In the novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, a common theme and a UULO demonstrated how it’s critical to maintain good communication between relationships to prevent confusion. Henry demonstrated the importance of good communication as the lack of communication caused a division between his parents and Henry, which later influenced how Marty and Henry communicated with each other. To begin with, Henry and his father always had a very complicated relationship. In the novel, the father and son never seemed to understand each other and their intentions. As a child, Henry was baffled to why his father always seemed to contradict what Henry was asked to do. Henry being a Chinese American was “asked-no, told him to stop speaking their native Chinese” (Ford, 12). During this time, the Japanese and Chinese relationship were faltering as it was at the peak of World War II. Henry’s parents were “desperate for him to learn English” (Ford, 12). Henry’s parents never spoke to him in English, always Cantonese. Henry was told, to “only speak you American” (Ford, 12) by his father. This foundation would later create more conflict as Henry and his parents never seemed to understand each other. Since Henry was told by his parents to only speak English, Henry had a difficult time communicating with his parents. Henry never had a good foundation with his parents because of the language barrier that was created. Throughout the novel, Henry would try and communicate with
He fails to create a strong bond with Marty, his son. He doesn’t tell Marty anything of his past, especially his relationship with Keiko. “It dawned on Henry how cynical he’d allowed himself to become in the months since his funeral,” (pg 9). This quote shows how after Ethel’s passing, Henry had become sad and lonely, distancing himself from family. This distance caused Henry and Marty’s relationship to change with it, creating distance in their relationship. “Marty didn’t know much about Henry’s childhood… But now, deep down, Henry wanted to tell his son everything,” (pg 61). As Henry had become closed off since Ethel’s death, Marty didn’t know much about his childhood, as all he knew was from his mother. This quote shows how sincerely Henry wanted to tell him everything, but there was a bridge missing in their relationship. Henry had been lonely and very disconnected from his family, but he changed to be a better, more content man through several
The book describes a Chinese-American boy named Henry Lee who falls in love with Keiko, a Japanese-American girl and because of the war they have been separated. During this process of Henry trying to see Keiko, there are so many obstacles in his way such as Henry’s father and relocations. Moreover, Henry has seen witnessed
First, by looking at the way Henry’s ethnicity played a large role in getting him bullied in school. Henry’s parents decided that it would be better off if Henry would go to an all-white school rather than a Chinese school. In the hope that, Henry would become accustomed to American culture. However, this resulted in Henry being bullied in school by all the white children and even the other Chinese in his neighborhood. Before going to school he would pass by his neighborhood where all the Chinese kids that were once his friends called him “white devil” and Then he would get to school and the white kids would call him “yellow” (Ford 39). Once they started to get all the Japanese and take them to the internment camps. Henry started to get bullied even more since several of his classmates thought he was Japanese American. Likewise, to Henrys ethnicity playing a large role for getting him bullied in school, his ethnicity also cost him the distant relationship with his parents.
In 1942, Henry is faced with many arduous obstacles involving his father. "Young Henry Lee stopped talking to his parents when he was twelve years old. Not because of some silly childhood tantrum, but because they asked him to" (12). His father makes him wear a button that says, "I am Chinese" (12), but little does his father know, Henry is beat up in school by Chaz,
Henry was a normal boy and did all of the normal things young boys do: making noise, being busy and active, nosing around in the refrigerator, and asking questions - all part and parcel of being a normal child. But he was brought up to believe he wasn't a "model boy." His parents were constantly interrupted by him - his mother while she was reading and grading papers, and his father so much so that he spent most of his time in his office on campus, joining them only at mealtimes. His father wished to remain "blissfully unaware."
Relationships, one of the key factors of the advancement of humanity. We all are surrounded by relationships, some may be easier to identify than others. But one relationship which stands out greater than the rest is the one between a married couple. These people are usually from completely different families and unite together to decide to spend the rest of their lives together. But sometimes the relationship does not work out. We can witness this in Sinclair Ross’s short story The Painted Door, in which Ann a farmer’s wife who has cheated on her husband John, which has brought the end of Johns life and ultimately the end of their relationship. It is arguable that the reason behind Ann cheating and bringing the end to their relationship arguably is isolation, neglection and lack of understanding, but what is the root cause of all these problems in their relationship? The answer is simple lack of communication. Thus, it is the lack of communication which has caused isolation, neglection and the lack of understanding of each other in the relationship, resulting in the failure of the relationship.
Henry was born and raised in the United States. When he was twelve years old, he was “scholarshipping” in Rainier Elementary School, a “top white school” (Ford, 183). As the war progressed between Japan and America, his parents were desperate for him to become more “American”. As a result, they insisted for him “to stop speaking their native Chinese” and become fluent in English (Ford, 12). However, this created a problem, because Henry’s parents could not speak English, and they scolded him if he spoke Cantonese to them. Due to this, Henry had a difficult time conversing with his parents, which means that they rarely spoke with each other. Although his parents forced him to only speak English for his own safety, it ended up isolating Henry from his own family. They obviously could not form a close family relationship if they did not communicate with one another. Moreover, Henry befriending Keiko made the situation worse. His father could not accept the fact that his only son became friends with a Japanese girl.
Interpersonal communication is everywhere in society, both the past, present, and the future. “Marty,” a love story, and a movie made in the fifties, shows many examples of interpersonal communication. In this movie, the main character, Marty, who is a decent, socially awkward man who is pressured by his peers and family to find love and get married. He then gets fed up and goes to a club in town and meets a woman named Claire, who is in similar circumstances to him. Marty and Claire then interact and spend time together and Marty experiences companionship for the first time. As time goes on, Marty’s bachelor friends and his mother are expressing their disapproval of Claire. Marty then gets angry with everyone, and tells them all I
Henry's parents speak to him in their native language but he is not able to speak back but only in English which they do not understand very well. Henry feels like his father is never listening and that he wishes they could just be there for him like a normal family.
First, one should focus on the language and Henry's ethos. The soldiers are burdened with the thought of a
Similarly, Henry’s relationship with his boss and his American co-workers shows the readers his willingness of trying to gain acceptance among his peers in order to identify with their culture. His fear of losing that approval forces Henry to stick with his job as a spy, otherwise his job provided no benefits or satisfaction but rather brought along with it the pain and frustration which is reflected on Henry’s relationship with others.
Both Michael Crummey’s “Heartburn” and Lisa Moore’s “The Lonely Goatherd” explore the damaging impacts the lack of communication has on a relationship. Both Carl and Anita’s relationship in “The Lonely Goatherd” as well as Georgie and Sandy’s relationship in “Heartburn” are weakened due to the lack of communication. This idea is shown in both short stories through the use of foils, specifically Hans and Carl as well as Everett and Sandy ; It is also demonstrated through the use of symbolism of Signal Hill as well as using the excuse of heartburn to cover up the dreams Sandy has; It is shown lastly through the dramatic irony used in both stories. These elements demonstrate how the lack of communication leading to the downfall of relationships.
"Family isn't always blood. It'd the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are, the ones who would do anything to see you smile, and love you no matter what"(anonymous). In the Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee discovers that sometimes friends care more then family. Relationships are difficult and have changed between Henry, Henry's father, Henry's son, Keiko. Some relationships fall shirt from expectations, while others survive the long haul.
For this paper I chose to analyze the film The Break-Up, a 2006 American romantic comedy directed by Peyton Reed, starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn. The film features Brooke and Gary, a couple which has been together for several years, but their defensive and unsupportive communication climate leads to a complete breakdown of the couple’s relationship. Throughout this paper I will show how important interpersonal communication is in relationships. The communication principles I will use is, communication is transactional and communication is irreversible. Furthermore, I have chosen four key terms which include, symmetrical conflict style, communication
They are talking about their previous home lives. During this encounter between them, Henry explained to Keiko the reason behind why he goes to the American school. He explains, “My parents want me to get a Western education.” (24) Henry's parents know that Americans go to American schools and therefore Henry should go to an American school too. It also says in the book that his parents took him away from Chinese school. In my opinion this is so that he could be more exposed to the American way of life. This shows that Mr. Lee simply believes the American identity is based off of doing American things that include speaking English, and going to American schools. To Henry's parents this is what makes you able to identify as an American. Based on Mr. Lee's historical background and his prejudice on Americans, he believes that Americans simply speak English and go to American schools. This is what he believes American identity