When My Name Was Keoko Analysis

Amy Tan’s ,“Mother Tongue” and Maxine Kingston’s essay, “No Name Woman” represent a balance in cultures when obtaining an identity in American culture.  As first generation Chinese-Americans both Tan and Kingston faced many obstacles. Obstacles in language and appearance while balancing two cultures. Overcoming these obstacles that were faced and preserving heritage both women gained an identity as a successful American.

Throughout Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki and Into the Desert by Nancy Karakane, the characters undergo physical and emotional injustice which shape who they later become. In Farewell to Manzanar we learn about a seven-year old‘s first hand view before during and after camp Manzanar. The Wakatsuki family and Japanese-americans along the west coast were taken from their home and put into relocation camps. In this book we endure her issues in and out of camp and also the injustice that not only does she face, but also many other Japanese-americans.

As a result of the regimes isolationist policy the people of North Korea suffered greatly in both mental and physical health. The hold the state had over the beliefs of the citizens presented in “Nothing to Envy”, varied from absolute belief to uncomfortable awareness. The reader is presented often with Mrs. Song’s dedication to the regime, and Kim Il-sung himself. A mother of four she was often gone from home, working and attending ideological training sessions. “Fridays she stayed especially late for self-criticism. In these sessions members of her work unit- the department to which she was assigned- would reveal to the group anything they had done wrong—Mrs. Song would usually say, in all sincerity, that she feared she wasn’t working hard enough” (Pg. 43).When Kim Il-sung died, she

What if everything you knew was a fabrication of reality and the only escape for you or your loved ones was sacrifice? This is the basis for The Orphan Master’s Son, a book by Adam Johnson that details the lives and lies of North Korea. Focusing on a misidentified “orphan” by the name of Pak Jun Do, The Orphan Master’s Son chronicles the life of Pak Jun Do, as he maneuvers the strict rules of the North Korean government in order to live another day. Throughout the novel, Jun Do endures a tough life under a merciless tyrant and a suffering father, remains loyal to his oppressors despite their torment, learns to accept his position in society no matter where he is taken, and inevitably exposed to the truth of his reality. These four themes

When the Koreans are forced to change their family names to Japanese ones, their Korean identity is weakened. Going through this traumatizing experience is

Written by Margaret K. Pai, the Dreams of Two Yi-min narrates the story of her Korean American family with the main focus on the life journeys of her father and mother, Do In Kwon and Hee Kyung Lee. Much like the majority of the pre-World War II immigrants, the author’s family is marked and characterized by the common perception of the “typical” Asian immigrant status in the early 20th century: low class, lack of English speaking ability, lack of transferable education and skills, and lack of knowledge on the host society’s mainstream networks and institutions (Zhou and Gatewood 120, Zhou 224). Despite living in a foreign land with countless barriers and lack of capital, Kwon lead his wife and children to assimilate culturally,

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick follows the lives of six North Koreans who have experienced a great deal of hardship and turmoil living under one of the most notorious communist regimes. Throughout the years these North Koreans lived through the death of their great Kim Il-Sung, the rise to power of his successor Kim Jong-Il, and the horrific famine that has left many in despair. Although North Korea is constantly in the news globally it is surprising to realize little is known about the country itself. Communist dictatorship has shut out the North part of the Korean peninsula from the outside world and has ruled with an iron fist. In the years following WWII Kim Il-Sung and

Lost Names: Scenes From A Korean Boyhood by Richard E. Kim is an autobiographical fictionalization of the author’s youth in Japanese occupied Manchuria. Though not a traditional autobiography, the author tells his own story through the eyes of a nameless young man. The story takes place between 1932 and 1945. The young man grows and changes from the start of the novel to the end and meditates on the nature of war, family, duty and education among other things. However, the most important aspect of the novel is the way in which it portrays the Japanese occupation and the state of the main character’s family as a result of it.

In “No Name Woman,” the theme of silence starts with the elementary words of the memoir stating you must not tell anyone. This statement is ironic because Kingston is in fact telling everyone, giving voice to Chinese customs and the lives that are foregone. As written in her memoir, she states, “You must not tell anyone,” my mother said, “what I am about to tell you. In China your father had a sister who killed herself. She jumped into the family well. We say that your father has all brothers because it is as if she had never been born.” (Deshazer 308). It is especially notable and ironic that the memoir begins with the phrase “You must not tell anyone.” Her effort in No Name Woman is to write about that which is never said; her unnamed dead aunt, and the outrageous behaviors in her mother’s Chinese village. Kingston was not necessarily silenced direct by a male figure; however, the words said by her mother “You must not tell anyone” is a representation of Kingston father’s authorization voice through her mother’s explanation. Kingston’s effort is also about discovering a voice, as both a Chinese-American

Sookan and her family had just gotten news from her father, saying that him and his four eldest sons were safe in Seoul. Sookan was ecstatic to know that they were safe and well, but wondered why her family that was left behind in North Korea hadn’t been the first priority. “Mother stretched out her arms and Inchun and I ran to them.How good it was to know that father was alive and well, and that my three brothers were safe in Seoul. And how wonderful to know that father would be coming to take us to the South. Yet I wondered how it was that he had left us here so long. I wish that he had come for us earlier, as he had for his sons. Why had he left us for last?”(118) Sookan was the only daughter, and the second youngest in the household. Growing up, family is a very important part to anyone's life, and it’s extremely rare for you to questions your parents judgement or actions when you are growing up. But Sookan did just that when she asked herself if her fathers decisions on saving the eldest boys first was really the right thing to

This passage from “My Innocent Uncle” written by Chae Manshik reveals to readers how the author viewed Japanese colonialism in Korea. First of all, “I” keeps using the word “scotchalism” through the story while his uncle always uses the word “socialism.” The author tells readers that “I” is half-educated unlike his well-educated uncle. “I” thinks that his uncle ought to make money and “scotchalism” is his worst enemy. However, according to “I,” scotchalism not only affects his uncle, but also "every Yi, Kim, and Pak of ‘en.” The author uses Japanese names in the story repeatedly, yet readers can find Korean names only in this passage. He even avoids the character “I”'s name intentionally. This would imply that Japan made Koreans abandon their

Jun-sang was one of the interviewed defectors and was the son of two relatively wealthy Japanese parents, which leads to an issue of equality in terms of class. In an attempt for North Korea to be the “true” Korea, they tried to remove any foreign influence. As a result, there was a lot of hatred against Japanese collaborators. Japanese Koreans that were prominent in society were purged, which perhaps meant being sent to the gulag (Demick 35). As a result, Jun-sang’s family is already at a disadvantage socially as they are forced to remain in the lower class to

Under the Black Umbrella tells the many captivating stories about the 35 years of Japanese occupation in Korea through both world wars. The memories are all from the perspective of Korean men and women who lived through some or all of it. Many of their stories and the history during that time are influenced by several factors, some of which include their location in Korea or surrounding areas and the government’s involvement in recording history. The Japanese were not all awful to the Koreans, since they were humans all the same, but they committed enough atrocities to have a bad reputation with the Koreans. In attempts to unify, North Koreans employed nationalism and ethnocentrism to fuel their way to become a strong nation again. South Koreans did not rally around such extreme ways and did not utilize their northern brethren’s methods of fear for power. Back then and now, globalization is a part of life and it should not be stifled. Nationalistic thinking will bring about more pain and suffering rather than just trying to coexist. Korea faced many hardships with the Japanese occupation. In recovery to their rule, issues arose when it came to accuracy in history, nationalism, ethnocentrism, and the different roles they all took between the north and the south.

“Today a schoolboy… tomorrow a soldier.”(116) When my name was Keoko by Linda Sue park is a book about a Korean family that live in korea and the Japanese have just taken over Korea. They are living in WW2 and under Japanese order and their life is changing everyday. Everyday Koreans are being dehumanized more and more and they can not do anything about it. The main theme of When My Name Was Keoko is courage.

On March 1 2013, in the apartment of my older brother, in small town in the north of Kazakhstan, everything was prepared for the celebration of my niece’s first-year birthday that Koreans usually call tol’. Small low wooden table was covered with different subjects symbolizing various good wishes for our little girl’s future: a spool of thread for long life, a book for knowledge, bowl of rice for prosperity, money for richness and others. My niece was wearing special Korean dress hanbok that was brought from Korea and was handed over among my relatives whenever they have their own tol’. The tradition of first-year birthday has been always kept in my family as a reminiscence of our ethnic belonging. Currently in Kazakhstan live about one hundred thousands ethnic Koreans whose families were deported to the Soviet Kazakhstan almost eighty years ago from the Far East. Stalin’s repression politics regarding ethnic minorities who were living next to the borders has significantly transformed identities of the deported people. How do Koreans in Kazakhstan experience their ethnic and national identities in the context of multi-ethnic state? Living all my life in Kazakhstan and being a third generation of ethnic Koreans living outside the place of ethnic origin, I have never questioned my identities and have never thought how important it can be. In order to investigate my own “quest for identity” in this