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
As he drags the wagon behind him, Henry makes a plan: he’ll hide Keiko’s family photos “in the shallow empty space between his lower dresser drawers and the floor below.” In the darkness, Henry spots a boy “wiping down the poster of an American flag that had been posted over the window of the Jangi grocery store.” The boy hears Henry’s wagon and turns; Henry suddenly recognizes him as Denny Brown, one of the school bullies. Henry realizes that Denny has been painting the words “Go Home Japs!” over the American flags that Japanese businesspeople have posted on their store windows.
The fact that Denny has painted a classic racist phrase (“go home”) on the window of a grocery store shows yet again how toxic the mentality of many white Americans can be. No matter what nonwhite Americans do to affirm their loyalty as Americans—such as posting flags on their businesses—their actions will never be sufficient to those who fundamentally believe that Americanness and whiteness are synonymous. Indeed, for all Denny knows, this store could be owned by people like the Okabes, all of whom were born in the United States, and thus already are home.
Themes
Henry hears another voice: Chaz Preston’s. “I told you he was a Jap on the inside!” Chaz says. Chaz is holding a crowbar, and behind him is yet another school bully named Carl Parks. The three boys surround Henry, with Chaz asking: “You delivering some Japanese newspapers? Or is that stuff a Japanese spy would be delivering?” Determined to fulfill his promise to Keiko and protect her family’s possessions, Henry takes off running, pushing the wagon from behind.
The fact that Chaz is wielding a crowbar is significant, as it shows that he is capable of more than just violent words. Despite the fact that Chaz insists on calling Henry Japanese, it doesn’t even occur to him that Henry could be transporting items belonging to a Japanese friend; instead, Chaz immediately assumes that Henry is undertaking enemy action, just as Chaz has always believed he might.
Themes
As the wagon gains speed going downhill, Henry jumps into it to avoid falling “face-first into the sidewalk.” Henry uses the wagon handle to steer, and shouts out to people appearing on the streets, as he rolls out of deserted Nihonmachi. Suddenly, Henry slams into a police car, and the contents of the wagon spill out onto the street. A police officer picks up one of Keiko’s photos and asks Henry, “Where is home exactly?” Henry points to his “I Am Chinese” button, and says that a friend asked him to hold the photos for her. The officer seems “more annoyed than offended” and tells Henry to go home. Henry makes it home safely and hides the photos. In his bed, he feels a goose egg starting to form on his head, and hears jazz music in the distance.
Though the police officer in this scene ultimately acts justly in allowing Henry to return home with Keiko’s photos, the fact that he is suspicious about where Henry’s “home” is shows that even characters who don’t act on or explicitly verbalize bigotry can hold prejudiced beliefs about those who don’t look like them. This scene is also important because it demonstrates that Henry is willing to put himself in physical danger in order to help Keiko, a testament to the strength of his affection for her.
Themes
