Analysis Of 'Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet'

In “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet”, author Jamie Ford depicts the friendship between Henry Lee and Keiko Okabe, a Chinese American boy and a Japanese American girl whose ethnic backgrounds impacted their destinies in drastically different ways during World War II. After the attacks on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, the United States government ordered all persons of Japanese ancestry to evacuate their homes where they would then be sent to internment camps. Keiko and her family being considered Japanese even though they were truly Japanese Americans, were sent to an internment camp. While Keiko was imprisoned, Henry had to come to terms with what it meant to be Chinese, an obedient son, a trustworthy friend, and a loyal American all while having to deal with the racism and discrimination towards people of Asian

An artist in particular who was an advocate for tolerance and an end of discrimination was the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson wrote a song called “Black or White” after undergoing a skin surgery. Before the surgery he had black skin and then after the surgery he had white skin which made many start to act hostile towards him and his change. The world perceived him as someone completely different however he was trying to prove that he was still the same man he was prior to the surgery. It promotes the idea that no matter what skin color or race one is, we are all human beings and should all be accepting of each other’s differences. The theme of racism and discrimination in the novel “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” impacts one of the main characters Henry Lee and through the song “Black or White” by Michael Jackson, one can relate Henry’s feelings, thoughts, and personality with the meaning behind the