Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Girl with Seven Names, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Oppression, Human Rights, and North Korea
Identity and Nationality
Family
Kindness
Summary
Analysis
Hyeonseo is accused of being a broker and illegally assisting North Koreans through Laos. Hyeonseo explains they are not criminals, just refugees seeking asylum, but the woman won’t listen. She leaves Hyeonseo alone in the room, and Hyeonseo slips out the back door. She finds the South Korean embassy, and a diplomat returns to the police station with her. Hyeonseo has been charged with being a broker. If she doesn’t pay a $1,300 fine, she will be sent to prison. The diplomat can do nothing to help, as the embassy has no real authority in Laos. In Hyeonseo’s wallet is the $800 from Dick Stolp. The female officer takes the money, extends Hyeonseo’s visa by 24 hours, and tells her if she is still in the country tomorrow, she will definitely be arrested.
By extorting the last of Hyeonseo’s money, the Laotian government all but ensures she won’t be able to leave the country, which practically guarantees her subsequent arrest and imprisonment. $800 is a lot of money, and it is only the extra money Dick gave her after paying to get Min-ho and Mother out of police custody, which further highlights Dick’s extreme kindness (and, presumably, his wealth). Dick doesn’t just give Hyeonseo his pocket change or buy her something to eat; he ostensibly spends thousands of dollars helping her family and the other North Korean prisoners.
Themes
Outside in the street, Hyeonseo is again at a loss over what to do. The police have taken all her money and she has nothing left. Suddenly, her phone rings. It is Dick Stolp. Hyeonseo is beginning to think he is some kind of divine being, and even though she doesn’t want to, she asks him to cover her travel expenses. He immediately agrees, and Hyeonseo promises to pay him back. She leaves Laos the next morning.
Again, there is no end to Dick’s kindness and generosity, which proves the world isn’t as cold a place as Hyeonseo initially believed it is. In a way, Dick’s kindness restores Hyeonseo’s faith in humanity by making it clear that in less oppressive circumstances, people really do have a deep capacity for kindness.
Themes
The next day, Hyeonseo is relaxing on Kim’s couch in Seoul. It is the first week of December. She has been gone for over two months, but she is feeling positive about getting Min-ho and Mother into South Korea. Weeks later, Hyeonseo has heard nothing from the embassy in Laos, until her phone rings unexpectedly. It is Min-ho. He is being held in Phonthong Prison in Laos.
Phonthong Prison is a prison for foreigners in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The prison holds both men and women, and it is notorious for its rough conditions and human rights violations. Prisoners are given very little food, and they are known to be tortured though approaches such as waterboarding.
Themes
