"ni kan," my mother said, calling me over with hurried hand gestures. "look here." i could see why my mother was fascinated by the music. it was being pounded out by a little chinese girl, about nine years old, with a peter pan haircut. the girl had the sauciness of a shirley temple. she was proudly modest like a proper chinese child. and she also did this fancy sweep of a curtsy, so that the fluffy skirt of her white dress cascaded slowly to the floor like petals of a large carnation. in spite of these warning signs, i wasn't worried. our family had no piano and we couldn't afford to buy one, let alone reams of sheet music and piano lessons. so i could be generous in my comments when my mother bad-mouthed the little girl on tv. "play note right, but doesn't sound good! no singing sound," complained my mother. "what are you picking on her for? " i said carelessly. "she's pretty good. maybe she's not the best, but she's trying hard." i knew almost immediately i would be sorry i said that. "just like you," she said. "not the best. because you not trying." she gave a little huff as she let go of the sound dial and sat down on the sofa. what does the dialogue between the the characters reveal about jing-mei's character? she doesn't want to fail her mother again. she doesn't want to learn the piano because she dislikes music. she is tired of getting attention from her mother. she thinks that she can be better than the girl on tv.