How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
He was a polished jazz player, whose poverty had less to do with his musical ability and more to do with his color. Henry had liked him immediately. Not because they were both outcasts, although if he really thought about it, that might have had a ring of truth to it—no, he liked him because of his music. (3.13)
Sheldon and Henry may seem like unlikely friends, but they totally get each other. They're both considered "other" by dominant white society, and they both enjoy listening to good jazz music.
Quote #2
Henry wasn't sure which was worse, being picked on for being Chinese, or being accused of being a Jap. Though Tojo, the prime minister of Japan, was known as "the Razor" because of his sharp legalistic mind, Henry only wished he were sharp enough to stay home from school when his classmates were giving speeches about the Yellow Peril. (4.10)
Being Asian isn't easy after the attack on Pearl Harbor. All the kids at school either bully or ignore Henry, and they're all convinced that he's the enemy—even though he was born in the United States, just like them.
Quote #3
The sum total of Henry's Japanese friends happened to be a number that rhymed with hero. His father wouldn't allow it. He was a Chinese nationalist and had been quite a firebrand in his day, according to Henry's mother. (5.10)
Henry's father totally hates Japanese people and would prefer to align his interests with white people. He expects his son to have the exact same prejudices, too, even though Henry was born in the United States and is decidedly not a Chinese nationalist.