No, when it came to foreign students, the universal rallying cry was to get those no-good Chinese cheaters out of our schools".
-- Narrator (Chapter 1)

Importance: The author enacts this moment in the text to explore anti-Asian prejudice in American culture. When Ava refers to the SAT scandal at Stanford, she notes that the sympathy extended to white students in the recent cheating scandal was not a factor when she was in school; Winnie left Stanford suddenly because she knew, as a Chinese immigrant, she would be shamed and ridiculed. Her intelligence and desire to excel would not be at the forefront of the story.

In a way, wasn't this desire to disappear at the root of why I'd gone to law school despite having no interest in the law?".
-- Narrator (Chapter 7)

Importance: Chen utilizes this quotation to expand her thematic inspection of identity. Throughout her life, Ava made choices in order to blend in and conform...