How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #4
"Chinese people do many things," she said simply. "Chinese people do business, do medicine, do painting. Not lazy like American people. We do torture. Best torture." (12)
This is a very funny line, but it might have ulterior motives. Waverly's mom is addressing a perceived insult about the Chinese—that they're torturers—and she responds by turning the insult into a selling point, which demonstrates her ability to rethink what she's been presented and reframe it.
Quote #5
Having watched the older children opening their gifts, I already knew that the big gifts were not necessarily the nicest ones. (14)
Waverly is only a kid, but she already knows that what she sees on the surface may not be what's really going on. We know she can be strategic while playing chess, but here we see her being strategic in life.
Quote #6
She sat proudly on the bench, telling my admirers with proper Chinese humility, "Is luck." (34)
This sounds like a put-down, right? Waverly's mom is saying she isn't good; she's just lucky. But this might also be an attempt to get people to underestimate Waverly. Even if it isn't, though, Mom probably doesn't think her daughter is just lucky—she probably just wants her daughter to prove her wrong.