How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Pray, Halmoni says. Pray to God and everything will be better. Put your hands together tight like a closed book. Good. Then say what I taught you, Young Ju. Remember? Dear Father who art in heaven. (3.1)
Young Ju is really into prayer and God for a lot of the book, which makes sense if you think about where her faith comes from. If your dear beloved grandmother taught you all about God and how to pray, you'd probably be pretty devout too.
Quote #2
Halmoni, where is heaven?
Heaven is where your Harabugi is. He is with God in a place where there is only goodness and love.
Can I go there?
Someday. If you pray and love God. Do you love God.
Yes, I say, even though at church the picture of his face with the dark round money eyes makes me hide behind the bench. But I want to see heaven and Harabugi, so I try to love him. (3.2-6)
Halmoni's explanation sounds completely logical right? Of course heaven is wherever Young Ju's dead grandfather is and of course heaven has to be a place that's only about "goodness and love." We'll just point out though that heaven seems kind of like a really exclusive club; you can't just die to get there, which seems like it could be a little intimidating for a little kid. Couple all that with a picture of God and his "dark round money eyes" and you've got a religion that doesn't seem all that simple or easy.
Quote #3
Halmoni is rocking and reading her Good Book with all the stories about how God came down to be with us. Only when he got here, he said his name was Jesus. I wonder, why did he make up a new name? I wish I could make up a new name, but Halmoni says, Do not be foolish. (3.11)
We know what you're thinking: why is it so foolish to make up a new name? Madonna did it. And we all know Lady Gaga isn't actually Lady Gaga's real name. Why should only God get the chance to rename and recreate himself?
Quote #4
That was a long prayer, she says and turns a page. What did you pray about?
That God would come down and give Apa a spanking, I tell her.
Halmoni holds her Good Book tight with both hands. She whispers, He is the only one who can. (3.15-17)
Hrm… so what kind of God is God supposed to be? On one hand (no pun intended), Halmoni tells Young Ju in an earlier scene that God's heaven is all about "goodness and love," but here Halmoni basically supports Young Ju's hope that God can smack some sense into Apa. So if God is all about "goodness and love," we're guessing a "spanking" constitutes some kind of tough love? Does this add up for you?
Quote #5
I do not understand why Mi Gook is only for Apa and Uhmma and me. God said everyone could go to heaven. Maybe God is a big liar. If Halmoni cannot go to Mi Gook, then I do not want to go. I want to stay at home with Halmoni. (6.6)
All we have to say here is that Mi Gook (or America) is most definitely not heaven, but you knew that already. Also, we can't help but notice the irony… that heaven is easier to get into than Mi Gook.
Quote #6
I am a mountain rabbit bouncing, running. Where am I going? I am going to see Harabugi. And when Halmoni comes, I will ask her if she liked the bus that is called an airplane. In Mi Gook, everyone will be happy and filled with love. I am a mountain rabbit bouncing, running, closing my eyes. Waiting for heaven. (6.27)
Young Ju's completely delusional view of Mi Gook—totally expected from a little kid who's only heard of the pumped-up version of America—is both really sweet and incredibly sad because you just know her excitement won't last once she steps onto American soil. Which is basically the tone of the title and book: a bittersweet feeling.
Quote #7
I bite my bottom lip. Hard. I cannot cry. It will only make it worse. I close my eyes and start to pray, Please, God, please make everything better. What did I say, Apa yells. Slap. (9.23)
This book kind of has a complicated view of prayer. On one hand, it's a source of peace for Young Ju and her mother, but on the other hand, in instances like these, prayer (and maybe even God) totally does not help stop Apa from abusing them. So is there power in prayer? And if so, what kind of power is it? Something to ponder…
Quote #8
I sit in the front seat staring out the window, thinking about the time that Halmoni taught me to pray. Her hands folded on top of mine, her whispered words. Now that I'm older, I don't really believe there is someone listening to me. (21.14)
Here's Young Ju turning all psuedo-atheist on us. We're not sure we're buying it, though—it sounds like a phase Young Ju might be going through, because later on when things get bad with her father, she still resorts to prayer. Some habits (and faiths) are hard to break.
Quote #9
I tiptoe quietly across the large room. Uhmma sits by herself in the back row. Her head is bowed, her back rounded, shoulders slumped. For a moment, I stop walking and stare at her small, huddled form. The chorus up front sings a slow song filled with high notes that reach impossibly for the sky. Uhmma prays, though everyone else around her sings. (21.27)
Here's why religion is a complex issue: Young Ju may be turning into a non-believer because of how useless God has been so far in her life, but even she can't deny how powerful it is to see her mother praying in a pew—the moment even has its own angelic soundtrack ("high notes that reach impossibly for the sky"). Even if Young Ju's not sure about God, she respects the power of her mother's faith and her mother's clear need for a spiritual refuge.
Quote #10
What am I doing? I look at the phone in my hand and let it drop to the ground. I hug my knees and rock, back and forth, back and forth. Halmoni's voice returns, Only God can. Only God can.
The sound of breaking and Uhmma's deep wail haunt the room. I pound my fist into my thigh and bite my lower lip. But I am not a child anymore. I do not have time to wait for God. There is only me. Stop it. Stop it. This is enough. (28.47-48)
Okay—so is this scene all about how Young Ju learns to abandon prayer and God in favor of pure human action (she picks up the phone and talks to the 9-1-1 operator after this passage)? Or is it her ability to have faith and hear Halmoni's voice reminding her that "Only God can" that allows her to have faith in her own power to stop Apa's abuse of Uhmma? We'll let you figure that one out...