Previous
Sherrie Chin-Watt
Janice is a young white woman who works as John Kwang’s schedule manager. She also handles responsibilities like scouting out the best place for Kwang to make public appearances. She works closely with Eduardo and Henry, training them to make sure that the cameras can always see Kwang when he appears in public. Out of all Kwang’s supporters, volunteers, and employees, Janice is perhaps the most dedicated to Kwang’s burgeoning political movement, as evidenced by the fact that only she and Henry stick around once he’s surrounded by scandal and negative media attention.
Janice Quotes in Native Speaker
The Native Speaker quotes below are all either spoken by Janice or refer to Janice . 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:
).
Chapter 6 Quotes
We perhaps depend too often on the faulty honor of silence, use it too liberally and for gaining advantage. I showed Lelia how this was done, sometimes brutally, my face a peerless mask, the bluntest instrument.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes
He is no longer moving in his customary way. He looks old and weary, like he’s standing still. He decides to make a brief appearance for the media in the foyer of the ruined offices (against the repeated warnings of Janice, who hates the shot—all that shadowy wreckage and defeat), and with the barrage of questions and arc lights and auto winders he actually falters. Perhaps for the first time in his public life he mumbles, his voice cracks, and even an accent sneaks through.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21 Quotes
For so long he was effortlessly Korean, effortlessly American. Now I don’t want him ever to lower his eyes. I don’t want to witness the submissive dip of his brow or the bend of his knee before me or anyone else. I didn’t—or don’t now—come to him for the occasion of looking upon this. I am here for the hope of his identity, which may also be mine, who he has been on a public scale when the rest of us wanted only security in the tiny dollar-shops and churches of our lives.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Native Speaker LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Janice Character Timeline in Native Speaker
The timeline below shows where the character Janice appears in Native Speaker. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6
Henry’s savvy handling of the protestors attracts the attention of Janice, who serves as Kwang’s scheduling manager—among other things. It’s her job to scout out good...
(full context)
After scouting the location in Brooklyn, Janice takes Henry and Eduardo to a diner. Henry studies Eduardo, who looks older than 23....
(full context)
Later, Henry stays with Janice while Eduardo goes back to the office. They drive through the southern neighborhoods of Queens...
(full context)
Chapter 9
...day has come for Kwang to make his appearance in Brooklyn (the one Henry helped Janice scout). There’s a huge crowd, but before he addresses the people, he goes into a...
(full context)
Chapter 16
Henry goes to the bombed-out Kwang office the next day. Janice and Sherrie are there, both of them desperately trying to keep things in order as...
(full context)
Chapter 19
...speak before television cameras, choosing to do so from the ruins of the office—a decision Janice advises against, since it suggests defeat. During the appearance, he speaks without confidence. He does,...
(full context)
Chapter 21
...just 16 years old. The media runs wild with the story, and everyone around Kwang—except Janice—starts trying to distance themselves from him, realizing there’s no way he’ll come back from this...
(full context)
...help but rush to Kwang’s home. But Kwang isn’t there. Henry therefore goes back to Janice’s apartment, where the two of them make calls trying to figure out where Kwang might...
(full context)
