Wordless Communication In In The Native Speaker By Chang-Rae Lee

Wordless communication: a powerful tool

In the Native Speaker, by Chang-Rae Lee, the author explores the story of a Korean-American man named Henry, and his endeavors in New York City. Lee unfolds the lifestyle in the city, speaking to the hardships of immigration and assimilation in America. Within the novel, Lee emphasizes the characters and their lifestyles in relation to cultural ties. Thus, further emphasizing how silence in communication is mirrored through the characters and their standards. In Chang-Rae Lee's novel Native Speaker, Lee uses Henry's struggle to form intimate relationships with family members to highlight how silence allows for new insights about an individual and their cultural standards. Therefore, through the

The silence that is witnessed through grief has been seen to divide the two and their relationship as communication about the event never seemed to occur, and they lived in: “[An] apartment [that] became a little city with naturally separate habitats, [Leilas] own private boroughs, and [Henrys].” (Lee, 24) Reflecting on how language and communication can allow for the unification of individuals and groups, it is evident that the separate cultures of the two have put a divide in their relationship. Also, Lee highlights how the silence between the two allows them both to gain new insights into their cultures and how they have played a role in their relationship. Through the race and ethnicity lens, it is apparent that ethnicities can restrict or catalyze the formation of intimate relationships. Leila often reflects on Henry's familial past, underscoring that his family's culture has indirectly affected their relationship; due to the inscrutable facade that is put on in moments of grief and hardship. Thus, as Henry reflects on the gapped silence in their relationship, he realizes that “we perhaps depend too often on the faulty honor of

Henry's father, an immigrant from Korea, owns grocery stores funded by the Ggeh money club in New York City to provide for his family. During Henry's childhood, his father was frequently silent about his experiences at the grocery stores, refusing to reveal the pain and agony it had caused. When his father would come home, he never spoke about his work experiences, and when he asked by Henry after coming home with a bloody mouth and bruises, his father stayed silent: “he came in and went straight up into the bedroom and shut and locked the door…my mother ran into it, pounding on the wood and sobbing for him to let her in so she could help him. He wouldn't answer.” (Lee, 56) Henry's father, like Henry, stayed silent in times of hardship, remaining silent and stoic to not let anyone through. Similarly, it is apparent that in Korean culture, help is not something one will ask for but instead will reject. Thus, when Henry's father endured a traumatic experience at his place of work, he refused to talk about it but instead pursued silence through tragedy. After this, Henry learns to no longer discuss Henry's father’s place of work to his face and, in turn, continues the pattern of remaining silent to be perceived as strong. Likewise, as Henry's father “locked the door,” he is trapping his emotions and feelings into a confined space