American Born Chinese

by

Gene Luen Yang

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on American Born Chinese makes teaching easy.

Jin’s Mother Character Analysis

A librarian who emigrated from China during graduate school and met and married Jin’s father the year after. Jin’s mother prizes education and work ethic over anything else: she was attracted to Jin’s father initially because of his thick glasses (which, in her mind, signal lots of studying) and tells Jin an old Chinese parable that makes it clear she believes it’s important for children to receive as much education as possible. Since Jin and Danny are the same person, Jin’s mother is also Danny’s mother. However, she only appears as a voice from the next room in Danny’s chapters.

Jin’s Mother Quotes in American Born Chinese

The American Born Chinese quotes below are all either spoken by Jin’s Mother or refer to Jin’s Mother. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Identity and Prejudice Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

“Yeah, but Ma-Ma says that’s silly. Little boys don’t grow up to be Transformers.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I’m going to let you in on a secret, little friend: it’s easy to become anything you wish...

...so long as you’re willing to forfeit your soul.”

Related Characters: Jin Wang/Danny (speaker), The Herbalist’s Wife (speaker), Jin’s Mother
Related Symbols: Transformers
Page Number: 29
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire American Born Chinese LitChart as a printable PDF.
American Born Chinese PDF

Jin’s Mother Quotes in American Born Chinese

The American Born Chinese quotes below are all either spoken by Jin’s Mother or refer to Jin’s Mother. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Identity and Prejudice Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

“Yeah, but Ma-Ma says that’s silly. Little boys don’t grow up to be Transformers.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I’m going to let you in on a secret, little friend: it’s easy to become anything you wish...

...so long as you’re willing to forfeit your soul.”

Related Characters: Jin Wang/Danny (speaker), The Herbalist’s Wife (speaker), Jin’s Mother
Related Symbols: Transformers
Page Number: 29
Explanation and Analysis: