In Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, symbolism is present in the form of the Oscar Holden record. In the book, we learn that Jazz means something special to both Henry and Keiko. Near the beginning of the book, Henry is at a record shop looking for a specific record, “the holy grail of Seattle’s jazz recordings” (Ford 35), the Oscar Holden record. Calling the record a “holy grail” (Ford 35) reveals that this record means something special to Henry, but the meaning will not be revealed until later in the story. When Henry first buys the record as a child with Keiko, it is immediately special to him because it is the song that Oscar Holden played specifically for Henry and Keiko (Ford 113).
Edgar Allen Poe, a brilliant author, once said, “Years of love have been forgot, In the hatred of a minute.” In the novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford, several characters encounter this type of conflict, specifically the main character Henry. Throughout the novel, several conflicts occur, and the time frame of the setting emphasizes these conflicts. This novel takes place during the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which was an attack by the Japanese.
Plenty of authors, when writing literary novels, have a tendency to write on topics that have a similar or direct correlation to their own life. This is also the case with The Samurai’s Garden. In the book, The Samurai’s Garden, by Gail Tsukiyama, Stephen, the narrator of the story, has a Chinese mother and a father who lives most of his life in Japan. This situation is similar to Tsukiyama who has a Chinese mother and a Japanese father. Stephen, having suffered from tuberculosis, travels from China to Tarumi, Japan to take rest and heal from the disease.
A student walks to lunch with a homemade meal, excited to eat his food. He feels alienated as others walk by and comment about his food and Asian identity. It makes it hard for him to fit in, he feels embarrassed and thinks he needs to change. Jin Wang struggles with his own identity in the book American born Chinese. While searching for a way to fit in he meets others and navigates through school to find his true self.
The boy’s description of the Japanese prisoners shows that he’s assimilated the prevalent racist beliefs about Japanese people. Using racially insensitive language, the boy expresses the stereotype that “all Asian people look alike.” Additionally, their perceived “inscrutability” was the exact reason why the U.S. government locked up innocent Japanese Americans citizens in the first place. According to Otsuka (2003), "On the first day of the camp, the mother tells him to never touch the fences and to never to say the Emperor’s name aloud".
narrator thinks of herself as American, not so much Japanese was her friend and the United States government does. Her identity is based on what she likes of her experiences, not so much for heritage. Cisneros 's narrator sees herself as very clearly different from her Mexican grandmother. But others charge for others Mexican
The novella ‘of Mice and Men’ was written by John Steinbeck in the 1930s. It is set in a difficult period of time when America was sunk in deep depression. However, themes of loyalty shine brightly throughout the novella. He shows that even though Americas economy is in tatters, loyalty can still be as prominent. There were also distinct themes of disloyalty, mainly between characters.
Most Americans believed that the Japanese leaked secrets of America to destroy their country. Conclusion In conclusion, the two literary works have the American identity as a central theme. People from different cultures seem to be split between their culture and America.
The American Dream suggests that every American citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work. One of the major ways that Fitzgerald portrays this is by alluding to outside events or works of literature specifically from that time period. Another major relationship that develops in The Great Gatsby is between Tom and Daisy. F. Scott Fitzgerald alludes to things such as the World’s Fair and “The Love Nest” to display the eventual dismantling of Tom and Daisy’s relationship. Both of these separate plots consolidate under the idea of Gatsby trying to become the epitome of the American Dream, as seen through his strive for a “perfect life.”
Similarly, David Hwang’s 10-minute play “Trying to Find Chinatown” centers on an encounter between Ronnie, a Chinese-American street musician, and Benjamin, a Caucasian tourist from Wisconsin who identifies himself as Asian-American, in the busy street of New York. In the play, “each character defines who he believes he is: Benjamin is convinced he is a Chinese American, and Ronnie sees
Vizzini reviewed American born Chinese and he also agrees that Identity is the heart of the book. He starts by talking about how Yang used Chin Kee to express his deepest fears of how others perceive Asian Americans. In the book 's more realistic sections, Wang 's friend Wei Chen is embarrassingly fresh off the boat ; Chin Kee is less embarrassing than monstrous. He comes to the United States for a visit with Danny, his blond, blue eyed cousin, and enters with a shout of "Harro Amellica!" Which gives a bad impression of how Asians act when they come to a new country. Chin Kee himself is the reaction of his American peers.
It all started when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, causing the U.S. citizens to be extremely furious and unite the support of media to create propagandas. The Japanese are portrayed with slanted small eyes and buck teeth- undermining the intelligence of their race; moreover, they were even dehumanized and depicted as animals. The U.S media was very biased when comparing the Chinese to the Japanese. While the Chinese man had an amiable appearance and a slender body, the Japanese had an unpleasant frown on his face and was described as short and stout (Miles). The article “WWII Propaganda: The Influence of Racism” also states that “The Chinese man’s occupation implies that he helps people, while the title of Japanese warrior alludes to danger and disloyalty,” (ibid).
He talks about how he read about after Pearl Harbor, Japanese-Americans were ready to enlist in the army, but at first they were turned down because their background. Then eventually Japanese-Americans were accepted because of a wartime manpower shortage. “They fought with amazing, incredible courage and valor. They were sent on the most dangerous missions and they sustained the highest combat casualty rate of any unit proportionally.” They fought for their country even though that same country had denied them service and locked them up in the first place.
Throughout the entire novel, the mothers and daughters face inner struggles, family conflict, and societal collision. The divergence of cultures produces tension and miscommunication, which effectively causes the collision of American morals, beliefs, and priorities with Chinese culture which
Of Mice and Men; A Literary Analysis “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that 's why,” says George in the book Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck wrote this book about two boys who took care of each other mentally and physically throughout. They endure many journeys together and are able to suffice over very little. They show the strength in friendships in many dissimilar ways and make diligent decisions that some may never be able to make. Of Mice and Men is not only about two friends and their journey together, but as well as giving one a deeper meaning of the book, such as showing the nature of their dreams, the characters as archetypes, and if the killing of Lennie is justified in the end.
