Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Belonging, Bigotry, and Identity
Silence vs. Communication
Family Dynamics and Inheritance
Memory
Love and Self-Sacrifice
Summary
Analysis
Henry salvages most of Keiko’s photos. His parents refuse to speak to him, and he begins “to feel like a ghost in the little brick apartment” he lives in. After a few days, Henry’s mother begins to acknowledge him again, but she does so “with little ceremony […] so as not to go against the wishes of Henry’s father” who has figuratively disowned his son, if not literally, as he’d threatened.
By giving Henry a formal, deliberate silent treatment, Henry’s father is enforcing an emotional disowning of his son, one which has arguably more damaging effects on Henry than a literal disownment might have had. Henry feels completely devalued by his family—to the point where he might as well be a ghost—and his father’s decision also impacts Henry’s relationship with his mother, which was previously the one source of love and comfort (however tenuous) that he had at home.
Themes
By the time Saturday arrives, Henry is desperate to talk to someone. His home is silent, and he hasn’t been able to find Sheldon after school because he has been playing at the Black Elks Club, which has finally reopened. On the way to camp, Mrs. Beatty cautions Henry that the gifts he’s brought for Keiko won’t be allowed through—they’ll be opened by the guards. “I’ll take care of it,” she promises.
This scene doubles down on the damaging effects of Henry’s father’s silence. It is almost as if Henry is losing a grip on his sense of sanity and even selfhood, which underscores how deeply toxic silence can be to relationships. On a plot level, Mrs. Beatty’s commitment to helping Henry deliver Keiko’s birthday gifts shows what a kind person Mrs. Beatty is.
Themes
On the outskirts of Camp Harmony, Mrs. Beatty pulls over at a gas station and buries Henry’s presents in a bag of rice. Henry realizes that Mrs. Beatty must have also smuggled in the tools that he’s seen prisoners using to fix the shacks they are living in. When the gas station attendant asks what Mrs. Beatty is “doing with that Jap,” she replies: “He ain’t no Jap. He’s a Chinaman—and the Chinese are our allies, so shove off, mister!” Mrs. Beatty and Henry get back in the truck and drive through the gates to Camp Harmony.
This passage shows Mrs. Beatty defending Henry in the most noticeable way yet. However, this scene also suggests that Mrs. Beatty’s allyship isn’t perfect—after all, Henry isn’t a “Chinaman”; he’s an American. Still, Mrs. Beatty defends Henry’s right to belong in a way that Henry might not be able to, given that he is only a child and the gas station attendant is a full-grown adult. This suggests that it is important for white Americans to stand up for nonwhite Americans, even if they don’t do so in a perfect manner.
Themes
While serving lunch, Henry sees Mrs. Okabe, who tells him that the families are going to be moved to a new location. She says, “They might even split off some of the men—those with job skills needed elsewhere. They’re making us build our own prisons, can you believe that?” Mrs. Okabe rejoins the crowd, and Keiko appears in the serving line. Keiko thanks him for all he’s done for her, and Henry realizes he might be in love with her. The two agree to meet at the visitor’s fence in an hour so Henry can give Keiko her birthday presents.
The fact that the male internees are being forced to build the camps emphasizes how brutally cruel the government’s treatment of its own citizens was during this time period. The government’s willingness to split up interned families also suggests that the policy of internment has virtually nothing to do with keeping Japanese Americans “safe.” This scene is also noteworthy because it is the first time that Henry has considered that his feelings for Keiko might actually amount to love.
Themes
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At the visitor’s fence, Keiko tells Henry that the guards have cancelled the record concert because of bad weather. “You came all this way,” Keiko apologizes. “I really did want to sit here along the fence and listen with you.” Henry hesitatingly tells Keiko that he didn’t come for the music. He then gives her the art supplies and sketchbook, in which he has written an inscription: “To Keiko, the sweetest, most beautiful American girl I’ve ever known. Love, your friend Henry.”
Henry’s inscription is another important step in his relationship with Keiko. Henry feels “awkward” about using the word love; it seems likely that this discomfort is due at least in part to the strained, reserved communication Henry has grown up with at home. Still, Henry has committed to his feelings in a newly profound way by writing this inscription.
Themes
Keiko begins to cry. “Your father…” she says. “He knows, doesn’t he?” Henry admits that his father has disowned him. “We’re more than friends,” he tells Keiko. “We’re the same people. But he doesn’t see it.” Henry then gives Keiko the Oscar Holden record he got from Sheldon. Keiko is astonished. “This is almost like having you here with me,” she says, adding, “I’ll be playing this every day.”
Henry’s insistence that he and Keiko are “the same people” alludes to the unique empathy and understanding these two characters have for one another. Their experiences as first- and second-generation Americans (and of different ethnicities) differ, but Henry and Keiko have found a deeper sense of belonging within the world of their friendship than either of them has ever had with their peers.
Themes
As it begins to rain, Henry gives Keiko the final package he brought, containing stationery, stamps, and fabric for curtains. A guard shouts that visiting hours are over. Henry promises to visit every week, and Keiko promises to write to him. As Henry leaves the camp with Mrs. Beatty, he hears Oscar Holden’s “Alley Cat Strut” record playing over the storm.
In this scene, the Oscar Holden record symbolizes the strength of Henry and Keiko’s love. The music also represents defiance, given that the camp guards had canceled the concert. Still, the prisoners assert their right to joy and to their own humanity by playing the record in the face of the guards’ searchlights, and of the literal storm itself.
Themes
