Analysis Of Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet

Jin Wang was born in America but is also Chinese. He faces some difficulties with racism and stereotypes as he grows up. He just moved to a new school from San Francisco. The teacher introduces him to the class and says,” Class, I'd like us all to give a warm Mayflower Elementary welcome to your new friend and Classmate Jin Wang...He and his family recently moved to our neighborhood all the way from China!”(30). Jin has this look on his face of annoyance. Like, did she actually say this. She is too ignorant to ask so she just assumed that since he is Chinese, that he must be from China. He was born in America. This just shows how ignorant people are about other cultures. It makes it even harder to fit in if people don't even care where you're from and just make assumptions. Jin now experiences this first hand. He tries so hard to fit in and be normal. He goes as far as changing his hair to match the guys hair that Amelia likes. When he isn't noticed as much he wants to become someone else, someone who will fit in. He wakes up in the morning a new person, as he has transformed into someone he is not, he thinks to himself,”A new face deserved a new name. I decided to call myself...Danny”(198). He changed his race he didn't like his heritage and cultures so much

In Jamie Ford’s historical fiction Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, this split narrative focuses on two eras: 1942 and 1986. Within these era’s, Ford’s novel focuses on a Chinese boy, Henry Lee, and what it was like to grow up in the international district with prejudice everywhere, especially in his own family being a first generation American. His novel tells the story of Henry, as well as a Japanese girl by the name of Keiko. The novel tells the story of these two young friends and the hardships faced when the government sends Keiko and her family away to the Japanese internment camps in the Northwest in the 1940’s. His novel displays the effects

Through the personal stories of his hair, love life, and behavior, Liu is able to show the effects of his assimilation. The second section deals with Liu’s struggles to conform to white stereotypes as an Asian American. With his personal anecdotes, he establishes himself as a more credible source to speak on the subject of assimilation. The second section uses narration to provide evidence about Liu’s definition of assimilation.

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.

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."

To neglect society's long-established views of how one should portray one another we should d rather embrace who we are. Focusing on Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which has the main protagonist who is named Henry, Henry is an American ordered to live in a Chinese community and to Chinese standards. His father is a Chinese national and has very strong believes against the Japanese, and even though his father has such strong feelings toward the Japanese Henry ignores him. This was shown when Henry fell in love with a Japanese girl, Keiko. Throughout the novel Henry would face challenging decisions which would shape his relationships with his family creating his identity. The theme that ones identity is formed through individual reflection,

Set in the turmoil of WW2, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a love of bitterness and sweetness book involving a Japanese girl, Keiko, and a Chinese boy, Henry. They strives to keep their relationship and deal with the consequences inflicted upon them by their parents and the war. As the story rolls along, many thoughts occurred that Henry and Keiko would be able to marry, but a twist happens, which results in their separation; unquestionably, Henry and Keiko moves on to have their own family.Therefore, does Henry gives up on Keiko too easily? Yes, Henry give up on Keiko too easily. Henry has his chance of going back to Keiko, but he let it slips by. He tries to forget about Keiko and moves on with his life. Henry thought that his

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.

A relationship that has shaped Henry's life is between him and his father. Both of them are stubborn in their beliefs; beliefs that always differ from the other. Although they're Chinese, Henry's father wants Henry to be like an American. For instance, Henry can only speak English to parents that won't ever understand him. Once the war starts, his dad forbids Henry to associate with any Japanese. It just adds the the list of things that they disagree with. Eventually their relationship cracks, "His father was stubborn, and traditional. He hadn't just threatened to disown him-- he'd gone through with it. All because Henry couldn't stop thinking about Keiko" (191). Henry gets fed up with his father and stands for what he believes. Loosing his

The tale “American Born Chinese” by Gene Luch Wang depicts the story of three characters, Monkey, Jin, and Danny. They all have the problem of fitting into their new environments. Jin Wang has to deal with Asian stereotypes. Danny has to deal with embarrassment of his cousin. Lastly, Monkey has to deal with the fact that there is no position for him in the heavenly ranks. However, over time, these characters have to come together to fit in. Yet the question remains: what exactly about fitting in is the problem? Although Jin Wang takes the form of Danny to reject his Chinese roots, the embarrassment of Chin-Knee shows he cannot hide behind a false American identity, thereby delineating that race is the source of his problem.

THESIS - When evaluating Arnold “Junior” Spirit from Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Jin Wang from Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese, similarities radiate in both characters as their disparity in race deem the two of them as outcasts in the entirety of society. In addition to their lack of social interactions, their uniformity in their impulsive decisions cost them each a dear friend. Although Junior and Jin are quite similar, they share differences in the way Junior tries bettering himself by fitting into both his Indian and Reardan culture whereas Jin changes himself in every possible way to become Americanized.

“Groom Service” and “The Return” are two short stories taken place in a terrible setting with the main character who deals with relationship problems. Both stories have common themes related to acceptance, acknowledgement, and recognition. The protagonist in “Groom Service”, Bernard, had the ability to survive with his hunting skill, but did not dare to seek his own love. He seeks acceptance from Marie and her family. On the contrary, Kamau in the story “The Return” seeks acceptance from a village, but finds acceptances in the change that had taken place. Due to the influence of the internal and external forces created by their family and personalities, protagonists, Bernard and

The Japanese and their rabid ethnocentrism have their effect on the narrator’s family. The family is generally happy and well structured. The narrator lives with his mother, father, little sister and grandfather. As mentioned before, the narrator’s family pressures him to be better than the Japanese students. Upon returning home after being beaten, the men of the house invite him to eat with them and drink wine. This is a strong scene that is filled with the proudness of a parent for their son. Simply standing up to a

Danny’s jaded perception of his identity is a result of American society’s injustices. From a young age, Don lee reveals that Danny struggled with typical generational differences with family relationships, mortified by Korean culture as he demands that his parents “Speak English!” and refuses

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.