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Summary Of Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet

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The book Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet described the exhilarating and, at times, gloomy first love between a Chinese boy named Henry Lee and a Japanese girl named Keiko Okabe, which took place in Seattle, Washington in the beginning of World War ll. Overall, it's the story of the massive deportation of the Japanese people, even those that were second-generation Americans, by the United States government. I wanted to have a deeper understanding of what was happening in the book so I began researching and found some interesting facts. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, there was danger and rage towards Japanese Americans. Franklin Roosevelt’s order 9066, on February 19, 1942, allowed the Secretary of War …show more content…

On May 19, 1942, Japanese Americans were forced into relocation camps. Thousands of men, women, and children were grouped on the West Coast and moved to camps in Utah, Wyoming, California, Colorado, Arizona, and Arkansas. The people were confined by barbed wire and armed guards for up to four years, without legal rights or factual basis. Families were compacted into very small rooms and weren't allowed scissors, radio, or razors. They shared bathrooms and Children went to War Collection Authority Schools. Japanese Americans were allowed to return home on January 2nd, 1945 and were twenty-five dollars and a ticket for transportation but many of their communities, businesses, and homes were …show more content…

Their relationship echos the hassles Henry had with his parents. I noticed that Henry had a difficult time communicating with his son, Marty. “Now father and son waited in silence, ignoring the carts of dim sum that rolled by. The awkward moment was interrupted by the crash of plates somewhere in the kitchen, punctuated by men swearing at each other in Chinese and English. There was much to say and ask, but neither Henry nor Marty inched closer to the subject”. (Ford 40) Their silence reminds me of the dispute that Henry had with his father when he walked out to retrieve Keiko’s photo album. Henry it's perfect in parenthood, but ultimately he reached out to Marty and tells him about Keiko. As they connect, Henry thinks about the past and started to learn from it which caused him to construct a greater relationship with his son because he didn't have a chance with his own Father. the book, the reader also learns about Henry's earlier life, and what happened to Keiko. Towards the end, Henry decided to do what he always does, find the sweet amidst the

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