‘Hotel on the corner of bitter sweet’ is a romantic novel by Jamie Ford, based on the pre-World War II era. This book encompasses the life of Henry Lee, a Chinese boy, and Keiko Okabe, a Japanese girl. The writer brings out cross cultural and forbidden young love between two twelve year olds in America during the 1940s. The novel ‘Hotel on the corner of bitter sweet’ is a classic which the writer uses to bring out love, deceit, racism, and passion throughout the book. In this book, Henry falls in love with Keiko, after meeting in Rainer Elementary in Seattle. Racial segregation in the school forces this two to stick to each other for consolation. The love between Henry and Keiko is however wrecked by Henry`s father who, an adamant anti-Japanese, who disapproves of his son`s association with Keiko. Henry is deceived into believing that Keiko has moved on while in real sense, his father was behind the scheme of blocking Henry`s letters from reaching Keiko. Henry marries a Chinese girl, Ethel, who is approved by his parents. However, he later finds out he was betrayed by his father and finally meets his first Love Keiko. This paper intends to bring out ‘cause and effect’ based on the characters, Henry, Keiko and Ethel. They are the characters that this paper is going to focus on as subjects to analysis.
‘Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet’ depicts the racial segregation that had struck the country in the 1940s. So rampant was racism in the country, that despite Henry`s scholarship to Rainer Elementary in Seattle, his Caucasian race still brands him a non-white American.
Henry also wears a button written, ‘I am Chinese’ in order to distinguish him from the ‘enemy’ Japanese. The tension between nations during this time heightened the animosity between nations, resulting to Henry having to wear a Chinese button. Ford also narrates of how Henry`s life was made unbearable by bullies who tormented him for being the only non-white in school, in addition to the ridiculously Chinese button he was forced to wear by his parents every day.
Henry`s loneliness in Rainer Elementary is short-lived as he is joined by a second-generation Japanese girl named Keiko. Keiko becomes a companion to Henry.Keiko is nothing like Henry, apart from being non-white Americans. Despite Keiko`s origin, she hails from a family that proudly identifies themselves as Americans, her English is flawless contrary to Henry`s ‘troubled’ English. “Keiko halted and looked at Henry. She looked down at his button, the one his father had made him wear. ‘You are Chinese, aren't you, Henry?’ He nodded, not knowing how to answer. That's fine. ‘Be who you are,’ she said, turning away, a look of disappointment in her eyes. ‘But I'm an American.’ (p60). Nevertheless, their shared interest in art and Jazz music in addition to their segregated race brings them even closer. They become so close due to similarities in various issues and interests. The close relationship between Henry and Keiko was triggered by their difference in race to the general American population around them.
Jamie Ford also brings the reader’s attention to the cause of tension and anxiety in Nihonmachi, Seattle`s Japantown. During the 1940s when the countries were preparing to engage in World War II, the Japanese were branded as dangerous enemies to the Americans. We are told by the writer that the law enforcements engaged in raucous activities, like unlawful arrests and harassment of innocent American-Japanese citizens. It was an unfortunate unfolding of events. Henry and Keiko witness a police raid during which innocent member of the Japanese community are arrested and accused of crimes they did not even commit. As a result of this anxiety and fearful atmosphere created by law enforcers in Nihonmachi, Keiko`s family is forced to relocate to the more safer pre-internment camp.
The distance between Keiko and Henry does little to sever their relationship. Contrary to what is expected, their relationship transcends the distance and long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. Henry devices a means to meet Keiko in her new location, Minidoka Relocation Center in Idaho. Through the help of his friend, Sheldon, he travels to Idaho to meet Keiko. In some way, this distance seems to have strengthened their relationship, as we see both characters intensively communicating through letters throughout the period before Henry travels to China to complete his education in the post-war era.
As Henry pursues his education in China, he constantly pens-down to Keiko, but is disheartened by the few replies which he receives. Nevertheless, Henry religiously writes to his love in America, that the mail clerk even takes notice of Henry`s devotion to writing to Keiko. Unfortunately, Henry`s patience reaches its limits and he stops writing to Keiko. He assumes that Keiko moved on with life and forgot everything about him, Henry starts having a casual relationship with a beautiful Chinese lady named Ethel. As expected, his anti-Japanese father readily welcomes this friendship which serves his principles. On the day the war was officially declared over, Henry proposed to Ethel amidst the blitz of fireworks and the two thereafter became man and wife. We are however told near the end of the story of how Henry discovers that his father had betrayed him by severing the line of communication between him and Keiko. Through his connection with the post office, he ensured none of Henry`s mails reached Keiko. We can therefore attribute Henry and Ethel`s marriage to Henry`s father malicious act and betrayal.
Upon realizing his father`s betrayal, Henry lives the better part of his adult life in anguish searching for the lost love of his life on the streets they once trod. Unfortunately, he loses his wife Ethel to cancer, and grieves her death in addition to trying to bridge that gap between him and his modern Chinese-American son. We can correctly conclude that Henry`s life was made miserable from his realization of how his father betrayed him.
The story ends with Henry finally meeting Keiko. Henry travels to New York to celebrate his son`s wedding to a blonde American girl, and also to pursue what he had been once too frightened to and discouraged to follow. Through a package sent to a funeral home, Henry`s son is able to track Keiko, and Henry goes to see her. The writer tells us that through Henry and Marty`s, his son, estranged relationship, he opens up to his son about his first love Keiko. This is what pushed Marty to engage in the long search of his father`s first love, which facilitated their reunion. We can therefore say that Henry`s efforts to bridge the gap between him and his son contributed to the ultimate reunion with his first love, Keiko.
CITATIONS
Ford, Jamie. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel. New York: Ballantine Books, 2009. Print
