Human Acts By Han Kang Sparknotes

Human Acts, written by Han Kang and translated by Deborah Smith, is a historical fiction novel meant to portray the Gwangju Uprising for what it was, a brutal and traumatic event in South Korean history, as opposed to romanticized and heroic retellings made by films. It is for this reason that the book so frequently describes death, whether in the form of mutilated corpses or the grief of those who lost loved ones. Despite Han Kang’s emphasis on realism throughout the novel, she includes the perspective of Jeongdae’s soul in chapter two, The Boy’s Friend. 1980, describing a more fictitious narrative for individuals killed in the Gwangju Uprising. Jeongdae’s perspective is used, despite being fictional, to represent that the dead must be honored

After dying, “a strange violence welled up within” Jeongdae. Han Kang uses the word “strange” to denote that he was not violent before he died (Kang 54). The violent emotions that “welled up” highlight his violent emotions to be growing, however they are “not spurred by the fact of [his] death,” but rather “the things [he] needed to know” (Kang 54). Jeongdae “needed,” or required, an answer to his questions. Because he is without answers, he does not have clarity and subsequently feels anger. Jeongdae “felt an agony that almost broke [him]” when he learns that his “sister” “was dead,” letting out a silent “scream” (Kang 53). Han Kang uses imagery here to make the reader empathize with the loss of a loved one, which can feel indescribably worse than the death of oneself. He begins to list the questions he still has, questions such as “who killed [him], who killed [his] sister, and why” (Kang 54). Anaphora is used to emphasize “who” establishing that the answer Jeongdae seeks is who “killed” him. Jeongdae wants to know “why,” for what purpose, he was killed. Without answers and clarity, Jeongdae is restless, and unable to rest. “If [Jeongdae] could sleep, truly sleep,” he would “not” have to experience “this flickering haze of wakefulness” (Kang 56). Jeongdae is “not” able to “sleep,” or rest, without clarity. Because of this, Jeongdae is experiencing a “flickering haze,” which connotes confusion and disarray. Jeongdae questions what was “sparking [the] pain” that he felt, highlighting to the reader that Jeongdae is confused and unable to understand the emotions that are causing him so much pain (Kang 53). Despite being a ghost, Han Kang describes Jeongdae’s soul to have “blood still creeping from [his] shadow-eyes” (Kang 66). The blood creeping from his eyes