Henry’s Mother Character Analysis in Native Speaker

Henry’s mother was a Korean woman who immigrated to the United States with Henry’s father. She died when Henry was just 11 years old, and he didn’t have time to mourn her death: his father quickly moved on with life and made it clear that he and his son shouldn’t dwell in sorrow.

Henry’s Mother Quotes in Native Speaker

The Native Speaker quotes below are all either spoken by Henry’s Mother or refer to Henry’s Mother . 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:

Identity and Multiculturalism Theme Icon

She would have called John Kwang a fool long before any scandal ever arose. She would never have understood why he needed more than the money he made selling dry-cleaning equipment. He had a good wife and strong boys. What did he want from this country? Didn’t he know he could only get so far with his face so different and broad? He should have had ambition for only his little family.

Related Characters: Henry Park (speaker), Henry’s Mother , John Kwang

Page Number and Citation: 333

Explanation and Analysis:

In the midst of the scandal surrounding John Kwang, an angry mob gathers outside his house, waiting for him to be taken home by the authorities. Most of the people in the mob are white Americans nursing a xenophobic rage about the fact that Kwang created a “money club” that helped support a number of undocumented immigrants. Henry stands in the midst of this mob and thinks about Kwang and what he stands for as a public figure. He knows, of course, that the xenophobic mob sees Kwang as a threat to the white power structures in the United States, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut.

Henry’s Mother Character Timeline in Native Speaker

The timeline below shows where the character Henry’s Mother appears in Native Speaker. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Silence, Language, and Communication Theme Icon

...to burst into grand displays of feeling—something that starkly contrasts his own parents’ behavior. Henry’s mother was reticent and thought that showing emotion was akin to revealing some kind of personal... (full context)

...comfortable in his own posh neighborhood in Ardsley, which was full of white families. His mother also seemed to want to fly under the radar, never wanting to borrow anything from... (full context)

...it would be how his employees would learn business, too. When he came home, Henry’s mother wouldn’t ask him about work—she would just comment that he must be hungry because he... (full context)

...decided to ask his father about how things were going at the stores, but his mother quickly pulled him to the side and asked why he was bothering his father with... (full context)

...what, exactly, he thought. He was not a talkative man. Henry was 10 when his mother died, and his father took the tragedy in stride without saying much. He went on... (full context)

Henry thinks back to the period after his mother died. It’s 1971 when his father brings home a young Korean woman from the airport.... (full context)

...does she understand that he often has to stop to think about his father and mother’s names. They always called each other “spouse,” and when someone asks him his parents’ names,... (full context)

...purposefully tempting him to spray his butt. As they laughed and played like this, Henry’s mother would watch, and none of them would ever have suspected that she would die of... (full context)

...it feels like an unforgivable thing to do, like reporting on his own father or mother. (full context)

As Henry waits in the crowd, he imagines what his mother would have thought of Kwang. He’s sure she would have found him foolish for trying... (full context)

Henry’s Mother Character Analysis

Henry’s Mother Quotes in Native Speaker

Chapter 22 Quotes

Henry’s Mother Character Timeline in Native Speaker