In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson

By: Bette Bao Lord

     This is the story of Shirley Temple Wong, formally known as Sixth Cousin or Bandit, as she makes the transition from life in China with her clansmen to life in America with her mom and dad, a bossy parrot, a expressive piano teacher, terrifying triplets, many friends, and Jackie Robinson. Her transition was a process. For the first half of the book, Shirley feels like an outcast and is not welcomed by her classmates. However, after two black eyes and one fateful home run, she is no longer an outsider and finds the friends she had been looking for. Shirley struggles throughout the book to find the balance between holding onto her Chinese heritage and finding her place as an American. However, eventually she accepts that she can merge both sides of her life, remembering China, loving her clansmen, but also being an American with American hopes, dreams, and a true love of baseball. 

    Early in the novel, Shirley's mother tells her that she is the Chinese ambassador to all the kids in her school and as she might be the only Chinese girl they will ever know and as such represents all of China. At the time, Shirley finds the idea of representing "all five hundred million" citizens of China very intimidating. Aside from the basic conundrum of how one fifth grader would go about representing that many diverse people, Shirley found it difficult to be the ambassador because she did not feel she fit in and to try to do so often would attempt to change her behavior or actions to be more American. For example, she attempted to play wall ball and to roller skate in an attempt to make friends. However, it was standing up for herself in her native tongue that began the events which led to Shirley making her first American friend, Mabel.

    The idea of being an ambassador, of representing China, while still trying to blend in is something that plagues Shirley throughout the novel.Near the end of the novel, Shirley repeats the story that her grandfather often told of the filial daughter and the fisherman's bride. This story tells of a girl who wanted two things desperately enough that she was both people until the time when she accepted both parts of herself and she merged into one person. Shirley says that she wishes she were this girl. She wishes that she could find a way to merge her two identities into one. At the end, I believe she does just that. While introducing Jackie Robinson on stage she not only sees her friends, but she also sees (though they are not there) her family in China. Additionally, she self-appoints herself to the position of ambassador to China and the United States for her new sibling, saying that "she would teach him..tell him stories, the ones written in books, the ones grandfather told...She would tell him about the life he would probably never know...and the people who lived on the far side of the world, to him they would always belong." (p. 164)

     One quote in the book that really stood out to me was "But things thoughtlessly done are never so easily undone." This quote was said in response to Shirley and Emily's solution to ease Shirley's guilt over replacing the dimes in the piggy bank with buttons so as to bribe the children she babysits. In the story it means that replacing the dimes alone didn't solve the problem as Shirley then had to deal with the children when they did not get candy. However, personally, I responded to this quote because I think it is a philosophy that we all learn at some point. Some mistakes, especially the ones caused by carelessness have consequences, and we have to live with them. However, just like Shirley had Emily to help her out of her dilemma in the book, we can live with our consequences and try to right our mistakes with the help of a friend. And our friend will help us simply because, as Emily said, "that's what friends are for."

     Finally, this book brought on a very entertaining personal memory for me. Both my best friend and I were given opportunities to babysit triplets when we were in seventh grade. We both had interesting stories to share and as such I can relate to challenge Shirley faced in her rambunctious neighbors. However, my best friend's story about the triplets probably wins any aware for the best story. The triplets we babysat were not toddlers, they were second graders, deceptively adventurous second graders. They convinced my friend that they were allowed to climb on the roof via the tree by the kitchen all the time. So when their parents got home, they found the babysitter and their 8 year old children climbing all over the roof of their 2 story house (actions that went against a very firmly enforced house rule: no climbing on the roof). Needless to say, after a strong talking to by the children's parents, my friend didn't babysit again for 6 years. So I found Shirley's dealings with the triplets especially entertaining.