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Mrs. Bigio
Mai Thi is Holling’s Vietnamese classmate. She came to America the summer before seventh grade thanks to sponsorship from the Catholic Relief Agency. Because of this, on Wednesday afternoons, Mai Thi attends Catechism, even though she's not Catholic. Though Mai Thi struggles to communicate as she learns English, she still manages to make friends with Danny, Meryl Lee, and Holling, and she gives disturbing "advice" to Holling on several occasions. After Mrs. Bigio's husband dies, Mrs. Bigio treats Mai Thi very cruelly, telling her that she doesn't deserve to live in the United States while American soldiers die in Vietnam. Over the next several months, Mai Thi remains very quiet and withdrawn until Mrs. Bigio apologizes and begins cooking Vietnamese food and treats. During Mrs. Baker's end of the year camping trip, Mrs. Bigio invites Mai Thi to come live with her. Mai Thi happily and gratefully accepts.
Mai Thi Quotes in The Wednesday Wars
The The Wednesday Wars quotes below are all either spoken by Mai Thi or refer to Mai Thi. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
November
Quotes
Everyone—except for Caliban—is happy, and everyone is forgiven, and everyone is fine, and they all sail away on calm seas. Happy endings.
That's how it is in Shakespeare.
But Shakespeare was wrong.
Sometimes there isn't a Prospero to make everything fine again.
And sometimes the quality of mercy is strained.
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December
Quotes
"Pick it up and be glad you're getting it. You shouldn't even be here, sitting like a queen in a refugee home while American boys are sitting in swamps on Christmas Day. They're the ones who should be here. Not you."
Mai Thi took her Something. She looked down, and kept going.
She probably didn't see that Mrs. Bigio was pulling her hairnet down lower over her face, because she was almost crying.
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Get the entire The Wednesday Wars LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mai Thi Quotes in The Wednesday Wars
The The Wednesday Wars quotes below are all either spoken by Mai Thi or refer to Mai Thi. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
November
Quotes
Everyone—except for Caliban—is happy, and everyone is forgiven, and everyone is fine, and they all sail away on calm seas. Happy endings.
That's how it is in Shakespeare.
But Shakespeare was wrong.
Sometimes there isn't a Prospero to make everything fine again.
And sometimes the quality of mercy is strained.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
December
Quotes
"Pick it up and be glad you're getting it. You shouldn't even be here, sitting like a queen in a refugee home while American boys are sitting in swamps on Christmas Day. They're the ones who should be here. Not you."
Mai Thi took her Something. She looked down, and kept going.
She probably didn't see that Mrs. Bigio was pulling her hairnet down lower over her face, because she was almost crying.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
