Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: Final Thoughts If someone is going to ask me, explain what love and tragedy are, I will tell them to read the novel ‘Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet’ the book was written by New York Times bestselling author Jamie Ford. I enjoyed reading the story it taught me the meaning of true friendship and never lose hope on the special things. Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet, a story happened during the war in 1942, between America and Japan. The story follows a young twelve-year-old boy carries the name, Henry. Henry is Chinese, but he lived in America all his life. He met a Japanese girl in the kitchen cafeteria and soon he developed a bonded relationship with her. The first lesson the novel …show more content…
Henry was insisted that he and Keiko will reunite after the war ends. The war ended in 1945 and unfortunately Henry was not able to see Keiko. However, Henry still had faith that one day he will see her again and he did. After forty years of waiting, Henry met with Keiko again. When Henry met Keiko in 1986 he was an old fifty-six years man and they communicated like they haven’t left each other all those years. Those cherished lessons of faithful friendship and never losing hope. Made me want to possess on keeping my long-term friendship to last a lifetime. In addition, made me believe that everything is possible once you have the faith, and you believe in it. This course was an awesome experience. I learned the importance of reading in university, and I want to continue reading more at the time I reach my other university classes or simply read more books during my holiday as I developed an interest in reading books and knowing more about certain topics. Another thing that I learned from taking this course is how to build a better writing and reading skills. Acknowledging reading and writing skills will help me to succeed in my other university courses. I want to thank you, Dr. Sherry, for all the effort and support you provide to the students. I learned a lot from having you as a Professor, and I’m looking forward having you as a Professor in my other
I know the theme is acceptance strengthens bonds between family and friends.Because the text says Henry is on lunch duty in his all white school when he is joined by a Japanese girl named Keiko. At first, he is dumbfounded but slowly starts to accept her as the other white kids are teasing them. They share a can of peaches in the school pantry and Henry enjoys his time with her very much. A quote from the text Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet says “Then they ate their lunch, together, splitting a can of pears in the storage room. Henry thought they tasted especially good that day.” These sentences have a much deeper meaning than they appeared to have. The moment Henry and Keiko shared in the storage room was the blossom of their friendship.
In these five paragraphs I will be writing about the book “Hotel on the Corner of Sweet and Bitter” written by Jamie Ford and five quotation that important and made up the theme for me. This book gives a feel a lot of different emotions. The first quote was “‘You are Chinese aren’t you,Henry? That’s fine. Be who you are, she said, turning away, a look of disappointment in her eyes. “But I’m an American’’(p. 60). This quote is important because it shows how Keiko believes even if her parents are Japanese she feels more American then Japanese since she barely spoke Japanese.
In the end, Henry does give up on Keiko too easily. Henry has a chance before and after 40 years, but his final decisions are still the same, letting Keiko go. Henry could have prevented the separation from happening and breaks Ethels heart, but as a soft-hearted person, Henry does just the opposite. He moves on with his life with Ethel and forgets about Keiko. Henry thought that his decisions are what is best and what is right for the both Henry and Keiko. Although reunited at the end of the book, does not suggest that Henry does not give up on Keiko too easily, because the book always have a sweetness along with bitterness.
Henry’s father is on his death bed; his last words are to Henry: “Wo wi ni zuo,” which translates to “I did it for you,” (Ford 263). For months Henry had sent letters to Keiko and seldom got a reply which lead him to believe that Keiko had lost interest in him and that she had moved on. This caused him much distress and disappointment. Upon hearing
After Keiko’s family got moved from Camp Harmony, Keiko stopped writing and their relationship weakened as she got farther away. However, Henry turns 13 and decides he is old enough to make his own decisions, so he travels all the way to Minidoka, Idaho to visit her. Here they talk and kiss for the first time. My prediction for after this is that they will continue to keep in touch for a while. Hopefully Keiko will have the means to write to Henry, so they can keep in touch and communicate. Maybe Henry will even come visit again. However, we learn from the perspective of the older Henry, that the relationship does not last forever. Keiko might end up moving again, but either way we know that Henry ended up getting married to someone else that he loved. Now that he is a old man and a widow, it is possible that he might reconnect with Keiko. After he found a broken record and some of her family’s belongings in the basement of the Panama hotel, Henry may go and return them. This might lead them to converse and learn about what happened in their lives after they lost touch. Maybe, just maybe, they could fall in love once again. They clearly loved and cared about each other as kids, so they might reconnect and their relationship will last until the
Bitter and sweet moments between Henry and Keiko occurred often in Jamie Ford’s novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which is the reason for the ingenious creation of the Bitter and Sweet Tour at the Wing Luke Museum. This tour, might I add, takes tourists to many of the famous places from the novel. Well-known scenes and major events take place in Chinatown and Japantown, being that the two main characters each descend from one of these cultures. Henry Lee, a young Chinese boy; and Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese girl, go through conflicts together and internally because of their heritage alone. The Bitter and Sweet Tour shows how strict the boundaries and the dividing line between
One’s past can often influence their future be it positive or negative. In Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet a novel by Jamie Ford, the characters who face struggles in their past go on to overcome them in the future. The successful and happy life Sheldon lived after his first big gig at the Black Elks Club preforming with Oscar Holden. Sheldon who starts out as a simple street performer goes on to become a band owner and a family man. Keiko is able to move on from her time in the internment camps and ready to start a new life. After she loses everything and then is released with little, Keiko soon is married and is ready to start a family of her own. An adult Henry’s love for his son and wife after he returns home from finishing his
An important event in the book, Hotel on the Corner of the Bitter and Sweet, is when Henry’s father gives him an ultimatum, to choose between Keiko and his family, and without hesitation he chose Keiko. Before all of this, all Japanese in the U.S. were being persecuted because of their assumption to be apart of Pearl Harbor. Henry, on the other hand, was American- Chinese meaning he was born in the U.S. and having parents who are Chinese. But he was always mistaken for being Japanese even though he had a patch he wore every day saying he was American- Chinese. He went to an American school where he was the only American- Chinese until Keiko came along who was American- Japanese. They became the best of friends and worked together at the cafeteria-serving
Historical fiction is a genre that can bring made up stories into the real world using the events and places of the world and its history. In Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Jamie Ford uses such real world situations like the growing jazz culture and clubs, the tension in America during WWII, and the unfair prosecution of the Japanese-Americans at the time to make her story real and allow us to truly connect with her story and characters.
Relationships have the ability to change a persons life. The relationships people have with others are the reason they became who they are as a person. In the novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford, the main character Henry faces many relationships which greatly impact his life. Henry's relationships with his father, his son, and Keiko has changed his life and made him become the person he is today.
Written by Jamie Ford, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet follows the life of Henry Lee, a young Chinese-American boy living in Seattle in the 1940’s during World War II, and his reflections on his youth later, in the 1980’s. The novel illustrates the theme that loyalty is important in times of hardship. Henry deals with both loyalty and the absence of it as he copes with his broken relationship with his father, his forbidden, but strong friendship with a Japanese girl, Keiko, and his awkward connection with his son.
This delightful story that has both elements of drama and comedy tells the story of the narcissistic Henry Roth, known far and wide for his playboy tendencies, and his journey to redefine his definition of love through the charming Lucy Whitmore. Meeting by chance at a small café on the coast of Oahu, Hawaii, the two immediately hit it off over a brunch of waffles and coffee. Henry is shocked to discover that what he had originally intended to be a simple one-night-stand
Opportunities to utilize and improve my writing skills that I have obtained through this course have been numerous. For example, I wrote a three-page paper for Dr. Cann on my experience as an exit poll volunteer. From Connections 1010 to Physics 1010 to Comparative Politics my writing has played an integral role in my ability to do well enough in my classes to maintain a 4.0 gpa.
You have been one of the most significant and effective professor that I have encountered ever since I came to transfer at TIP. You have been a great inspiration for me because of the broad knowledge that you have for the program. You have never failed to amaze me with the way you taught us. You have also helped us understand each and every topic that you discussed. You have also made us realize how important it is for us to finish our studies and aim for the highest grade possible. Sir, you have motivated us to become more confident in becoming an IE and persevere with what we aim to do in the future.
Also, I was able to see how arguments are sometimes so broad that you do not know what way to take them. I believe the biggest help to me through this unit was being able to see where in my writing process I have strengths like authority and logic and where my weaknesses lie like emotions. I feel showing more emotions could become a problem for me when it comes to creative writing, if a have to do it, because I am so used to the template academic and research writing styles. This course is definitely helping me to reshape my writing process and how I look at certain sources. Also how I can tell whether a source is useful in terms of logic, authority, and