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Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet Quotes

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Jamie Ford’s novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, displays the lasting effects of the less mentioned details of WWII. Executive Orders 9102 and 9066 altered the lives of many loyal citizens, especially people of Japanese descent and those near to them. Countless people, like the Okabes, lost their homes and belongings as they were unfairly sent away to internment camps. Numerous of their belongings remain unclaimed in places like the Panama Hotel in Seattle as people attempt to forget their inhumane treatment during this time. Many residents of the United States, such as Mr. Lee, unfortunately agreed with this treatment. Henry Lee, the protagonist, has many relationships, specifically with his father, Marty, and Keiko, that are …show more content…

Early on in the novel, it is revealed that Henry’s father “hated the Japanese” (14) whereas Henry’s closest friend is Japanese American. Although Mr. Lee did not know Keiko, he already felt a sense of hatred toward her. Henry’s mother discloses Mr. Lee’s intent as explained in the following passage:
“Where your father comes from, it was nothing but war. War with Japan. They invaded Northern China, killing many, many people. Not soldiers but women and children, the old and the sick. Your father, he grew up this way. He saw this happen to his own family…Your father came here, as an orphan, but he never forgot who he was, where he came from. Never forgot about his home.”
“This is his home now,” Henry …show more content…

As his first love, she teaches Henry what it means to accept someone for who they truly are, regardless of their race. Henry knew his parents would not approve of her, but he had no idea what Keiko’s parents would think of him. He wondered, “Were her parents that different? What could they possibly think of him?” (113). Even though her parents took a liking to Henry, his relationship with Keiko caused his own parents to disown him. Henry wrote to Keiko frequently after she was sent away, but eventually stopped hearing back from her. He, after quite some time, moved on and decided to marry Ethel. As his father’s death was near, Henry discovered that his father had been stopping the letters. He realized that it was not Keiko’s fault and wanted “To tell her that it was his father” (264). But he never told her, and instead moved on with his relationship with Ethel. It is safe to say that Keiko never left Henry’s mind or heart, which heavily influenced the amount of intimacy he could have in any other

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Henry's confidence is somewhat based on the curiosity of his young age. He is confident that war will bring him honor and glory, but he doesn’t yet realise the hardships that are associated with war. “He felt that in this crisis his laws of life were useless. Whatever he had learned of himself was here of no avail. He was an unknown quantity.”

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Henry’s father is a Chinese nationalist who is always pushing Henry to be a patriotic Chinese American. When Henry’s father learns that he is friends with a Japanese girl he refuses to talk to Henry for years. Henry’s father is very involved with the war and is very against

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The memoir, “Farewell to Manzanar” by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston, follow the life of the Wakatsuki family in Manzanar, going into depth how their new lives within the camps had a grave effect, altering the family dynamic of not only their family, but also that of all the internees. From the beginning, the authors open by portraying the sense of fear that swept across the Japanese community after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. They describe how Jeanne’s father, who although at the time of pre-war had been living the “American dream”, owning his own business, and having his children to help him on his two boats, now feared for his freedom, burning the Japanese flag, as well as, anything else that could tie him back to his country

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As the war progressed, Keiko and her family were sent to an internment camp and they boxed up their belongings and stored them in the basement of the Panama Hotel. During their final goodbyes “they talked about music, Oscar Holden, and what life would be like when Keiko’s family came back to Seattle” (Ford 233). Even while departing, Henry and Keiko still bonded over their love for jazz. Then 40 years after the war ended, the belongings of the families were found in the basement of the Panama Hotel. Since Henry never forgot Keiko was his first love, Henry went on the hunt for her.

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Henry expresses his frustration in regard to the fact that the colonists have taken a passive role in the situation. This is stated on line 32 when he said, “And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last

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Although Henry looked up to his father and wanted to change many things his father did while parenting, he still loved and cared for his father, especially when he had a stroke and Henry saw Him dying. Even though he kept the letters, Henry sent them out to Keiko to protect Henry in a way Henry could not quite understand. In addition to Henry and his father's relationship. Henry thought that culturally he was supposed not to have a close relationship with his son just like he did with his father.

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Then he runs to the river and jumps in it. … ’ My boots are filling’, he says. He says this in a normal voice like he just noticed and he doesn’t know what to think of it. Then he is gone“ (99). In this quote, the author describes to us what we can take as the way out that Henry decide to take in order to escape from the emotional burden of the memories of being in the war had left him and at the same time to relieve his family from being worried about him.

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War can be a heartbreaker, a loss of connection, or a big realization. It does not just affect the soldier, but the family, friends and colleagues of the individual. In World War II, Japanese-American citizens in the United States and U.S. prisoners of war in Japan experienced horrific trauma that made them feel invisible, although many resisted. A Japanese-American named Miné Okubo was a typical citizen who was deployed to a internment camp because on February 19, 1942 Executive Order 9066 was signed by President Roosevelt and was put into law. Mine’ Okubo had been exiled to an internment camp during World War II along with thousands of other Japanese-Americans.

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Henry intervenes, “putting his ‘I am Chinese’ button on the counter next to Keiko’s two dollars” and saying that he will buy it instead (Ford 114). This act of standing up for Keiko is a significant moment because Henry actively makes his Chinese identity known, using it to his advantage for the first time. His decision to display his button is more than an act of defiance, but an acknowledgment of his cultural identity. Despite facing open discrimination, he steps up and takes a stand against the prejudice directed toward them. As the tension between the United States and Japan continues to grow, Henry’s identity as a Chinese-American becomes increasingly important.

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Because Henry’s father was a first generation immigrant to the United States from China, he had an extreme sense of national pride. On the other hand, Henry is extremely open to all things American which is a catalyst to the formation of a divide between Henry and his father. This difference between them all starts because in an effort to protect his son from discrimination; Mr. Lee sends Henry to an all white school and refuses to let him speak Cantonese at home, even though Cantonese is the only language Mr. and Mrs. Lee can speak. The separation causes Henry to grow up almost without any parental help. Mr. Lee also despises Henry’s friend, Keiko, who is a Japanese-American girl also going to school with Henry.

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Because Henry is one of the only Asian students at his school and works in the cafeteria to pay for his tuition, he is bullied by the kids at his school. One night, Keiko asks Henry to meet her somewhere so she can hide some family belongings for her. It was dangerous for Henry to be doing this because if he was caught, he would be marked as a traitor. When he was walking home with his red wheelbarrow full of family photographs, he sees Chaz, one of the bullies at his school. Chaz yells, “’I told you he was a Jap on the inside!’

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Despite their differences, they still manage to end up dating but with a less mature Frederic. While they were dating, Henry faces his first true devastation

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