I’m not guilty of anything but being born with this face.
-- Minnow (I: We Never Look Like Us)

Importance: This quote from Minnow represents one of the forms of racism Japanese-Americans experience. Minnow thinks this in the first chapter, which takes place in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, immediately before he is assaulted by white teenagers on his walk home from school. He is attacked for no other reason than he is of Japanese ancestry. This proves to the young adult reader how racism against Japanese-Americans infiltrated every part of American life at the time, even teenagers trying to walk home from school.

The word means something like persevere or endure. It’s a word for when you can’t do anything to change your situation, so you bear it patiently . . . or as patiently as you can, I guess.
-- Shig (II: What Stays, What Gives, What Goes)

Importance: This quote represents Shig describing the Japanese word gaman for the reader, which also becomes an important symbol...