Three Keys

“Then I turned to Hank and asked, ‘But why immigrants?’ He put his barbecue prong down and thought for a minute. Finally, he said, ‘Because it’s easy to blame those in a weak spot.’”

Hank is explaining the concept of scapegoating to Mia. The novel contains multiple examples of employers eager to exploit immigrants because the latter can’t fight back. Vulnerability of any kind makes one an easy target for abuse. Lupe’s family exemplifies this principle. 

“I couldn’t believe it. Mrs. Welch had just snapped at me for not waiting to be called on before speaking, but when Bethany did it, she was all jazz hands and dancing fingers.”

Initially, Mrs. Welch is in favor of Proposition 187. Mia’s comment implies that her teacher is projecting her dislike of undocumented immigrants to all the immigrants in her class. She blames Mia for speaking out of turn while rewarding Bethany for doing so. This judgmental attitude will change radically throughout the novel.

“For the next forty-five minutes, as Mrs. Welch proceeded to explain that because race is not a biological fact, racism is not real, I sat stock-still at my desk.”

Mia has just blurted out that Prop 187 is racist. Since Mrs. Welch is still prejudiced against immigrants, her reaction to the comment is hostile and defensive. Many of her comments early in the book are based on media propaganda, including these remarks about nonexistent racism. The author sets up Mrs. Welch as a mouthpiece for mainstream prejudice that will be overturned by the end of the story.

“‘What’s it like…to be undocumented?’ I asked. Lupe was quiet a long time, playing with her drawing pencil in her fingers. ‘It’s like being a pencil, when everyone else is a pen,’ she finally said. ‘You worry you can be erased anytime.’”

Lupe’s experience as an immigrant who is undocumented is radically different from Mia’s. Through the interaction between the two girls, the reader can experience how all immigrants are not in the same boat. Lupe’s vulnerability is also increased because she is a helpless child whose family might be taken away.

“‘Mrs. Welch isn’t exactly a fan,’ I admitted sheepishly. Jason put the salt shaker down and looked into my eyes. ‘You can’t do it for other people, you know. You gotta do it for yourself.’”

Mia is losing confidence in her writing because Mrs. Welch keeps giving her C grades. She is in danger of allowing her teacher to define her value. Jason rightly points out that an author should write for inner satisfaction, not a grade. Jason will later show a similar lack of confidence in the face of his own parents’ disapproval.

“‘But I didn’t give up. I kept practicing till I got it. And now I can fix any cable. And nobody can deny it, not even Yao.’ I giggled, wishing an essay was like the cable, undeniable if it was good and working.”

Jose has just explained how he grew proficient at his job by never giving up. Mia believes that his skill is quantifiable in a way that hers is not. However, Mrs. Welch will later show her that there are quantifiable rules that apply to writers too. Proper grammar can be mastered, just like fixing a broken cable.

“We walked toward Hank’s car with our groceries trying to remain as calm as we could. The whole time, my heart hammered in my chest. I thought of the words Go back to your country. This was my country!”

Hank and Mia have just seen the first of many hate signs directed against immigrants. Mia’s statement makes it clear that she no longer identifies her homeland as China. This fact has already been demonstrated after she rejects her father’s shaved ice treat. She would rather have American chocolate chip cookies.

“When Hank heard what Mrs. Welch said about race not being real, he snorted. ‘Race might be a social construct, but racism’s as real as the clouds,’ he said, pointing at the sky. ‘You can see it, and you can feel it when it pours.’”

Hank is making a distinction between race and racism. Biologically, all humans belong to the same race. However, cultural prejudices create racism. Mrs. Welsh’s comment is an attempt to avoid the label of racism at the same time as she is indulging in prejudiced behavior against immigrants who are culturally distinct from her own Anglo tribe.

“I thought about our new club on the way home. I’d had no idea that Jason was suffering so much in school. Why didn’t he tell me about it that day when I came over? It was amazing what people kept all locked up inside…and what they let out under a breezy tree.”

By creating the Kids for Kids group, Mia enables others like her to express their grievances. Isolation cuts everyone off and makes them think that their painful experience is unique. A sympathetic group enables sharing, and catharsis can take place. Mia realizes this after Jason pours out his unhappiness.

“This whole time, I thought I was the only one who didn’t live in a big two-story house with a white picket fence. I had no idea there were so many others.”

As in the preceding quote, Mia’s group of peers functions to shatter isolation. She is becoming aware that everyone else is struggling with their own problems. Mia no longer exists as an island unto herself. She is becoming aware of the wider world and the degree to which she can support and be supported by others.

“I realized something I’d never thought of before: that the thing I’d been relying on to voice my complaints and frustrations, my outlet and most powerful ammunition, wasn’t available to everyone. There were certain things you needed to write letters, besides just a pen.”

Up to this point in the story, Mia has used her writing as a way to express her feelings. For the first time, she begins to see the value of her gift. Not everyone has the same ability to move others through the power of words. Mia will soon put her pen to use to benefit her family and friends.

“The ’main road’ was this thing my parents and their friends were always talking about. I didn’t know where it was exactly, if it was even a real road, but I knew it was something good and preferable to the side streets, which we were on.”

Like the roller coaster analogy that will be explained later, immigrants tend to express their progress in terms of forward trajectory. A main road leads to success. A side street is less desirable. Least desirable of all is a dead end because it goes nowhere. Lupe’s family is in danger of experiencing a dead-end to their American dream.

“It felt good to encourage him to go for his dreams, even if his dad didn’t think of them as ‘advancing.’ Especially when his dad didn’t think of them as advancing.”

Mr. Yao discourages his son’s aspirations to be a chef because he sees this job as a step backward. Just as the preceding quote sees the immigrant journey as a road to success, Yao sees a prestigious career as a doctor or lawyer as proof of advancement in the family’s fortunes. Mia wants Jason to advance in the direction of his dreams. 

“I shook my head at his back. There’s a Chinese phrase about ‘playing the piano to a cow.’ That’s how I felt at that moment—like, what was the point? Jason was never going to change.”

Despite Mia’s pep talk, Jason doesn’t seem willing to follow his dream and risk his family’s disapproval. Throughout the novel, Mia tries to teach others to persist in the face of opposition. At this particular moment, her efforts seem about as futile as teaching a cow to appreciate music.

“We were both girls with big hopes and dreams. But because of one piece of paper, we were on two different sides of the law. I didn’t really understand before what that paper meant. But now, I was starting to realize, it meant the difference between living in freedom and living in fear.”

Throughout the novel, the author constructs a parallel between the lives of Mia and Lupe. This quote illustrates the point at which that parallel breaks down. Not all immigrant experiences are the same. Even more significant is the triviality that separates them—a single slip of paper.

“Writing is half emotion and half technique. Right now, you have the first half, but you don’t have the second half. And that’s a shame because your first half is so good.”

Mrs. Welch is telling Mia what it takes to be a good writer. Until now, both the reader and Mia have interpreted Mrs. Welch’s criticism as a sign of prejudice against immigrants. In fact, she is a good teacher who wants Mia to master the rules of English grammar. 

“Yes, we had the green card. But we couldn’t eat a green card for dinner. When the last of our savings dried up, my mom and dad started applying for manual labor jobs, and that’s how we ended up at the Calivista.”

In describing her family’s early days in America, Mia puts another spin on the immigrant experience. Unauthorized immigrants are often envious of those who have green cards. However, they fail to see that even those who have entered the country legally are only granted the right to starve here. Both groups have to figure out a way to survive.

“‘It’s okay to be scared,’ I finally told him. ‘But you know what’s even scarier? Realizing something is wrong and not saying anything.’”

Mia is talking to Jason about his unwillingness to defend Lupe when his mother threw her out. Throughout the novel, Jason’s passivity always gets him into trouble. His parents wield the power of the purse strings, and he is afraid to antagonize them. However, Mia’s rebuke hits home, and Jason will eventually stand up for his friends and his dream.

“‘I have fear every day,’ Hank told Lupe. ‘But let me tell you something about fear: If you don’t control it, it controls you.’”

This quote echoes the preceding one. Both are about being afraid to rock the boat because the consequences can be unpleasant. Jason is afraid to thwart his parents. Hank is afraid of racist attacks. Lupe is afraid to speak to the press about her father’s plight. It isn’t until people learn to move beyond their fears that a constructive outcome becomes possible.

“Mrs. Welch asked if she could borrow the newspaper to make a copy to hang on the school wall. As I handed her the newspaper, I thought, wow, if I can get someone like Mrs. Welch to change her mind with my words, then maybe, just maybe, Californians will do the right thing.”

Initially, Mia feels a heady rush at seeing her words in print. A few pages later, she finally begins to understand the larger purpose of the power of the pen. It can change people’s minds and lead to better outcomes for everyone. In the end, Californians did vote for Prop 187, but a federal court ruled the proposition unconstitutional just days after the election, so it never really took effect.

“It was a sharp difference from the first time I saw him in this very room, sitting atop his throne, oozing opulence and power. As I watched him, I started thinking about the two roller coasters again. I’d been so fixated on going from the poor one to the rich roller coaster, I never once thought about what it’d be like to go the other way around.”

Mia is at the Yao house as the family prepares to move to a smaller residence. Mr. Yao’s exploitative behavior in both books shows that this is no way to get ahead. While the family has enjoyed material success, their luck has just run out. Now Mia’s family is on the rich roller coaster, and her former boss is on the way down.

“You can’t give up on people. It’s one of the three keys of friendship. You gotta listen, you gotta care, and most importantly, you gotta keep trying.”

Mia receives a lecture from Hank after she rejects Jason for failing Lupe. She interprets his behavior through the filter of his high-handed family. The three keys of friendship that Hank mentions are echoed in the book’s title and the novel’s final words, as all three children learn to master the keys themselves.

“I would never have believed then that Prop 187 would actually pass—or that Mrs. Welch would offer her word not to follow it. I guess Wilson convinced a lot of people, but there were a couple of people I unconvinced myself.”

The primary reason that Mrs. Welch’s attitude changes is because of Mia’s moving essay regarding the unauthorized immigrant experience. The girl has the power to touch hearts with her words. This quote demonstrates that Mia herself now recognizes that ability and will use it for the good of others in the future.