a national chess champion. Although she was still some 429 points away from grand-master status, she was touted the Great American Hope, a child prodigy. A photo of hers appeared in Life magazine.

“She bring home too many trophy, "lamented Auntie Lindo…"All day I…dust off her winnings.”

(1) Like jing-mei' s mother, Auntie Lindo also spoke inaccurate English. In more accurate English it should be: she brings home too many trophies. All day she plays chess. All day I have no time to do anything else but clean and dust off her trophies.

(2)Note the use of words and expressions like "lamented" and " threw a scolding look Auntie Lindo was very pleased with and proud of her daughter and wanted to brag about her to her best friend. But she knew that was against Chinese modesty. So, like a proper Chinese mother, she had to hide her pride and pretend to be modest and complaining about her daughter. She was praising her daughter in an indirect way.

(3)winnings: (pl. )something won, especially money

Para. 44

"You lucky you don't have this problem," Auntie Lindo said with a sigh to my mother.

" You lucky you don't have this problem", You are lucky that you don't have so many trophies to dust off. The tone was ironic, implying that your daughter didn't bring home any trophy.

Para. 45

And my mother squared her shoulders and bragged: "our problem worser than yours. If we ask Jing-mei wash dish, she hear nothing but music. It's like you can't stop this natural talent."

(1)jing-mei's mother knew her friend too well to miss the ironic tone in her remark. She was determined to respond to her friend's challenge.

(2) What she meant to say is our problem is worse than yours. If we ask jing-mei to wash dishes, she hears nothing but music. it's like you can't stop this natural talent.

(3) squared her shoulders: to push back shoulders with back straight, usually to show determination

(4) From the above conversation we can see the two mothers' behavior was typically Chinese. Under the same circumstances, an American parent would simply say daughter is great! I'm proud of her3. jing-mei hated being compared to Waverly. She knew what her mother said was not true and that it was nothing but foolish pride that made her say so. Therefore, she was determined to put a stop to this.

Para. 46

And right then I was determined to put a stop to her foolish pride.

Para. 47

A few weeks later Old Chong and my mother conspired to have me play in a talent show that was to be held in the church hall. But then my parents had saved up enough to buy me a secondhand piano, a black Wurlitzer spinet with a scarred bench. It was the showpiece of our living room.

Old Chong and my mother conspired to have me play… in the church hall

(1)The word "conspired" reveals the narrator's relationship with her mother: They were opponents of the sharp conflict. conspire: to plan something harmful or illegal together secretly, e. g. He had conspired with an accomplice to rob the bank.

(2)a talent show: A talent show/contest is a competition in which people show how well they can sing, dance, tell jokes, etc.才艺表演

Wurlitzer spinet: Rudolph Wurlitzer was a German immigrant and the founder of a company in Ohio, the USA, which makes and sells musical instruments. In 1880 the first Wurlitz piano was built in the USA.

It was the showpiece of our living room:这是我家起居室的惟一摆设(陈列品)。

Para. 48

For the talent show I was to play a piece called "Pleading Child," from Schumann's Scenes From Childhood. It was a simple, moody piece that sounded more difficult than it was. I was supposed to memorize the whole thing. But I dawdled over it, playing a few bars and then cheating, looking up to see what notes followed. I never really listed to what I was playing. I daydreamed about being somewhere else, about being someone else.

I was to play a piece called "Pleading Child" from schumann's Scenes from childhood

(1) For Robert Schumann, see Note 7 to the text. Here is more information about the composer and his work. Schumann was a German composer, pianist, and music critic, representative and leader of the romantic school. Among Schumann's works are highly imaginative song cycles based on poems by Heine, Goethe, and others, four symphonies, one piano concerto, and many sets of piano pieces with titles such as Papillons(Butterflies), Carnaval, Kinderszenen(Scenes from Childhood), and Nachtstucke (Nightpieces). His best works exemplify his infusion of classical forms with intense, personal emotion. His wife was a fine pianist and a masterly interpreter of her husbands works. Schumann's last years were darkened by mental illness. After a nervous breakdown he entered a sanitarium, where he died two years later. His essays include“ On Music and Musicians”

(2) Scenes from Childhood is a collection of 13 little pieces for piano published in 1839They are written in the simple form of episodes, and each of them is provided with a sharply distinguished melodic core. Each piece has a suggestive title. The introductory piece is entitled "Of Foreign Countries and People", and the last piece "The Poet Speaks”. The others include“ Suppliant Child"( also translated as“ Pleading Child”),“ Funny Story",“ Child Fallen Asleep”,"“ Reverie”,“ Perfect Happiness”( also translated as "Perfectly Contented"). This collection is one of Schumann's best-known short pieces, loved by many and suitable for students of all levels. The author chooses Pleading Child "for the girl to play in the talent show because the title suits the situation the girl was in at that time.

(3)plead: to ask for something you want very much in a sincere and emotional way

repeat part:复奏(复唱)部分

I dawdled over it: To dawdle (over) means to take a long time to do something, e.g. don't dawdle we are late already!

Para. 49

The part I liked to practice best was the fancy curtsy: right foot out, touch the rose on the carpet with a pointed foot, sweep to the side, bend left leg, look up, and smile.

The part I liked to practice best was the fancy curtsy.. and smile.

(1) Translate the sentence into Chinese.: 我最喜欢练习的部分是花哨的谢幕行礼动作:先出右脚,脚尖点在地毯上的玫瑰图案上,身子侧摆,左腿弯曲,抬头,微笑。

(2)curtsy: a gesture of greeting, respect, etc, formerly made by girls and women and characterized by a bending of the knees and a slight lowering of the body

Para. 50

My parents invited all the couples from their social club to witness my debut. Auntie Lindo and Uncle Tin were there. Waverly and her two older brothers had also come. The first two rows were filled with children either younger or older than I was. The littlest ones got to go first. They recited simple nursery rhymes, squawked out tunes on miniature violins, and twirled hula hoops in pink ballet tutus, and when they bowed or curtsied, the audience would sigh in unison, "Awww, and then clap enthusiastically.

My parents invited all the couples from the Joy Luck Club…to witness my debut.

(1) debut: a first appearance in public as of an actor

(2) We can hardly call the girls performance in the talent show making her debut. Furthermore, the word "witness" is used, instead of a common word like "watch" Then we realize that the narrator used these formal words with a note of irony to imply that her parents, to be more exact, her mother, attached too much importance to this occasion out of their high hopes for their daughter. They expected their daughter to give a successful performance to impress their friends; A talent show held by the church was mainly for entertainment, an opportunity for church members together, not meant for serious competition. However, jing-mei's mother was using this chance to show off her daughter and compete with her friend Lindo.

They recited simple nursery rhymes, squawked out tunes.. enthusiastically

(1) Translate the sentence into Chinese:他们背诵简单的童谣,用微型小提琴拉出又响又粗的调子,跳呼拉圈舞,穿着粉色的芭蕾舞短裙蹦蹦跳跳。当他们鞠躬行礼时观众同声发出“啊,啊”的赞叹,然后热烈地鼓掌

(2) squawk: to utter a loud, harsh cry, as a parrot or chicken

(3)prance: to rise up on the hind legs in a lively way, while moving along: said of a horse;to move about in a way suggestive of a prancing horse.

Para. 51

When my turn came, I was very confident. I remember my childish excitement. It was as if I knew, without a doubt, that the prodigy side of me really did exist. I had no fear whatsoever, no nervousness. I remember thinking, This is it! This is it! I looked out over the audience, at my mother's blank face, my father's yawn, Auntie Lindo's stiff-lipped smile, Waverly's sulky expression. I had on a white dress, layered with sheets of lace, and a pink bow in my Peter Pan haircut. As I sat down, I envisioned people jumping to their feet and Ed Sullivan rushing up to introduce me to everyone on TV.

This is it: This is the chance for my prodigy side to come out.

As I sat down I envisioned people jumping to their feet…on TV

(1) Explain the meaning of the sentence: As I sat down at the piano, I imagined that my performance would be such a great success that everybody would jump to their feet in excitement and even Ed Sullivan would be so impressed that he would rush up to introduce me on his TV program.

(2) envision, to imagine something not yet in existence, to picture in the mind

Para. 52

And I started to play. Everything was so beautiful. I was so caught up in how lovely I looked that I wasn't worried about how I would sound. So I was surprised when I hit the first wrong note. And then I hit another and another. A chill started at the top of my head and began to trickle down. Yet I couldn't stop playing, as though my hands were bewitched. I kept thinking my fingers would adjust themselves back, like a train switching to the right track. I played this strange jumble through to the end, the sour notes staying with me all the way.

I looked out over the audience, at my mother's blank face. waverly's sulky expression.

(1) Here the narrator saw four people with four different facial expressions. The mother had a blank face because her feelings at this moment were mixed. She had high hope sand expectations and she was nervous, too. Whatever she felt she must hide her feelings. The father yawned, showing he didn't care so much as the mother and he was bored by this children's activity. Auntie lindo's stiff-lipped smile revealed that she tried to put on a polite smile but only succeeded in an awkward, unnatural Obviously she was afraid that suyuan's daughter's success might overshadow her own daughter. Waverly, being a child, failed to hide her unhappy feeling very well.

(2) stiff-lipped smile: awkward, unnatural smile尴尬、不自然的笑容

(3)sulky: showing annoyance, resentment, dissatisfaction

A chill started at the top of my head. switching to the right track.

(1) Translate this part into Chinese:一股凉气从头顶开始,然后一点点传到全身。但我却不能停止演奏,双手好像着了魔似的。我不停地想,我的手指会调整好,就像火车会被扳到正确的轨道上

(2) bewitch: to get control over someone by putting a magic spell on them

Para. 53

When I stood up, I discovered my legs were shaking. Maybe I had just been nervous, and the audience, like Old Chong had seen me go through the right motions and had not heard anything wrong at all. I swept my right foot out, went down on my knee, looked up, and smiled. The room was quiet, except for Old Chong, who was beaming and shouting "Bravo! Bravo! Well done!" By then I saw my mother's face, her stricken face. The audience clapped weakly, and I walked back to my chair, with my whole face quivering as I tried not to cry, I heard a little boy whisper loudly to his mother. "That was awful," and mother whispered "Well, she certainly tried."

I played this strange jumble.. all the way to the end.

(1) jumble: an untidy mixture of things, e.g. These notes recorded a jumble of thoughts and feeling.

(2) sour notes, notes that are gratingly wrong or off pitch

Maybe I had just been nervous and the audience. anything wrong at all: When after all. Maybe she was just imagining that she had played terribly owing to nervousness and that the audience had not noticed any mistakes.

But then I saw my mother's stricken face.

(1)When I saw my mother's stricken face, I knew that was not mere illusion: I really gave an awful performance. Otherwise my mother's face would not be looking so painful and distressed.

(2) stricken: (formal) afflicted or affected by something painful or distressing: very badly affected by trouble, illness, etc.

He had to live with a stricken conscience for the rest of his life.

Supplies of medicine were rushed to the flood-stricken areas.

panic-stricken crowds swarmed into the square.

A grief-stricken mother wrote this letter to the editor of the newspaper about the tragedy.

The audience clapped weakly: Compare this with the audience's response in Paragraph 50After each performance given by the little children, the audience would sigh in unison “Awww”, and then clap enthusiastically. This shows that not only her mother but also everybody else, except the deaf Old Chong, noticed what a poor job she had done.

Para. 54

And now I realized how many people were in the audience - the whole world, it seemed. I was aware of eyes burning into my back. I felt the shame of my mother and father as they sat stiffly through the rest of the show.

Para. 55

We could have escaped during intermission. Pride and some strange sense of honor must have anchored my parents to their chairs. And so we watched it all. The eighteen-year-old boy with a fake moustache who did a magic show and juggled flaming hoops while riding a unicycle. The breasted girl with white make up who sang an aria from Madame Butterfly and got an honorable mention. And the eleven-year-old boy who was first prize playing a tricky violin song that sounded like a busy bee.

We could have escaped during intermission…to their chairs.

(1) Express the meaning in your own words: We had a chance to leave the show during intermission, but we didn’t. My parents remained firm in their seats throughout the show, probably out of pride and some strange sense of honor.

(2)intermission: an interval of time between periods of activity; pause, as between acts of play

(3)anchor: An anchor is a heavy object, usually a shaped iron weight, lowered by cable or chain to the bottom of a body of water to keep a vessel from drifting. To anchor something means to keep something from drifting or giving away, etc. by or as by anchor: to fasten something firmly so that it cannot move.

juggled flaming hoops while riding a unicycle

(1) juggle: to keep three or more objects moving through the air by throwing and catching them very quickly

(2) unicycle: a one-wheeled vehicle straddled by the rider who pushes its pedals uni-:(prefix) one: having or consisting of one only (e.g. unicellular, unisex)

Compare: bicycle, tricycle

(1) breasted: Here are some phrases with the word "breast": bare-breasted, small-breasted, large-breasted, etc.

(2)white makeup: The girl was singing an aria sung by the Japanese geisha(zt) cio-cioSan in Puccinis opera Madama Butter fly. Cio-Cio-san falls in love with the American naval officer Pinkerton and is married to him against her family's strong opposition. Pinkerton returns to the USA with the fleet. When Cio-Cio-san comes to know that her husband has betrayed her and is married again to an American woman, she takes her own life. In the opera, as a Japanese geisha, Cio-Cio-san wears heavy white makeup.

(3)honorable mention: a special honor in a competition for work that was of high quality but did not get a prize(没有进名次的)优秀奖

a tricky violin song:技巧性很强的小提琴曲

tricky: requiring great skill or care

Para. 56

After the show the Hsus, the Jongs, and the St. Clairs, from the Joy Luck Club, came up to my mother and father.

Auntie Lindo said vaguely, smiling broadly: When the family friends came up to jing-mei 's parents after the show, they were supposed to say something nice about jing-mei's Performance. However, the poor job jing-mei had done made it hard for them to make comments. What Auntie Lindo said was a general, ambiguous comment, thus "vaguely" But her smile was broad and genuine, unlike the stiff-lipped smile on her face before Jingmei played, for now she felt relieved because her friend's daughter had notable to out shine her own daughter

Para. 57

"Lots of talented kids," Auntie Lindo said vaguely, smiling broadly.

Auntie Lindo said vaguely, smiling broadly: When the family friends came up to jing-mei 's parents after the show, they were supposed to say something nice about jing-mei's Performance. However, the poor job jing-mei had done made it hard for them to make comments. What Auntie Lindo said was a general, ambiguous comment, thus "vaguely" But her smile was broad and genuine, unlike the stiff-lipped smile on her face before Jingmei played, for now she felt relieved because her friend's daughter had notable to out shine her own daughter

Para. 58

"That was somethin' else," my father said, and I wondered if he was referring to me in a humorous way, or whether he even remembered what I had done.

Para. 59

Waverly looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. "You aren't a genius like me," she said matter-of-factly. And if I hadn't felt so bad, I would have pulled her braids and punched her stomach.

Para. 60

But my mother's expression was what devastated me: a quiet, blank look that said she had lost everything. I felt the same way, and everybody seemed now to be coming up, like gawkers at the scene of an accident to see what parts were actually missing. When we got on the bus to go home, my father was humming the busy-bee tune and my mother kept silent. I kept thinking she wanted to wait until we got home before shouting at me. But when my father unlocked the door to our apartment, my mother walked in and went straight to the back, into the bedroom. No accusations, No blame. And in a way, I felt disappointed. I had been waiting for her to start shouting, so that I could shout back and cry and blame her for all my misery.