“The Orphan Master’s Son” is by Adam Johnson. It centers on the idea of identity, how it is defined, and who gets to define it for someone. The novel examines the Orwellian life in the Republic of Korea and the influence of media on the setting, especially the western media. Themes of loss and love, incarceration, and freedom, propaganda, lies and truth, North Korean State power and technological surveillance are also covered. It follows the life of Jun Do, an orphan, who surrenders to the oppression from the government of North Korea which is cruel and impetuous. Jun Do is a version of John Doe, which means he could be any ordinary man. This essay does a thematic study of the novel.
In the novel, many social issues come about. For example, there is government oppression throughout. People get kidnapped, and their whereabouts are hidden from public glare. Women abuse is evident from the way women get married for selfish reasons. Fishermen marry them. Concisely, when the fishermen need to leave so that they can be used as collateral. Tattoos are used as a mark to identify the fishermen who are married. The government uses propaganda to rule the republic the way is deemed right. People also oppress each other. One would think that orphans would look out for each other, but this is not the case. Jun Do mistreats the other children in the orphanage by not feeding them; giving them hazardous work and making them sleep in the cold where they get sick.
Many themes are covered in the novel. For example, the theme of darkness is highly explored. Jun Do trained to fight and move while in the tunnel to prepare him to do some things he had to do in the dark. North Korea is in the Dark. Jun Do wonders what was out there in the darkness (Johnson 66). He says, “The key to fighting in the dark you had to perceive your opponent, sense him, and never use your imagination the real darkness around you” (Jonhson 15). Later, he got involved in activities like undercover kidnappings, fighting in a prison that was in a mine with Commander Ga, and surveillance of water vessels in the night. Later he wonders what one feels like when he gets out of the darkness.
The theme of good citizenship and limitation of freedom in North Korea is also covered in the novel. People are used to being dictated to on how to live and think. Even Jun Do does not like freedom, and he talks to Wanda about how he only finds the North Korean live having a sense to him. He says that without the Korean Government’s boundaries, he would be scared and lost. However, his opinion changes when he gets imprisoned having done no wrong thing. Then, he longs for freedom.
The theme of loss is constantly repeated. For example, Jun Do’s mother leaves him behind, the girls at the bar left people behind. Fishermen left their wives behind to act as collateral. The people that were kidnapped, for example, the singer, also left people. Evidently, there had to be asked, “What about the people left behind?” (p. 46) it is not also clear why the ones that left disappear. For example, Jun Do’s mother whereabouts are not known. People do not also know where the retirees disappeared. When Commander Ga disappears, people think that he is dead, but no one knows this for sure.
In the novel, the theme of loyalty fits in well. For example, Jun Do is named after a Korean martyr, Pac Jun Do, who committed suicide so as to prove that he was loyal. People constantly doubt Jun Do’s loyalty because he is an orphan. They think that he knows nothing about being loyal, and is therefore not able to be loyal.
The theme of pain is evident illustrated by different death experienced in the novel. The pain experienced by significant others are either mental, spiritual, psychological or physical. There is the physical, mental and emotional pain. Everyone can and will do anything and everything imaginable and necessary so as to survive in the novel. For many they grief, though, this is not even enough.
The stylistic use of narratives helps in the development of the story. People’s identities are informed and shaped by stories –the ones they are told by other people and the things that they tell themselves. The stories are either propaganda that seems true or fictitious. The stories are used to show why it is wrong for the government to be the sole source of information. An intelligent government agent called Dr. Song tells Jun Do that, “stories are factual more important than the person” in North Korea. This situation is so severe such that, “If a man and his story are in conflict, it is the man who must change (Johnson 36).” In this setting, fiction stories can be made reality, and real people in a story can be made the character. There is a competition between fiction and the truth, with a difference coming about according to one being told the story. Deciding whether the truth is the best in a given situation gets complicated at times. For example, it is not known whether Jun Do’s father is his father and knowing the truth is not helpful.
Because the novel is a little episodic, its principal characters are many. There is Jun Do, his associates at the orphanage and they grew up and left together, then the tunnel where they learned how to fight together, at the kidnap missions where they captured people together, and at the school where they learned the language together. There is also fishing people, the Captain, the old man who was an interrogator, and the American woman who used to row the boat. The rower who went around the world at the night time until dawn is captured and it is said that her companion who rowed at the day time had killed her. In prison, there is Mongnan and other people. Commander Buc and others in the trip to Taxes are also characters in the novel.
Pak Jun Do is the protagonist of the novel. He was raised as an orphan in a North Korean orphanage although his parents were still alive. His father runs the shelter as the orphan master, and his mother who was a musician had either ran away from home or gotten kidnapped by the government. Other children do not believe that he is the son of the man who runs it, but he is entirely convinced. He is both a hero and the central character of the novel. He is at first manipulated by the government, but he later manipulates it when he gets the opportunity. He has some responsibilities in the orphanage. He decided on where the orphans sleep, what they eat, and work. He even leaves some in the cold to get sick, to go hungry, and to work at life-threatening places. He gets trained as a tunnel fighter and becomes a soldier. He then is promoted to a radio transmitter, and he gets to work on a boat that is used for fishing. He gets promoted after becoming a kidnapper for the state and doing a good job. Later he attempts to get freedom from the government and its boundaries.
Commander Ga is a hero in the Republic and also a Kim Jong II’s rival. He disappears mysteriously, and many think that he dies, but no one knows for sure. His wife is Sun-moon and is a famous actress in the country. Dear Leader is a character who represents Kim Jong-il, a dictator in the Republic of North Korean.
The novel has in it some complex human relationships and roles. I am particularly fascinated by the relationship between Jun Do and Sun-moon, Commander Ga’s wife. Jun Do has always longed to have connections with people. He does not get any until he takes Commander Ga’s identity and life. He stays in the same house with Sun-moon and her children. At first, she does not accept him in their lives but slowly gets used to having him around. Then, he gets the sense of belonging that is genuine and that he cherishes. He later helps them to escape the oppression of the Republic of North Korea. This relationship has both universal aspects and North Korean. The two work in the country but wish to move out so as to have better lives.
In conclusion, the novel is a good representation of what goes on in the country. The themes and styles used in it help to bring out the novelists central idea of human oppression, survival and endeavors to escape oppression.
Work cited
Johnson, Adam. The Orphan Master's Son: A Novel. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2013. Print.
