" We landed in San Francisco on December 3, 1906. As we walked down the gangplank, a group of young white men were standing around, waiting to see what kind of creatures were disembarking...They laughed at us and spit in our faces; one man kicked up Mother's skirt and called us names we couldn't understand. Of course their actions and attitudes left no doubt about their feelings towards us. I was so upset. I asked Father why we had come to a place where we were not wanted. He replied that we deserved what we got because that was the kind of treatment that Koreans had given to the first American missionaries in Korea: the children had thrown rocks at them, calling them "white devils" because of their blue eyes and yellow or red hair. He explained that anything new and strange causes some fear at first, so ridicule and violence often result. He said the missionaries just lowered their heads and paid no attention to their tormentors. They showed their action and good works that they were just as good as or even better than those who laughed at them. He said that is exactly what we must try to do here in America- Study hard and learn how to show Americans that we are just as good as they are." ( Quiet Odyssey, Mary Paik Lee, p.12-14)
This passage is very important to the book because it is the lessons that Mary learns at a very young age that she keeps with her for the rest of her life. It is a lessons that affects the rest of the story and how she acts to being discriminated against. It also affects how she acts when she is treated with hostility from white people or other people who feel like she doesn't belong in America. It is also important because it helps Mary keep a positive attitude during the times when shes discriminated against and struggles with fitting in each time she moves to a new place.
Over all this passage is the building block and foundation for this book. It is introduced in the very beginning and it is a lesson that affects the way that she lives the rest of her life. If she hadn't learned this lesson in the very beginning this story could have played out completely different. Her life would have been completely different. Everything could have been completely different.
This passage is very important to the book because it is the lessons that Mary learns at a very young age that she keeps with her for the rest of her life. It is a lessons that affects the rest of the story and how she acts to being discriminated against. It also affects how she acts when she is treated with hostility from white people or other people who feel like she doesn't belong in America. It is also important because it helps Mary keep a positive attitude during the times when shes discriminated against and struggles with fitting in each time she moves to a new place.
Over all this passage is the building block and foundation for this book. It is introduced in the very beginning and it is a lesson that affects the way that she lives the rest of her life. If she hadn't learned this lesson in the very beginning this story could have played out completely different. Her life would have been completely different. Everything could have been completely different.