Sylvia And Aki

“Is this why [Westminster] would take Alice and Virginia but not me? she wondered. Is it because my skin is too brown? Is this why me and my brothers were told to go to the Mexican school? But I’m not even Mexican. I’m American.”

Registering for Westminster School is the first time Sylvia learns about discrimination and how it affects her personally. This is also the first time skin color comes to her attention, which manifests throughout the novel as Sylvia’s fixation on hands. Finally, while many Latinx families may not speak fluent English or have US citizenship, Sylvia’s family does, hence her confusion. As depicted by this quote, awareness of prejudice and discrimination can begin at a young age, even if full comprehension takes longer to develop.

“And if a Japanese girl like Aki was allowed to go to Westminster School, why can’t I?”

Here, Sylvia’s questions continue as she faces the racial hierarchy in American society: Neither she nor Aki are white, and both have suffered because of white oppression. However, Aki was still permitted to enroll in Westminster, while Sylvia was not. Part of this is due to colorism—Aki is paler than Sylvia—but also due to the “model minority” myth about Asians. Historically, this also had to do with numbers and population logistics, but Sylvia doesn’t know this; she only understands the unfairness of the situation for everyone.

“For the first time in her life, Aki wondered if there was something wrong with being Japanese. And if that were true, then there was something wrong with her. She began to think of being Japanese as not merely different but bad.”

Meanwhile, Aki is forced to learn about discrimination much more quickly than Sylvia. Her life changes drastically after Pearl Harbor, and while prejudice and racism toward Asians (including Japanese Americans) have existed since Asian immigrants arrived in the United States, it now becomes more obvious and explicit.