The novel “The Orphan Master’s Son” by Adam Johnson has touched hearts of millions of readers. It is a story that provokes everyone to think deeper about the regimes that we are exposed to and the lives that we have. It is a story that reveals the effect of regime on the lives of real people. This book provides a new approach for revealing the flaws of our society and how system may have effect on the lives of people. The author chooses North Korea as a setting for his novel in order to show the reader how people are losing themselves in case power of the government is not being regulated by population.
The novel “The Orphan Master’s Son” is oftentimes being compared to “1984” by Orwell. Both of these works present a topic of identity and the struggles of life that people are facing. For instance, a literary critic John Tyler Allen call the novel by Adam Johnson as the following “Adam Johnson’s modern Orwellian epic” (Allen Web). It is very easy to draw the parallels between these two works that are written by different authors. Both of them discuss a topic of identity and its relationship with the system that people are being affected by. However, unlike George Orwell, Adam Johnson sets his fictional story in a real country North Korea which is being dreaded by many people because of its notorious governmental system which is better
known as dictatorship. Frankly speaking, it is very brave of the author to choose North Korea and mention it in his novel since it is obvious that Adam Johnson had a choice to create his own fictional country. His novel received a Pulitzer award in 2013 (Pulitzer Web). North Korea is one of the most unknown and isolated countries in the world. Jun Do is the main character of the analyzed novel and his adventures are being presented in the story. He is a character who undergoes through three transformations in his identity throughout the novel. At first, he is a soldier. Then he becomes a professional kidnapper. After that, he is recruited as a surveillance agent. The character is fighting for his life with the government and system of North Korea throughout the whole novel. North Korea is a unique place and the novel is set during the rule of Kim Jong-il who is no longer alive. Adam Johnson has a similar idea as George Orwell. He presents North Korea as a country where citizens are being affected and persuaded by the propaganda that they get from the news. People do not get free access to any additional source of information because they are confident that their lifestyle corresponds to the highest standards. In the novel, such countries as the United Kingdom and the United States are shown as the representatives who are trying to break this loop of propaganda and reveal reality to the citizens of North Korea. However, a life of North Korea is so distant and isolated that they are unable to help people.
It is interesting that the author Adam Johnson traveled to North Korea himself. Therefore, it might answer the question whether all the details from his novel are fictional. The storyline in the novel is fully fictional. However, it is necessary to state since the author has been to the country himself, he grasped some ideas that he represented in the novel. Although, it is important
Jun Do is the character who is undergoing the process of the search for his identity. His country has a number of expectations for his life and roles that he has to play in the general system. He gets to know that any utterances that may provoke a thought about his unfaith to the government may get him into prison which is likely to be the best punishment. People may also die for saying something against the government that they are not expected to say. The author states in the novel “Where we are from, stories are factual. If a farmer is declared a music virtuoso by the state, everyone had better start calling him maestro. And secretly, he’d be wise to start practicing the piano. For us, the story is more important than the person. If a man and his story are in conflict, it is the man who must change.” (Johnson Web). Citizens of North Korea are being tailored for the needs and expectations of the government. In case someone is acting differently from what they are saying or the other way around, they will be punished by the system. Jun Do is a victim of the system. He is desperately trying to fulfil all the assignments that he is getting from his government in order to live up to the expectations. However, at the same time after all the transformations that he goes through, he ends up in Prison 33 which can be compared to concentration camps during World War II. After that, a reader is being introduced to the nameless state interrogator who loses his identity as well. He is caught in between the patriotism that his parents are promoting and also the life of Jun Do. He is not sure what to do and how to please the system and at the same time to stay true to himself.
One of the most obnoxious comparisons that the author is providing is the messages from the loudspeaker that all the citizens are able to hear. These messages tell about the life of Jun Do, but some of them have a different interpretation. It is the representation of the supremacy of the government and how they are able to shape the ideas that people have about life in their own country. The next part of the story describes how Jun Do is ready to give up his identity for the woman that he was in love with. Therefore, the author throws in the plot some real feelings that people cannot deny. Of course, they are still being hypnotized by the propaganda of their government, but it is hard to dictate to people how they are supposed to feel. It is an example of true love where sacrifice took place. The author provides an image of the leader Kim Jong il. In some of the interviews, Adam Johnson states that he was supposed to make the image of the leader who is less harsh in order for readers to believe in his writing. However, it is also believed that after his death people can get more information about King Jong il.
Adam Johnson is not the only author to shed the light of truth on North Korea. One of the books which are full of similar experiences and ideas is “The Girl with Seven Names” by Hyeonseo Lee. If to consider this other novel than it is pretty to believe that maybe Adam Johnson was portraying a real situation that he could have observed in North Korea. The book “The Girl with Seven Names” is a story of escape from North Korea. Lee tells a story that is about her personal experience and life. Before she turned seventeen she lived in North Korea, but she knew that she cannot stay there because it is not a life that she wants to have. She escaped
North Korea, but soon she realized that there are many other governments that cover up the life of North Korea. It is a book that reveals many facts about North Korea and system that is working there. According to Star Tribune: “books about North Korea came from journalists and diplomats who spent relatively little time there” (Ramstad Web). It is one of the books that provides verified information from the inside. The author tells about all the struggles she had to go through. However, her adventures do not stop on her escaping. She also wants to take her mother and brother out from North Korea. All of these events are described in the book and it is a proof to the fiction story written by Adam Johnson.
In conclusion, it is important to state that it is easy to lose identity even without the intrusion of the government. However, the novel “The Orphan Master’s Son” by Adam Johnson presents us a unique presentation of North Korea. It was very brave of the author to travel to the described in the book country in order to make his book more trustable. North Korea and its government stay a mystery country for many people. This novel can release some information about the situation in the region. However, there are such books as “The Girl with Seven Names” by Hyeonseo Lee that let the reader learn even more about life in North Korea. All of the facts that are presented in the books are terrifying and they are worth the attention of the public in order to know how to help people of North Korea. However, the question is whether they want our help after all or are they happy with their lives and there is nothing to worry about. The answers to these questions will depend on the person’s world outlook. However, both of the novels will provide some answers to the mysteries of North Korea as a system and a country that people has to live in.
Works Cited
Allen, John Tyler. "The Orphan Master's Son, Adam Johnson." World Literature Today. N.p., 09
Aug. 2012. Web. 25 Jan. 2017.
Johnson, Adam. "The Orphan Master's Son." Read Any Book. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2017.
Lee, Hyeonseo, and David John. The girl with seven names: a North Korean defector's story.
London: William Collins, 2015. Print.
Pulitzer.org. "The Orphan Master's Son, by Adam Johnson (Random House)." The Pulitzer
Prizes. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2017.
Ramstad, Evan. "Review: 'The Girl With Seven Names,' by Hyeonseo Lee, with David John;
North Korean defector's life on the run." Star Tribune. N.p., July 2016. Web. 25 Jan.
2017.
