Having to be patient in every relationship can be frustrating especially when having to wait years and never getting a response back. In the novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, there are many different relationships that occur throughout the novel. During this time period after Pearl Harbor, the Chinese did not have any sort of relationship, except for hatred for Japanese, making the main character Henry, a Chinese boy, face many tough obstacles when making a decision and choosing family or what he thinks to be the love of his life Keiko a Japanese girl. The development of every relationship can be difficult especially when facing changes throughout time. Henry's relationships throughout the novel have changed and shaped his life in many ways caused by conflicts such as war, racial discrimination, and culture.
One of the first relationships that is stated in the novel that reveals change is the relationship between Henry and his son Marty. Marty and Henry have a somewhat strange relationship in the beginning of the novel. They have never been close since Henry
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Henry's father is a very traditional serious man that wants best for his family even if he has to lie to do so. He does not like Japanese people because of war in his homeland which causes conflict as Henry makes friends with a Japanese girl Keiko. Furiously enraged, Henry's father disowns him for being friends with someone of the Japanese culture even though Keiko does not even know Japanese. "Stubbornly Henry refused to give in to his father's wishes. His father wanted nothing to do with Keiko. And had disowned him (Ford 241-252). Having a parent be disappointed can be upsetting enough but having a parent disown their own children is just heart breaking. This was a big obstacle in Henry's life not knowing how to please his family, but also his