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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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Eventually, the United States took over in order to keep the order in place. Many of the Japanese descendants were relocated more than once. There were camps for Japanese who proved themselves loyal and segregated ones for the "disloyal" Japanese people. Through this relocation, many family members were separated. In many camps, friends were separated as well and had strict visiting time.

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In 1944 when many internees were allowed to leave the internment camps many of them had no place to return to. Many of them had sold their homes and belongings in belief that they would never be able to return. If their house was still there it was common for racial comments and signs to be written on their houses. Their houses were often destroyed. Japanese Americans were also treated rather poorly by other Americans due to racial discrimination during the war.

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“‘And what if you get caught?’ ‘That wouldn’t be so bad, would it? I’d get to stay here with you.’ Keiko smiled . . . Henry continued, ‘I’ll be waiting for you when this is over.’”

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Oscar Deolarte Social Studies:3, English:2 2/22/16 Relocation Camps Unjustified On December 7, 1942 the Japanese attacked an American naval base on Hawaii called Pearl Harbor. This surprise attack on the Pacific fleet left the West Coast open to a potential attack which could have no retaliation due to the decimated fleet numbers. The U.S government then issued Executive Order 9066, which required the relocation of the Japanese and anyone of Japanese descent living in the U.S. That leads us to the controversy surrounding the evacuation. Was the relocation of Japanese-Americans during World War II justified?

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Henry’s father has extreme feelings towards certain subjects or groups of people. Specifically, Henry’s father is against the Japanese because of the war that is currently going on, but little does he know, his son’s only friend is of Japanese descent. When Henry’s parents discovered all of Keiko’s belongings that he was hiding, that was the lowest and possibly breaking point of their relationship. Following that incident, “Henry thought about his parents. They hadn’t spoken a word to him in nearly a week.

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571 Words | 3 Pages

The government then imprisoned over 100,000 Japanese Americans in internment camps in fear of them becoming traitors. They had also taken any radios and kept them away from the coast. Japanese american men were allowed to fight in the war but only in europe not in the pacific. The japanese americans made supplies for the troops when they were in the camps. The camps were crowded and provided poor living conditions.

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But Ethel explains how that is not how a relationship is supposed to be. Henry knows, “. . .deep down, Henry soon realizes that's not how he wants his relationship and starts talking to his son more often. They start to have a close relationship wanting to tell each other everything” (61). Henry and his son Marty have a close bond at the novel’s end, and he meets his Daughter-in-law Samantha, who makes a traditional Chinese dinner.

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481 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, family struggles and relationships are portrayed differently between different connections through different people. The first family struggle seen would be the relationship between Henry and his Father. “They didn't speak to him; in fact, they barely acknowledged his presence” (186). Henry's father and mother are very against helping the Japanese Americans for protection, and when they find out Henry is helping Keiko save photos of her family, Henry's father disowns him. Henry was not going to give up on helping Keiko which made his dad very mad.

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The United States felt as if you were any sort of Japanese descent then you should be held in the camps for safety reasons. Shortly after being bombed, President Roosevelt put out an executive order for any person with Japanese ancestry to report to civilian assembly centers which was later known as the Internment camps. On a short notice, many were forced to close their businesses, abandon their farms and homes, and move into internment camps. Some of them were sent to Japan, and others were moved eastward to other parts of the United States outside of the exclusion zones. A number even enlisted with the United States Army.

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762 Words | 4 Pages

The Japanese Internment Camps were United States controlled concentration camps during WWII for the accused Japanese-Americans, urged on by the paranoia citizens and ended by the Nisei’s loyalty. The establishment began by the relocation order, also known as Executive Order 9066. All of the American citizens of Japanese descent were relocated in a short period of time and endured the conditions of the war camps. An intern based army on the Allied side and two major court cases made the US reconsidered the Executive Order and shut down the internment camps. When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in December, the citizens of America were terrified and blamed the Japanese-Americans.

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The internment of Japanese Americans during WWII was not justified. After Pearl Harbor, many Americans were scared of the Japanese Americans because they could sabotage the U.S. military. To try and solve the fear President Franklin D Roosevelt told the army in Executive order 9066 to relocate all Japanese Americans living on the West Coast. They were relocated to detention centers in the desert. Many of them were in the detention centers for three years.

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“The government transported the Japanese with a letter in the mail telling them to “leave their jobs and homes and report to the train station”. “There were about 8,000 Japanese that stayed behind and moved out of their homes, because lack of resources.” “In 1942 the Japanese, along with Germans, Italians, and other European descents were sent to seven states in Idaho, California, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas.” “There were 110,000 to 120,000 Japanese sent

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452 Words | 2 Pages

‘Urehii desu,’ Henry said, softly.” ( Jamie Ford 285 ). At the end, they were reunited and became friends

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310 Words | 2 Pages

In Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford the structure could be defined as an epic hero structure, because Henry Lee faces many trials and tribulations with the help of an older mentor; and gains self knowledge as well as a new insight on Chinese Japanese relations. “ … the hero is given a resource or special gift by an older mentor for use in his or her journey.” (Campbell). “‘No matter what happens to us, Henry, we’re still Americans. And we need to be together… wherever they take us.

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894 Words | 4 Pages

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.’

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