Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet Quotes

The author Jamie Ford develops the theme that race does not define one’s nationality during World War II, though the novel and shows how standing up for oneself can affect one’s character. This concept is developed in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet when the main character, Henry, and his friend Keiko go to a department store when Henry gets bullied by people that go to his school, and when he walks out on his father.
Henry and Keiko are connected through their memories. One, was when they venture off to a large department store in Downtown Seattle in search for an Oscar Holden record. When they walked up to the counter to checkout this was their experience, “’Is this counter open?’ Keiko asked. The clerk just looked around for another

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!’ henry know the voice. Turning around, he saw Chaz… ‘Taking your wagon out for a walk, Henry?’ Whatcha got there? You delivering some Jap newspapers? Or is that stuff a Japanese spy would be delivering?’… ‘Get him! Don’t let that Jap lover get away!’ Chaz shouted… Henry could hear the shouts of the boys closing in behind him, giving chase... Looking back for a moment, he saw his pursuers fall behind as he flew” (99). Henry was used to Chaz’s usual taunting, but with all of Keiko’s family memories in toe, he had to choose if he was willing to stand up for himself, his nationality. Henry stood up for himself, humiliating Chaz and his cronies. In this moment Henry learned that he can conquer his biggest bullies and that words can’t knock him down. Chaz calls henry a “Jap lover” (99) because Henry looks like he is Japanese and has befriended a Japanese girl. Henry decides that he has had enough

But, in Henry’s family, they start to turn on Henry when his father finds out that he is still friends with the Japanese girl that he had previously said Henry could not see anymore. This has a major effect on the family, “His father pointed at the door, ‘If you walk out that door—if you walk out that door now, you are no longer part of this family. You are no longer Chinese. You are not part of us anymore. Nor a part of me.’ Henry didn’t hesitate. He touched the doorknob, feeling the brass could and hard in his hand. He looked back, speaking his best Cantonese. ‘I… am an American” (185). For Henry, standing up to his father was a hard thing to do. This was because in most Chinese families back in the 1900s and earlier, the children must respect their elders. It was frowned upon to betray one's parents. Henry walking out on his father made a strong statement, it freed him from the force that had been pulling him away from who he really was, an American. But it also shut him out of the two people who loved him the most. This is an important moment in Henry’s life because it taught Henry the bitterness and the sweetness of individualism.
Throughout the novel, we learn Jamie Ford’s developed tone towards defining one’s nationality based on their race. Ford wants the reader to know that one’s race does not always have to do with their nationality. In this case, Henry’s race is Chinese, but he identifies as an