China Boy Summary 211-322

Uncle Shim buys Kai new clothes, which make him look very Chinese style, and takes him to the chess association meeting, where they friendly to him because they are men without families.  Shim who feels like to give up in boxing now feels good about it.  Kai feels like a he was a first-born son. Uncle Shim is a good friend of Kai’s father, but he was a closer friend with Mah-mee.  He was to be Kai’s tutor (like Tutor Luke had been to the girls) and when TK or Kai father was gone, he did come and stay with the family.  Uncle Shim is a traditional Chinese man whose is wise and he calls Kai Haushehen (able student), which is a great honor.

  Uncle Shim says Kai is their collective only son, and the hope for a new China. Uncle Shim compared to Hector. Hector is a mechanic at Cutty’s garage, one of the first non-black and non-Chinese people Kai meets.  He tells Kai to call him tío, he is the one who influences Kai to go to the YMCA, and he teaches him some Spanish and to walk in a more appropriate way.  He believes you should never hide from a fight, a man should fight like a man not to hide. He believes that the problem will still stay there someday you still need to solve it so why not to fight now.  He is a war vet and has tattoos.

After Kai fighting against Jerome (Lucky) Washington and winning, Kai realizes that it is so stupid but is he feel better that he won. Later Kai just discovers about gender difference when he realizes his sisters won’t learn to box. Normaly the girl won’t learn about those boxing and fighting, usually the boy will learn.

Big Willie Mack the biggest bad guy and Jerome beat Kai up.  Kai feel depressed and he skips the first Y lesson of the new year to go to the beach and remember his mother Mah-Mee. He never skip the class before this is his first time. Mr. Lewis finds out Kai is upset because he was beat up and because he can’t remember his mother’s face.  Kai’s fight with Big Willie is to be a baptism of childhood.

The night before the fight, Kai sleeps with his talisman (his blankie, a picture of his mother, Hector’s Yankees hat, the tractor oil Hector gave him to throw on Willie to make him angry) in the bathtub. Kai beats Willie so badly he looks like Jerome’s mother after she was almost killed by her husband. After  Kai win, he says “Tsou gou wan ba dan” ? After the fight and having gotten cleaned up by Toos’s mom, Kai goes home, rings the doorbell, and when Edna won’t let him in, so he says, “You not my Mah-mee…I ain’t fo’ yo’ pickin-on no mo’!”