Human Acts By Han Kang Sparknotes

Death, an important aspect of humanity, also a major theme in Han Kang’s novel Human Acts, brings the question of what happens in the afterlife. In the chapter “The Boy’s Friend,” the author provides a unique perspective of death as it is written from the point of view of the main character’s best friend, Jeong-Dae, who was killed during the Gwangju uprisings. However, the narration by Jeong-Dae is unique because it reveals his experiences as a soul still connected to its body. The unique narration allows the readers to understand his perspective and thoughts as a lost soul and the horrid experiences when he was alive and now in death. In Han Kang’s novel, Human Acts, the voices of these connected souls are used to humanize their experiences

He begins to question “who killed me, who killed my sister, and why?” as the answer to these may tell him what unfinished business causes him to be stuck in this world (Kang, 54). It is significant that these questions are in a series and are separated by commas because it expresses panic from his internal monologue. The question seems to be asked repeatedly back to back like Jeong-Dae is panicking to figure out what has happened. This is significant as it creates a realization in the readers that Jeong-Dae is still a young boy that feels lost and alone without knowing where he came from and why he is there. This humanizes his story as both the sense of panic that the words create and the connection that he is still a young boy should create a sense of sympathy with the readers. Because the questions are not separate, it makes Jeong-Dae’s thoughts sound like a little kid asking so many questions in one breath because they are curious, but in this situation, it is Jeong-Dae’s panic instead of curiosity. There is also the significance of the repetition that emphasizes the stem words “who” and “why.” These stem words are important because it makes the readers realize that Jeong-Dae himself does not even know why or how he died, meaning that his death was unjust and unexpected. This supports that there was no reason for Jeong-Dae’s death as he was just an innocent child that was killed during the uprisings. The significance supports that even after his death he does not know the reason he died and why he is still tied to his body. It is important to bring light to Jeong-Dae’s situation because it provides meaning to his untold story as a representation of the perspectives of the thousands of people that died without the proper care through the perspective of Jeong-Dae. It is important to bring light to