The Panama Hotel
The Panama Hotel represents the way in which memory persists and manages to reassert itself, even when it is thought to have been long since buried and forgotten. While the hotel once served as a…
read analysis of The Panama Hotel
The Oscar Holden Record
The Oscar Holden record physically symbolizes the role of music as a unifying force in the novel. Over the course of their friendship, and Keiko’s imprisonment in internment camps, Henry and Keiko share two…
read analysis of The Oscar Holden Record
Starfire Lilies
Starfire lilies, which Henry buys for his mother every week, grows with Ethel in their garden, and eventually uses to decorated Ethel’s grave, symbolize the beauty of imperfect love. Henry’s mother cares for her son…
read analysis of Starfire Lilies
Henry’s “I Am Chinese” Button
The “I Am Chinese” button that Henry’s father insists on wearing represents how complex and fluid identity is. Over the course of the novel, the button (or one like it) is worn by Henry, the…
read analysis of Henry’s “I Am Chinese” Button
