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Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet

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The historical fiction Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford is an almost quintessential illustration of the idea that love can exist anywhere without parameters. Clearly, this idea is seen with the relationship between Henry Lee, a Chinese American boy residing in Seattle, and Keiko Okabe, a Japanese American girl who falls victim to the atrocious Japanese American internment policy put forth by the United States government during World War 2. Despite the clashes and deep-seated hatred both of their Old World cultures had for one another, Henry and Keiko developed a relationship that transgressed such feelings of animosity. As the plot of the novel progresses, it becomes apparent to the audience that certain items are pivotal when influencing the course of the novel. Without these significant aspects in play, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet most likely would have taken a route disparate from the original course of the novel. Let us scrutinize these items so that we may better understand their vital importance to the story line. First, let us examine the delicate Japanese parasol found in the basement of the Panama Hotel. Clearly, time has been anything but Henry Lee’s ally. The last time that Henry and Keiko had interacted was forty-plus years ago during World War 2. Since then, Henry has been completely engrossed with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. The novel asserts, “After all, he’d spent a lifetime between these bookended visits. A

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