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
The following Saturday, Henry again accompanies Mrs. Beatty to Camp Harmony. Henry’s parents are pleased that he is being 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 to China.”
This brief moment underscores the divide within Henry and his father’s relationship. Neither understands the other on either a micro level (what they are doing on a daily basis) or on a macro level (what their goals are for the future).
Themes
On this Saturday, Henry is working in the section of the camp that holds the most prisoners. He asks everyone he serves if they know the Okabes, but realizes that the name “might be like the name Smith or Lee,” and he wouldn’t know. Eventually, Henry recognizes Mr. Okabe in the lunch line. Mr. Okabe is thrilled to see Henry, and the two discuss how the Okabe family is doing. Mr. Okabe tells Henry the camp has a visiting area, and that he will ask Keiko to meet Henry there when his shift is done. For the rest of his shift, Henry is greeted by the Japanese prisoners as if he were “some sort of celebrity or perhaps a confidant.”
Henry’s realization that he doesn’t know how common a name Okabe is alludes to how little Henry knows about Japanese culture, despite how deeply he already feels for Keiko. This has two effects: one is to emphasize the power of Henry and Keiko’s connection, and the other is to dramatize their separation. Henry cares for Keiko, but this moment serves as a reminder that he hardly had a chance to get to know her before she and her family were imprisoned.
Themes
Henry finishes his work, and then makes his way to the visiting area. Soon, Keiko arrives. From the other side of the barbed wire fence, she tells Henry she had a dream they were together, dancing to the song Oscar Holden wrote for them. Keiko asks if Henry will come visit her next week for her birthday, and bring her some paper and envelopes, as well as fabric so her family can make curtains; the searchlights in the camp have been keeping them up at night.
Keiko’s request for fabric so that she and her family might be able to sleep at night highlights the inhumane conditions of the internment camp. The Okabes and their fellow internees are not prisoners of war; many of them are American citizens by birth. Yet, the American government does not even provide the families with pen and paper, showing how easy it is to dehumanize nonwhite people when the very concept of Americanness is intertwined with whiteness.
Themes
Keiko says that the soldiers are going to allow the prisoners to hold a record concert the following Saturday; Keiko has decided to celebrate her birthday that same day. Henry asks if Keiko has the Oscar Holden record they bought with her. Keiko says no; she stored it with her family’s other belongings in the basement of the Panama Hotel. Henry promises that, regardless, he’ll bring the items Keiko requested to her next Saturday.
As he did when he promised to hide Keiko’s family photos for her, Henry demonstrates the strength of his feelings for Keiko by promising to bring Keiko the items she and her family need. This passage also highlights Keiko’s positivity; event though she and her family are imprisoned, Keiko has found a way to celebrate her upcoming birthday that will still make her feel happy.
Themes
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Keiko offers Henry a bouquet of dandelions she picked; Henry apologizes that he doesn’t have anything to give Keiko in return. Keiko asks if Henry’s parents know he’s at the camp, and when Henry says no, she replies: “It’s okay. I wouldn’t want my son coming to a prison camp either.” Henry and Keiko touch palms through the barbed wire fence, but soon Mrs. Beatty arrives to drive Henry home. Henry again promises Keiko he’ll be back the following week. “I’ll be here,” Keiko says through tears.
With her bouquet of daffodils, Keiko again demonstrates her ability to see the good around her, as well as her determination to make a space for herself in the world, even when the world doesn’t seem to want her. Another important aspect of this passage is the moment when Henry and Keiko touch palms through the barbed wire fence, as this symbolizes the power of their love to overcome and even brighten painful situations.
Themes
