Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet Quotes

“A broken record, he thought. Two halves that will never play again,” (pg 178). Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford is a historical fiction book based on World War 2 in Seattle, Washington. This book is about Henry Lee, a young Chinese boy living in Seattle, who meets a Japanese girl named Keiko. The book discusses the racism towards the Japanese from World War 2, and the internment camps they were sent to. Henry comes from a disconnected family, as he isn’t allowed to speak Chinese or know anybody who is Japanese. As Keiko is Japanese, she is sent to a camp and distances herself from Henry. The book also focuses on Henry in his 50’s, after his beloved wife Ethel had died. It focuses on the same disconnect he has with his own son, and what they overcome to reach closure on his past. Henry as an adult was once very closed off and lonely, but through achieving closure and gaining connection in his

Rebirth is an over arching theme in the book, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, written by Jamie Ford. One of the main symbols of second rebirth is the ever-present Oscar Holden record. The records symbolizes not only Henry and Keiko’s relationship, but how it can be renewed. From when Henry and Keiko buy the record, to Henry finding it 40 years later, the record always has a strong significance in the book.

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 the article Knowing History and Knowing Who We Are written by David McCullough, is an essay in which he informs how important it is to learn about our history and how it shapes who we are today. Throughout, he connects important events from American History and relates it to our lives and the world around us. The three main ideas; which are “Character and Destiny”, “Our failure, Our Duty”, and “Listening to the Past”. These ideas

As motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said, “We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.” Henry Lee is just one of the many examples that proves this quote true. In the novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford, the relationships between Henry and those close to him shape his character. Keiko Okabe, Henry’s son, and Henry’s father interact with Henry in ways that seem small, but in the end the events that have taken place influence Henry greatly. Throughout his life, Henry’s character was shaped in both positive and negative aspects, which was influenced greatly by the people he was surrounded by.

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.

Every person has a favorite celebrity. These days with social media it gives people everywhere a great deal of access into the personal lives of their favorite celebrities. With all of this connection between the favorite celebrity of a person and the person themselves, it is easy to see how the values of the celebrity can reflect on the admirer. This is an example of the relationships that appear in the novel Hotel on the Corner of the Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, in which Henry takes his experiences from past relationships in the 1940s, to shape his relationships in the 1980s. The best examples of this are in the relationships of Henry and Keiko, and Henry and his father, and how both of those relationships effect the relationship between

Throughout The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, I sympathized with Keiko and Henry the most. Although both are minority races, they are discriminated against differently. Keiko identifies as 'American', but that does not seem to matter as her family and the rest of the citizens of Japanese descent are whisked into armed, prison-like camps by U.S. officials. I can relate to her since I have been discriminated against because of my ethnicity. It seems easy for some to make stereotypes about other races, especially in a time where everyone is looking for somewhere to place the blame. For example, the discrimination is evident when Keiko and Henry try to buy a record- Keiko is not even acknowledged because she is Japanese.

Most people believe that the only way to get they want is to go to war or revolt against those who treat them badly. Some people also fear that good and honest people will turn to this type of violence to get what they want because it worked in the past. Look how the Pueblo Indians dealt with the Spanish, how Thomas Paine believed the only way to get their freedom from Britain was to encourage everyone to join the fight, and how Thoreau was afraid of expanding America because it meant the increase in slavery and in the chance slaves would turn on the United States of America to win their own freedom. History can be used to learn about our past and to see how it has affected the way the world acts today.

Our historical past has put an effect on all of us.immigrants,whites and blacks.being put in the back of a bus seperated from outher races and kicked out restaurants.It has put different perspectives on some people.walt witman was and white man that wrote an poem about how he saw america in his eyes “I Hear America Singing”.langston hueghs has also writen a poem about how he seen america in his eyes “Let America Be America Again”. Their poems were written with a different perspective on America.

History is something that molds and shapes a person into who they are today. Thomas King shows this in his novel Truth and Bright Water through many of the characters. He not only lets you see how the aboriginal people’s history has affected their lives today, but also how the personal history of some characters has affected their lives. A person’s past can help one understand why they live their life the way they do; it is the answer to any question you had about them. All the minor events that go on throughout the novel explain how history affects an individual’s identity and Franklin, aunt Cassie and Monroe are excellent examples.

Ichiro Yamada, in John Okada’s No-No Boy, plays a major role in defining American-ness in the novel. From the very start of the book, readers may note that the rest of society indefinitely identifies Ichiro as Japanese, due to his unique appearance compared to the white majority of America and his refusal to join the military during Japanese internment. While Ichiro was interned, the government required a Loyalty Questionnaire to be administered to all Japanese interned in the camps. Two major questions determined, in Ichiro’s eyes, either acceptance or unacceptance into American society: one being the “will to serve in the army whenever asked and swearing allegiance to the United States and forswearing allegiance to the Emperor of Japan”

To know the past is to know the future. In his essay Knowing History and Knowing Who We Are, David McCullough argues about the importance of studying and teaching history. In his essay, he explains that there are three main points about history: character and its effect upon destiny, our failure of teaching the future generation, and the importance of learning and listening to history. David McCullough strongly advocates that audience should start to listen to and teach about the past in order to learn about the way a person’s character can affect their destiny.

History is defined as the study of the science of humanity in the past. It's a broad subject that spans over countless people groups throughout the years that the world has been around. Even before the times we have written word history was still being made, and it is still extremely important. We tend to forget that in our average day to day lives we are still making history. That all over the globe everyone is taking part in what might be in a history book someday.

The definition of history, is a question which has sparked international debate for centuries between the writers, readers, and the makers of history. It is a vital topic which should be relevant in our lives because it?s important to acknowledge past events that have occurred in our world that deeply influences the present. This essay will discuss what history is, and why we study it.