The Year of the Dog

“Traditionally […] you are supposed to stay up as late as you can on Chinese New Year. The longer you stay awake, the longer your parents’ lives will be. So I should try to keep you up all night! But tomorrow is school, so everyone goes to sleep.”

Pacy’s mom explains traditions of the holiday, showing her desire to pass down her Taiwanese customs to her children. However, she does not expect them to abide by the customs this evening because it is a school night. Living in a place where few others celebrate Chinese New Year, Pacy’s mom recognizes that it will be challenging for her daughters to follow all the family’s customs, but she makes sure that her girls still know what they are, empowering them to pass on these traditions to their own children someday.

“‘I could fall asleep anywhere,’ Mom said. ‘I was very talented.’”

Pacy’s mom says this after sharing the story of how she fell asleep standing up at a school assembly in Taiwan. In this moment, she uses humor to ease Pacy’s fears about not finding herself in the Year of the Dog. By making fun of herself and her talent of falling asleep anywhere, she lightens the mood and takes pressure off Pacy, proving to her daughter that everyone makes mistakes sometimes.

“‘You tell them that you’re American,’ Mom told me firmly.”

When Pacy wonders if she should be called Chinese or Taiwanese, this is how her mom responds. Her answer to the question reveals a desire to belong and not stand out, because by being “American,” Pacy will be more like her peers. Also, when her mom says this “firmly,” she demonstrates how strong her desire is for her children to belong.

“‘Look over there,’ she said pointing. ‘That’s why the lunch lady thought you already got your lunch.’

I looked where she was pointing and I saw a girl that looked Chinese, just like me!”

The lunch lady does not want to serve Pacy lunch because she is adamant that the girl has already eaten, but the reality is that the woman confuses Pacy with another Taiwanese student. The lunch lady’s behavior is a microaggression because the assumption is that all Chinese and Taiwanese people look the same. However, the hurtful moment is overcome by Pacy’s joy at seeing someone who looks like her.

“It’s like egg foo young. At home we call it foo yung don, but at the restaurants they call it egg foo young. So it’s easier for Americans to say. But it’s still the same egg pancake—you know what you’re eating when Mom gives it to you, don’t you? And you know what to order at the restaurant. It’s not that hard.”

In this passage, Pacy tells Melody why she has a Chinese name and an American name. In the story, Pacy’s older sister, Lissy, compares their names to Chinese foods that are featured in American restaurants, and she articulates the reason for the distinction; their alternate names are designed to make things easier for their American friends and acquaintances. This dynamic highlights the fact that people from other cultures must often adapt to be accepted in the United States. However, Lissy’s words also imply that a change in name does not change a person’s identity any more than changing the name of a dish will change its taste.

“Melody and I became best friends. Like two chopsticks, we were always together.”

Pacy explicitly states how close she is with Melody by using a simile that compares their friendship to chopsticks. One stick cannot be used without the other, so the implication is that the girls are always together. Furthermore, this simile dovetails with the novel’s emphasis on the importance of food in Taiwanese culture.

“They were all wearing their special silk clothes, and in the moonlight we shimmered like a stained-glass window. Grandma’s dress was a silky, silver gray. She glowed like a pearl ring.”

When Pacy’s family arrives at Albert’s house, the relatives come outside to greet them. Pacy’s diction connotes the deep love and respect that she has for her extended family. Using two similes, she compares the family to a shimmering stained-glass window and her grandmother to a pearl ring, invoking the image of rare and beautiful works of art. This strategic use of figurative language indicates just how much Pacy loves and admires her family and their cultural attire.

“‘Will the paint come off?’ I asked. ‘I don’t want to go to school with ‘pig’ written on my neck!’

‘I’m sure it will,’ Mom said, ‘but does your neck feel better?’

I stopped and thought for a moment.

‘Well, yeah,’ I nodded, ‘it does!’”

After her grandmother paints a tiger and a pig on her neck, Pacy is most concerned with whether the paint will wash off. This worry highlights the conflict of being bicultural for Pacy. She frets about what others will think about the symbols, but when she realizes that her grandmother’s solution has lessened her pain, she learns the value of old and unconventional Taiwanese remedies.

“If Teddy became my boyfriend, what would I do? Would Melody be mad at me? Would we no longer be almost twins? I thought that maybe I shouldn’t go out with Teddy. But he was so cute!”

When Pacy assumes that Teddy Jackson likes her, she contemplates working with him on the science fair project. However, because this idea makes Melody go quiet, Pacy realizes that her actions toward Teddy might have a detrimental effect on her precious connection with Melody. Pacy’s internal questions demonstrate that she is conflicted; she values her friendship with Melody but still has a crush on Teddy. Ultimately, she does not have to decide between the two other children because Teddy likes a different girl altogether. The fact that Pacy is happy to hear this news emphasizes the depths to which she values her friendship with Melody.

“So, no matter what, I practiced the piano every day. Sometimes I practiced on a real piano; sometimes I practiced on the paper piano. It was a long time before we got a piano of our own, but when we did, I was able to play so well that they invited me to play in the school orchestra. Later, I played a solo at a big concert and when I was done everyone stood up and clapped. Grandma was so happy that she cried.”

In the story about the paper piano, Pacy’s mom emphasizes that it takes consistent hard work to achieve goals and find success. Her story also illustrates that sometimes the best solutions can be unconventional, as when she practices on a paper piano. This lesson is a way for Pacy’s mom to support her daughter; she shares what helped her become successful in the past in hopes that Pacy can learn from her experience and become successful in her book project.

“‘Hmm,’ Mr. McKnealy said, frowning, ‘then I’m afraid your scientific method was seriously flawed.’

Melody and I looked at each other. We didn’t feel so lucky anymore.

‘To get true results, you should do this project over again with at least ten plants for each liquid, in a controlled environment.’ He continued, ‘And then you should do a chlorophyll test.’”

Mr. McKnealy, the guest judge at the science fair, responds to the girls’ project and delivers news that disappoints them both greatly. Melody and Pacy have been hoping for good “luck” in their joint project, but his remarks indicate that when it comes to science, luck has nothing to do with success. To have a successful experiment, the girls needed to put in more thought and effort to make sure that their results are valid. This moment shows that Pacy has not yet learned her mother’s lesson of putting in hard work, for she relies on luck to help them win the competition.

“And there are none in books. Whenever we do a school play, it’s always from books and none of the characters are Chinese. We did Cinderella, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland—nobody in books is Chinese.”

After Becky tells Pacy that she cannot audition for the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Pacy reflects on the distinct lack of Chinese representation in American movies and books. Pacy’s claim that there are no Chinese characters suggests a lack of representation. However, also embedded in this passage is the reality that the school itself does not select diverse texts. Pacy’s reflections bring to light that the lack of representation can be hurtful to children (and adults) who would benefit from knowing that their voices and experiences are amplified along with more mainstream representations.

“But even with an original idea, I still didn’t know what to write about. I knew I wanted it to be about a Chinese person and Ms. McCurdy wanted me to write about my life, but I couldn’t think of a part of my life to write about. There was just nothing exciting in my life. Maybe that was why there were no real Chinese people in books; we all had boring lives.”

Pacy’s writer’s block emphasizes the impact of having little representation even as it highlights her naiveté. Because she has no books to compare her experiences to, Pacy makes the faulty assumption that anyone with Chinese heritage must be “boring.” Because her youthful perspective inevitably lacks nuance, she uses what little experience she has and inadvertently overgeneralizes a whole group of people. However, she is also thinking like a typical young person because she cannot see anything special about her own life.

“Me! But then everyone would see me! What if I handed Dorothy the gift and everyone in the audience whispered to each other, ‘A Chinese munchkin? There’s no such thing as a Chinese munchkin!’”

When Pacy is assigned to be the gift-giving munchkin during the performance, she immediately worries. Her reaction underscores the negative impact of Becky’s comment, and because Pacy is still caught up in the desolate feeling of being rejected, she believes that she is not worthy to be a munchkin and is concerned about how she will be perceived. Implied in this passage is Pacy’s desire to remain invisible, another detrimental effect of Becky’s biased words.

“I walked forward, and there was a bright spotlight on me. I tried to look into the audience, but I couldn’t see anyone. I didn’t hear anything except for my own breathing. With every step I got closer to Emma and she smiled at me, a play smile full of teeth—one for the audience. As she took the gift, I felt like I was giving her a ten-pound rice sack. I curtsied like we had practiced, and as I looked at my shoes I heard thunder. It was applause! For me! No one had laughed or whispered about a Chinese munchkin at all! I smiled into the bright light toward the audience as I headed back to join the rest of the munchkins.”

The author’s use of blow-by-blow details captures the internal tension of Pacy’s moment on the stage when she presents the gift to Dorothy. The beginning of the passage indicates her dread and fear of being laughed at, for she cannot hear anything, and the empty box feels exceptionally heavy. However, when the audience applauds her performance, she is both relieved and happy, and this immediate shift in tone is evident in her smile and her new ability to look out at the audience. Thus, the power of support and affirmation transforms a stressful moment into a positive one.

“Mom’s whole garden had been full of weird-looking Chinese vegetables—they were yellow and bumpy and lumpy. Some of them looked like warty frogs and some looked like purple sausages. I couldn’t understand why she wanted to grow them. But when she made soup out of them, I changed my mind. The soup was SO good; eating it was like swallowing a nice warm hug after being in the cold.”

In this passage, Pacy remembers the first time she ate Chinese vegetables. She thinks they look “weird” and ugly, but taste delicious, an unexpected contrast. In a simile, Pacy compares the flavor to swallowing a warm hug, indicating that it is not just the taste, but also the feeling of comfort and home that she relishes. Not only does this memory lead to a book idea, but it is also a reminder that things are not always what they seem: another lesson imparted by her mother.

“The adults would meet other Taiwanese-American parents and listen to speeches and things. The kids would get together and do crafts and watch movies. Mom thought it sounded good not just for me, but for the whole family, so we all drove down to the convention.”

After learning more about the Taiwanese American Convention (TAC) from Melody’s family, Pacy’s mom decides to take the whole family there. This passage emphasizes how important it is for people of all ages to connect with others who share a cultural and ethnic background.

“The girls cackled and jabbered at each other in Chinese like mockingbirds. I felt like a helpless fish frying in oil, with a red-hot heat burning my face and stinging my eyes. I turned around so they wouldn’t see me cry.”

When Pacy is in art class at the TAC, the other girls mock her because she cannot speak Chinese or Taiwanese. The girls’ meanness is emphasized in the description of their cackle, for this version of laughter is often associated with ill-intent. Likewise, when Pacy calls them mockingbirds, this imagery underscores the fact that they are ridiculing her in a language that she does not understand. After the encounter, Pacy is visibly shaken, and her reaction highlights one of the challenges that she faces as a child who belongs to two different cultures, for she never feels good enough to fully belong in either culture. In this case, she is mocked for not being able to speak Chinese or Taiwanese and is labeled a “fake.”

“New York City meant Chinatown and that meant we could buy all the things we couldn’t get in New Hartford. So, Mom did all her grocery shopping. She took us to a Chinese grocery store and told us to pick whatever we wanted.”

After attending the TAC, Pacy’s family visits New York City on their way home to stop in Chinatown at a Chinese grocery store. Because they cannot obtain these particular foods in their own town, this passage implies that it is challenging for families living in areas where very few people share their culture and heritage.

“I looked out the window. I felt like one of the early falling leaves, brown and dried up and turning to dust in the blustering wind.”

When Melody wins the Halloween costume contest, Pacy feels dejected and unlucky. There is irony in her reflection because she compares herself to an old and dying leaf in autumn, even though she is quite young and has her whole life ahead of her. This simile emphasizes the fact that even though Pacy has learned many lessons in the past year, she is still naïve and immature because she expects to “find herself” soon and feels that if she cannot accomplish this goal during the Year of the Dog, then she has somehow failed.

“Suddenly, like the last piece of a puzzle fitting into place, I realized something. I was rich. And not only was I rich, I had won a prize. I had talent as an author and illustrator. I finally knew what I could do when I grew up—I could make books. When I grew up, I could have a whole shelf of books all written by me. I was lucky. Like a creamy chocolate in my mouth, a warm feeling melted through me.”

Pacy wins fourth place in the national book contest, and these are her thoughts in the aftermath. She uses two similes—finishing a puzzle and eating warm chocolate—to emphasize her relief and joy at discovering her hidden talent. However, she calls herself lucky, when in reality, she worked hard to create the book. This irony highlights that although Pacy is growing and maturing, she is still a child who has more to learn.

“Thanksgiving dinner at our house was always like that. We always had a lot of food covering the whole table. But it was full of glassy rice noodles, stir-fried shrimp, crispy fried fish, meaty dumplings, tangy sweet and sour pork, thick egg drop soup, white rice, and a very small turkey. The turkey was never in the middle of the table, but always on the side, because Mom only made it because we said we had to have it.”

This passage describes the food that Pacy’s family has on Thanksgiving and captures how the family has acculturated by acclimating to American traditions while still retaining their own culture and customs. The extensive spread of Chinese food with a small turkey on the side emphasizes that they have traditional Thanksgiving fare—the turkey—but still enjoy traditional Taiwanese dishes.

“But they did get us Christmas presents. Chinese people usually don’t give gifts; they give lucky red envelopes of money. Mom said it was much more practical that way. But we told them that for Christmas we were supposed to get presents.”

Much like the Thanksgiving dinner, Pacy’s parents compromise on Christmas as well. Even though they would prefer to give envelopes full of money, they acquiesce to their children’s wishes and give them gifts. This is another example of acculturation, for Pacy’s parents acquiesce to the children’s American-based expectations and traditions while still retaining their own.