Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet Analysis

As Henry starts to leave, Lewis tries to stop him by saying, ‘Henry. Stop. [Henry stops.] I have an idea. Why don’t we make Ferrando and Guglielmo disguise themselves as Australian soldiers?’ This tells us that Lewis understands everyone and values what they say as where as before if Henry started to leave Lewis wouldn’t have cared as much.

Henry’s father was anti- Japanese. If he found out that Henry was “spending time with the enemy” if would upset

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."

First, one should focus on the language and Henry's ethos. The soldiers are burdened with the thought of a

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,

Finally, Reuniting with someone after a long period of time shows that separation can not stop one’s from pursuing its loved ones. Certainly many readers seem to consider that Henry does not give up on Keiko too easily because they reconvene at the end. However, in the first place, Henry never wanted to go, as he genuinely believes that there are no benefit and that it is the only alternative way. On the way home from Camp Harmony, Henry reflected about what his father says: “His father said once that the hardest

Henry himself is puzzled by the concept of love and asks the priest for his interpretation of the subject. The priest explains to him that his present feelings are ³only passion and lust² (72). Therefore, Henry decides that if this is all he feels, then he could never love anyone. His misconception of love puts him at a disadvantage with Catherine. It isn¹t until after he is wounded, that he realizes that he is actually in love with Catherine. ³When I saw her I was in love with her. Everything turned over inside of me² (91). This sudden revelation stems from the trauma that he has just endured on the front line and with his leg wound. It is likely that Henry would eventually fall in love with Catherine, but his near death experience definitely sped up the declaration. Henry genuinely

“True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen”. This is a quote said by Francois de La Rochefoucauld, which explains the rarity of true love. In Jamie Ford’s novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, the record of Oscar Holden symbolizes the relationship between Henry and Keiko, which is sensed as true love. Throughout the book, Henry and Keiko experience many ups and downs in their relationships which can be reflected by the treatment and condition of the record. Just as the record is rare to find, the story expresses the rarity and feelings one experiences when meeting their true love.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford is a book mostly about self-reliance and maintaining friendship. One theme is self reliance because in the book, Henry is able to do what he think is right and he is able to make decisions without others influencing them. In the novel, Henry's Dad does not approve of Keiko because she is Japanese and he is Chinese. The father does everything that he can do to stop Keiko and Henry from continuing their friendship and crush. He goes to Henry and straight up forbids him to see her. Henry defies his father and continues to be with Keiko, causing his father to practically disown him, and forcing his mother to do the same. They did not communicate with one another for years, and right up

Henry is trying to communicate to his audience that the British will betray them in terms that his audience will relate to or understand, so he uses a situation that happens in a well-known piece of

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

Always stay loyal to the ones you love, you never know when they will no longer be around. From the very beginning of Henry and Keiko’s relationship, he treated her kindly and equally, unlike others. Henry cared for her so deeply that he promised to help her even when she’s old, "What if I'm here until I'm old and my hair is gray, then I'll bring you a cane” (p.233). Henry had this conversation with Keiko when she was at the Japanese internment camp. Henry kept his conversation

“The Youth,” which Henry is referred to as, dreamt of glory in battle and being a hero (Crane 2). That is the reason why Henry enlisted himself; even though he told his comrades he was forced to be in the army. His mother’s farewell speech is ironic because he thought that she would give him a tearful and long speech, but all she really said was to “Watch out, and be a good boy” (4). She does not want Henry to be a hero even though that is what he went to war for. She told Henry that she will be fine if he does not return home. Henry tries to pull off being a confident and good soldier, while in the reality he is very nervous about what will happen in battle. Throughout the novel, he questions his courage and if he would run from battle. At an early battle, Henry continuously fires at the enemy line and feels like he is a courageous soldier. However, soon after this battle, another one erupts and Henry runs from it. This is

There are many different kinds of relationships, and all of them require a commitment and an understanding between people. There are ties of friendship, relationships with family, those that we have with co-workers, and there are relationships in which two people are romantically involved. Regardless of the type of relationship, the desires are the same, to have perfect harmony between all connected. However, since we are human, a perfect relationship usually does not exist. When relationships are broken, or venture upon rocky seas, there comes a time when a person must decide if the union is important enough to work on mending the relationship.

This passage has quite a different tone than the one just a few pages later, where Henry is praying for Catherine: "Don't let her die. Oh, God, please don't let her die. I'll do anything for you if you won't let her die...Please, please, dear God, don't let her die"(330). Henry's priorities have obviously shifted a great deal since the scene at the campfire. He has become more eager to let God into his life. What events caused this drastic change in Henry's attitude? One obvious turning point in his life during the war was the interrogation by the carabinieri. Henry has to jump into the river to