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 has been dating Ethel for five months, though he knows he will never take her to the Black Elks Club. He still finds himself aching for Keiko, but he tries to “imagine a time, years from now, when he might actually forget about Keiko for a day, a week, a month, maybe longer.”
Henry seems already to be aware of the powerful hold his memories with and love for Keiko will have over him his entire life. As it will turn out, Henry won’t ever truly forget about Keiko—a fact that testifies to the strength of their connection.
Themes
One day, close to the time Henry will be leaving for China, Henry is sitting on a park bench with Sheldon. Sheldon and Henry discuss the irony of Henry having waited for 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 how to feel,” Henry confesses. “So I just let Ethel talk to him, and that seems to work.”
This passage makes clear that from the beginning of their relationship, Ethel helped act as a bridge for Henry to people that he struggles to communicate with. As she did for Henry and his father, Ethel will help ease communication between Henry and his son, Marty. Another noteworthy aspect of this passage is the fact that the love of Henry’s father proves to be conditional; now that Henry is in a relationship with a Chinese girl, he seems to be back in his father’s good graces.
Themes
Ethel suddenly comes running up to Henry and Sheldon, embracing Henry. “Listen!” she cries. Henry begins to hear bells ringing, and cars and ferries honking their horns. Soon the news reaches him: Japan has surrendered. The war is over. Henry is overwhelmed with joy; he has never felt more American. He and Ethel kiss, and Henry surprises himself by asking Ethel to marry him. Ethel climbs atop a police car and announces her answer—“I’m getting married!”—to the cheers of the crowd.
Henry’s sense of being truly American comes as a surprise and a relief. It seems possible that this feeling is generated within Henry—he is allowing himself to participate in his country’s victory, rather than the other way around. This suggests that America might never fully welcome its nonwhite citizens, but that these people are capable of asserting their place in America nevertheless.
Themes
Suddenly, Henry notices a few Japanese families in the crowd. For a moment, he thinks he sees Keiko “staring directly at him.” Henry rubs his eyes and Keiko is lost in the crowd. Henry convinces himself it couldn’t have been her, because she would have written to him.
The fact that Henry imagines he sees Keiko right after he has proposed to Ethel suggests that Keiko will always be the true love of Henry’s life—a fact that is played out in the novel’s present-day chapters.
Themes
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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 China. As Henry approaches his house, he sees Ethel waving from his apartment window. Henry rushes upstairs, and finds Dr. Luke, who tells him his father is dying but has been “holding on” for Henry.
Henry seems to be aware that Japan’s defeat in the war will not change his father’s obsession with that country. At this point, Henry’s father is irrevocably bitter when it comes to the subject of Japan, which makes it that much more impressive that Henry resists letting his memories of Keiko devolve into resentment.
Themes
Henry sits at his father’s bedside, telling him that Japan has surrendered, and that he and Ethel are engaged. In Chinese, Henry’s father says, “I did it for you.” In an instant, Henry realizes what his father means: his father used his position with local associations to make sure Henry’s letters never reached Keiko, and that hers never reached Henry. Henry’s father repeats his words—"I did it for you”—and then dies.
This is a climactic point of the novel, as Henry realizes that Keiko never abandoned him; rather, his own father put an end to Henry and Keiko’s correspondence and, thus, their love story. While this is a profound betrayal for Henry, Henry’s father clings to his belief that he has done what is best for his son. The fact that Henry’s father dies before Henry can say a word symbolizes how this relationship will be permanently marked by a lack of communication.
Themes
Henry feels like screaming, but instead he leaves the house and heads toward the former Japantown. He thinks that if it really was Keiko he saw, she will have gone to her old neighborhood to retrieve her things. Henry finds himself at the Panama Hotel, knowing that “if he [takes] another step toward the hotel, […] he [will] break Ethel’s heart.” He turns away, and sees Ethel across the sidewalk; she’s followed him. Henry and Ethel walk home hand in hand. Henry wonders if his mother also helped prevent Keiko’s letters from reaching him, but realizes he knows she doesn’t have it in her heart to do something like that. Henry puts thoughts of Keiko out of his mind, and instead thinks about picking out an engagement ring for Ethel.
This scene epitomizes Henry’s struggle with reconciling his love for Ethel and his love for Keiko. Henry is depicted here as making the kindest, most upright choice: he has already proposed to Ethel and he stays committed to her. He also resolves not to think of Keiko any more than necessary—but the fact that Keiko never fully leaves his mind for the entirety of his marriage to Ethel shows that his love for her is that of a soulmate connection. However, this does not invalidate Henry’s love for Ethel, for Henry does love Ethel, as evidenced by the fact that he devotes himself to building the best life with her that he can.
Themes
