Henry’s Father Character Analysis in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

A Chinese nationalist, Henry’s father is virulently anti-Japanese. While he is very traditional, Henry’s father also wants his son to be as American as possible. He sends Henry to an all-white school and insists that his son speak only English at home. Henry’s father is depicted as a bitter, close-minded man whose own strong feelings prevent him from seeing that his son’s path to happiness might not look anything like what he imagines. Henry’s father disowns Henry for maintaining a relationship with Keiko, and he even arranges to stop Henry’s and Keiko’s letters from reaching each other when Keiko is imprisoned at Camp Minidoka. Up until the minute he dies, Henry’s father remains convinced that he did what was best for his son. As an adult, Henry begins to realize that he has unintentionally repeated some of his father’s mistakes, most considerably a lack of communication with his own son, Marty. This realization (which is catalyzed in part by Marty’s fiancée, Samantha) motivates Henry to open up more lines of communication with his son, including sharing painful parts of his past that he had previously kept hidden.

Henry’s Father Quotes in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet quotes below are all either spoken by Henry’s Father or refer to Henry’s Father. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Belonging, Bigotry, and Identity Theme Icon

He listened to his father during these lopsided, one-way conversations, but he never talked back. In fact, Henry rarely talked at all, except in English to acknowledge his advancing skills. But since his father understood only Cantonese and a little Mandarin, the conversations came as waves, back and forth, tidal shores of separate oceans.

Related Characters: Henry’s Father, Henry Lee

Page Number and Citation: 46

Explanation and Analysis:

“Why do you like jazz so much?” Keiko asked.

“I don’t know,” Henry said. […] “Maybe because it’s so different, but people everywhere still like it, they just accept musicians, no matter what color they are. Plus, my father hates it.”

“Why does he hate it?”

“Because it’s too different, I guess.”

Related Characters: Keiko Okabe (speaker), Henry Lee (speaker), Henry’s Father

Page Number and Citation: 49

Explanation and Analysis:

His father had devoted most of his life to nationalist causes, all aimed at furthering the Three People’s Principles proclaimed by the late Chinese president. […] as Henry grasped the point of his father’s enthusiasm in these small local conflicts with Japanese Americans, it was mixed with a fair amount of confusion and contradiction. Father believed in a government of the people but was wary of who those people were.

Related Characters: Henry Lee, Henry’s Father

Page Number and Citation: 68

Explanation and Analysis:

But more than that, Henry hated being compared with his own father. In Marty’s eyes, the plum hadn’t fallen far from the tree; if anything, it was clinging stubbornly to the branches. That’s what I’ve taught him by my example, Henry thought.

Related Characters: Henry’s Father, Henry Lee, Marty Lee

Page Number and Citation: 84

Explanation and Analysis:

It made Keiko’s situation, while bleak, seem so much more appealing. Henry caught himself feeling a twinge of jealousy. At least she was with her family. For now anyway. At least they understood. At least they wouldn’t send her away.

Related Characters: Keiko Okabe, Henry Lee, Henry’s Father

Page Number and Citation: 167

Explanation and Analysis:

“[My father]’s disowned me. My parents stopped speaking to me this week. But my mother still sort of acts like I’m around.” The words came out so casually, even Henry was surprised at how normal it felt. But communication in his home had been far from ordinary for almost a year; this was just a new, final wrinkle.

Related Characters: Henry Lee (speaker), Henry’s Father, Henry’s Mother, Keiko Okabe

Page Number and Citation: 193

Explanation and Analysis:

He’d wondered what his father would do to occupy his time now that the Japanese had surrendered. Then again, he knew the war would go on in his father’s mind. This time it would be the Kuomintang, the nationalists versus the communists. China’s struggle would continue, and so would his father’s.

Related Characters: Henry Lee, Henry’s Father

Page Number and Citation: 260

Explanation and Analysis:

Henry’s Father Character Timeline in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

The timeline below shows where the character Henry’s Father appears in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Cantonese to them, wanting him to improve his English. On this day at breakfast, Henry’s father has just pinned a button reading “I Am Chinese” on his son’s school shirt. Henry,... (full context)

...kids his age, who all attend Chinese school. Henry attends the all-white Rainier Elementary; Henry’s father and mother like to brag that their son is at school “scholarshipping,” the only sentence... (full context)

...idea, what with Pearl Harbor and all.” Henry grumblingly explains that the button was his father’s idea—his father, who hates the Japanese for bombing his native China for the past four... (full context)

Family Dynamics and Inheritance Theme Icon

...two alone, Henry finds out that Keiko’s last name is Okabe; she is Japanese. Henry’s father, a Chinese nationalist who has organized an office in Seattle to raise funds for Chinese... (full context)

...is far from Canton, his parents don’t want Henry to be in China—even though Henry’s father always wanted his son to finish school in China. (full context)

...which he learns that a Chinatown committee called the Chong Wa Association, to which his father belongs, has called for a boycott of the entire Japanese community of Seattle. (full context)

...and places it on the nearby grave of his mother. He also brushes off his father’s grave before exiting the cemetery. As he leaves, he passes the Nisei War Memorial Monument,... (full context)

...Henry nervously dresses for school, looking forward to seeing Keiko at lunch. At breakfast Henry’s father comments on how happy his son looks, asking if the school “fix[ed] the stairs” his... (full context)

The morning after the raid at the Black Elks Club, Henry wakes to find his father reading a newspaper article about the arrests of countless local Japanese people. Henry’s father triumphantly... (full context)

...his ume tree. Samantha asks about the tree, and Henry explains that it was his father’s favorite, and that it is a revolutionist symbol. Samantha says, “Marty said that tree came... (full context)

Henry reveals that though the ume tree was, indeed, his father’s favorite, the sapling that Henry planted actually came from Kobe Park in Nihonmachi—Henry made a... (full context)

...the family has guests over for tea. Henry is stunned to find Chaz and his father, Mr. Preston, in the Lees’ home. Mr. Preston announces that he and Henry’s father are... (full context)

Henry’s father explains that Mr. Preston wants to develop property in Japantown, and that he needs Henry’s... (full context)

Mr. Preston asks Henry to tell his father that Mr. Preston also wants to force the Japanese newspaper out of business and buy... (full context)

The conversation continues, and Henry continues to lie. Knowing that his father hates jazz music, Henry tells his father that Mr. Preston wants to turn the newspaper... (full context)

...the room. Exhausted, Henry retreats to his room, feeling guilty about—but justified in—lying to his father. He desperately wants to see Keiko. He “picture[s] her in some family photograph, a portrait... (full context)

...“[doesn’t] mean to get [Henry] in trouble, either at school or at home with [his] father.” However, she needs to ask him a favor: will he hide a wagon full of... (full context)

...Samantha that Henry was not allowed in Japantown as a boy, because of Henry’s own father’s anti-Japanese feelings. Samantha asks if he was allowed in Japantown after Henry’s father had passed... (full context)

...would it be painful if you never went there in the first place, if your father forbade it?” asks Samantha. For the first time, Henry reveals his past: “I went and... (full context)

...record. Henry says, “My mother is always around, and I’m not sure she’d approve—because my father doesn’t like modern music.” As they continue walking, Henry and Keiko notice soldiers near the... (full context)

...classmates don’t even know about what is happening to Japanese families in their city. Henry’s father insists that Henry wear his “I Am Chinese” button “on the outside” of his clothes... (full context)

...Henry arrives home and tries to explain what his happening to his parents, handing his father a copy of the proclamation. When his father tries to cut him off, Henry screams:... (full context)

...room, asking her son if he needs to talk. Henry asks his mother why his father won’t talk to him. She explains: “This is where he lives, but it will never... (full context)

The weekend elapses, and Henry’s father refuses to speak about what is happening in Nihonmachi. Though Henry’s mother defended Henry’s “friend”... (full context)

...broken in half and “held together by the record label,” and thinks that, “like his father, his marriage, his life,” this record has “arrived a little damaged.” Still, it is “all... (full context)

...to return. On a Thursday morning, he dresses in his school clothes, and stares his father down at the breakfast table. He realizes that “he [doesn’t] know what to blame [his... (full context)

Henry’s father gives Henry a new button, one that says, “I’m An American.” Henry’s mother says that... (full context)

...paid for working extra, though they still don’t know he’s working at the camp. Henry’s father proudly tells him: “You keep saving, you be able to pay your own way back... (full context)

...find another Oscar Holden record to bring Keiko as a birthday present. At breakfast, Henry’s father announces that Chinese nationalist forces in China have gained the upper hand against Japanese imperialist... (full context)

...Samantha falls asleep, and Marty and Henry speak on the porch. Marty asks if his grandfather, Henry’s father, or his mom, Ethel, knew about Keiko. Henry says he told his father... (full context)

...in the back alley behind his house. When he enters his apartment, he finds his father and mother sitting at the table with Keiko’s family photo albums spread out before them.... (full context)

Henry’s father berates him: “Instead of studying, you’re making eyes with this Japanese girl. Japanese! She’s a... (full context)

With “a blank expression that [is] probably a mask of his disappointment,” Henry’s father dumps Keiko’s family photos out the window. Though his father ignores him, Henry whispers furiously:... (full context)

...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. (full context)

Keiko begins to cry. “Your father…” she says. “He knows, doesn’t he?” Henry admits that his father has disowned him. “We’re... (full context)

...writing to Henry once a week; Henry’s mother has been sorting the mail before Henry’s father can see it, making sure her son gets Keiko’s letters. Keiko writes that Mr. Okabe... (full context)

...on their first day at school together. “I was afraid of you,” he admits. “My father had said so many things—I just didn’t know what to think.” Henry struggles for the... (full context)

...the kitchen on a house call. Henry’s mother is crying at the kitchen table. Henry’s father has had a stroke, and while Dr. Luke expects he will live, he explains that... (full context)

Henry asks to see his father. At Henry’s father’s beside, Henry’s mother encourages Henry to speak, saying that his father would... (full context)

One month passes. Henry has turned thirteen. His father is confined to a wheelchair, and while he can whisper words to Henry’s mother, he... (full context)

...the Greyhound bus to Idaho to find Keiko. Henry insists that he can’t leave his father: “If he found out I’d gone all the way to Idaho to see a Japanese... (full context)

...it saying: “I won’t write you again, I don’t want to bother you. Maybe your father is right.” Hands shaking, Henry goes to his room and counts the money he’s saved... (full context)

...even […] an act of love.” Henry is still worried that his disobedience of his father caused his father to have a stroke. (full context)

...feels strangely comforted knowing that there is nothing more he can do to disappoint his father, but he is still worried about his mother and how concerned she must be for... (full context)

...the same age Father was when he left.” Henry asks his mother to tell his father that he won’t go to China until the war is over and Keiko comes home.... (full context)

Henry writes to Keiko and tells her about his father’s desire to send him to China. Surprising Henry, Keiko advises him to go, since they... (full context)

At home, Henry’s mother now regards him as the man of the house. Henry’s father has had another stroke, and is still not speaking to Henry, though Henry sometimes has... (full context)

After helping his mother with the laundry, Henry sits down to talk to his father. Henry tells him that he will go to China on one condition: as a senior... (full context)

...Keiko; now, he is asking Ethel to wait for him. Henry tells Sheldon that his father loves Ethel, and now wants to talk to Henry all the time. “I don’t know... (full context)

Henry walks home, thinking about Keiko and wondering how his father is taking the news of Japan’s surrender. In one week, Henry will be leaving for... (full context)

Henry sits at his father’s bedside, telling him that Japan has surrendered, and that he and Ethel are engaged. In... (full context)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Henry’s Father Character Analysis

Henry’s Father Quotes in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

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Henry’s Father Character Timeline in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet