# data[].attributes.body
Quote: "Some things they will never discuss: James will never talk to Louisa again, and he will be ashamed of this for as long as he lives. Later, slowly, they will piece together other things that have never been said. He will show her the coroner’s report; she will press the cookbook into his hands. How long it will be before he speaks to his son without flint in his voice; how long it will be before Nath no longer flinches when his father speaks. For the rest of the summer, and for years after that, they will grope for the words that say what they mean: to Nath, to Hannah, to each other. There is so much they need to say" (Ng 174)

Explanation: Despite the turbulent nature of relations with Marilyn, involving an affair, Marilyn and James learn from their previous mistakes and come to a consensus that they will rekindle their relationship. They identify previous patterns in their relationship, involving how secrecy, lies, and a lack of communication have contributed to the deterioration of their overall relationship, and focusing on rebuilding a relationship that centers itself around the themes of trust and candidness. The quote discusses how "there is so much they need to say" to their children, which may signify a change in their future parenting style of Nath and Hannah in which they are more receptive and accepting

# data[].attributes.body
Quote: "At the mention of Marilyn’s mother, James stiffens, as if he has turned to ice. “Oh, yes. Your poor mother. And then you went and married me.” He chokes out a laugh. “What a disappointment.”
“I am disappointed.” Marilyn’s head snaps up. “I thought you were different.” What she means is: I thought you were better than other men. I thought you wanted better than that. But James, still thinking of Marilyn’s mother, hears something else. "You got tired of different, didn’t you?” he says. “I’m too different"(Ng 149).

Explanation: During an argument with Marilyn, Marilyn brings up how James is different and "similar to all other men". While the purpose of calling James "different" is to highlight his recent erratic behavior, James takes Marilyn's use of the term "different" to be a racially charged insult, and an attack on his Asian identity. This affects James deeply as he has struggled with his Asian American identity since childhood. During the primary stages of his relationship with Marilyn, he enjoyed Marilyn's presence because she was one of the only people who accepted him for his true personality - not his race. His insecure racial identity coupled with his turbulent marriage with Marilyn deeply disappoint him and cause him to believe that Marilyn has given up on him as well, instilling in him feelings of disappointment and hopelessness, that he will never be able to overcome the societal barriers established as a result of his race.

# data[].attributes.body
Quote: "So part of him wanted to tell Nath that he knew: what it was like to be teased, what it was like to never fit in. The other part of him wanted to shake his son, to slap him. To shape him into something different. Later, when Nath was too slight for the football team, too short for the basketball team, too clumsy for the baseball team, when he seemed to prefer reading and poring over his atlas and peering through his telescope to making friends, James would think back to this day in the swimming pool, this first disappointment in his son, this first and most painful puncture in his fatherly dreams" (Ng 60-61).

Explanation: As a result of James' exclusion and social rejection, he pays great attention and achieves great satisfaction in knowing about his children's social acceptance. When James comes to find out that Nath faces similar exclusion from his peers, he is angered because he does not want to see his children encounter the same problems and have the same fate that he had years earlier. James attempts to change Nath so that he is socially accepted and attempts to relive the childhood that he missed out upon through Nath. Thus, we can imagine that it was painful as a father for James to see his son befall the same fate as him.

# data[].attributes.body
Quote: "Everything about her is different: the flex of her limbs, the texture of her skin. Even her taste is different, slightly tangy, like citrus, as he touches his tongue to hers. When she kneels over him to undo the buttons of his shirt, her hair curtains her face. James closes his eyes then, lets out a long, shuddering sigh. Afterward, he falls asleep with Louisa still atop him. Since Lydia was found—the only word he can bear to use for it—the little sleep he’s had has been restless. In his dreams, no one but him remembers what has happened to Lydia; he alone is acutely aware, and over and over he must persuade Marilyn, Nath, complete strangers that his daughter is dead. I saw her body. One of her blue eyes was gone. Now, still slicked to Louisa with sweat, he sleeps soundly for the first time in days, a dreamless sleep: his mind, for the moment, gone blissfully blank" (Ng 48).

Explanation: James' affair with Louisa, his secretary, emphasizes the impact that Lydia's death had on him. Lydia's death is cited in the novel as the cause for disagreement between Marilyn and James, both of whom are unwilling to address their disagreements. James is emotionally fragile after Lydia's death and his seemingly lively personality has been suppressed by sadness, anger, and confusion. We can infer that James likely gravitates towards Louisa as she is also Asian and as a result, someone who he is more comfortable speaking his mind. The narrator states that James' views Louisa as "different" from Marilyn and that her presence helps him achieve a state of "bliss", which he likely had not experienced with Marilyn.

# data[].attributes.body
Quote: "Then her easy laugh sparkled in that white, bare room; as she chattered, breathless, her hands fluttered until he caught them in his and they lay warm and still, like resting birds, and then she pulled him to her again. It was as if America herself was taking him in. It was too much luck. He feared the day the universe would notice he wasn’t supposed to have her and take her away. Or that she might suddenly realize her mistake and disappear from his life as suddenly as she had entered. After a while, the fear became a habit, too" (Ng 33).

Explanation: James initially meets Marilyn when Marilyn shows up as a student in one of the classes that he teaches, “The Cowboy in American Culture”. Marilyn later shows up to James' office hours in an attempt to get to know him better, which leads to them gaining mutual interest and beginning a relationship. James' relationship with Marilyn further delineates a turning point in his life: for the majority of his life, James is made to feel bad about himself and does not expect to be treated as an American. However, Marilyn's keen interest in him opens new doors of possibility for him, as an opportunity to redefine his identity as an American. The author, Celeste Ng, portrays James' times in college with Marilyn as the highlights of his life with which he fills the voids of happiness from his childhood.

# data[].attributes.body
Quote: “When the term began in September, he rode in to school with his father in the Ford truck the school had lent him for his maintenance work. “You’re the first Oriental boy to attend Lloyd,” his father reminded him. “Set a good example.” That first morning, James slid into his seat and the girl next to him asked, “What’s wrong with your eyes?” It wasn’t until he heard the horror in the teacher’s voice—“Shirley Byron!”—that he realized he was supposed to be embarrassed; the next time it happened, he had learned his lesson and turned red right away” (Ng 31)

Explanation: James' identity as an Asian in the United States identifies him as an outlier amongst his classmates. His identity originates from his time at Lloyd elementary, an all white time in Iowa. At a young age, his inner innocence is corrupted and he is made to feel different as a result of his outstanding physical features, such as his eyes, as shown above. James inability to fit in with his peers - something which no child should ever have to encounter - is the reason for which he caters his role as a parent to making sure that his children, mainly Lydia, have friends and are liked by their peers. He does not want his children to endure the same fate that he experienced.