Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet Character Analysis

The award-winning author, Luis Alberto Urrea, creator of The Hummingbird's Daughter, Into the Beautiful North, and The Devil's Highway, describes The Devil’s Highway which occurred in May of 2001, one of many that impacted the desert on undocumented immigrants. which is a desert located beyond Sonora, Mexico. It is a desert which few turn to in able to cross over. A group of illegal Mexican were left for dead after attempting to cross; they were left stranded after traveling for days in the wrong direction, through mountains, desert and only a small amount of water along with a few personal items. The Devil’s Highway name was set out to one’s belief “bad medicine” (5). Even though the desert is an obstacle itself, there are still other physical

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.

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

The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford, portrays an array of conflicts between Henry and his father, Marty, and Keiko throughout the novel. Henry's relationships that he encounters throughout his life, changes Henry as a person in many ways. Henry battles adversity, other characters, and himself, but it all leads him to become shaped into a new character.

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

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."

Henry VIII is one of the few English monarchs recognizable even in America, for his antics are legendary on both sides of the Atlantic. He is as notorious for killing important people as he is for getting married six times and his break with Rome. Indeed, Henry's reign would make a good comic book, for he was always off on some new half-baked project, be it invading France or plotting a crusade. His whole life was marked by impulsiveness and his "OK, that was fun, what's next?" attitude. He never outgrew many childlike character traits, at times stubborn and the next moment almost a gullible pushover. This childish disposition is the key to why he

Henry is trying to show how one’s default or natural response to the hardships they were facing at the hands of British rule might be to turn their head the other way.

To begin with, Mr. Henry first starts his speech off with pathos, appealing to the colonies emotions. For instance, "I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery." By emphasizing the words freedom and slavery in such a way that he did to the colony, brought out their emotions of

2. Henry using favors to influence decision-making to benefit himself without consideration of external parties involved, including both his daughters. He should be thinking as a father first and foremost rather than a businessman.

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

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.

At this point, Henry does not know anything of love. Throughout the whole First Book, Henry ignorantly disregards any possibility of love. ³I knew I did not love Catherine Barkley nor had any idea of loving her² (30). He willfully entered a relationship with Catherine, but did not have serious intentions with her, yet. To him it was just a ³game ... in which you said things² like ³I love you² (30). Henry casually speaks of this so-called love to Catherine, but her past experience with her fiancé have made her cautious when dealing with love. She knows the reality of love and the extent of Henry¹s feelings, ³You don¹t have to pretend you love me² (31).

When Henry returns from a highly anticipated leave, he sees that everything is running smoothly despite his prolonged absence. He begins to feel useless, so he and his