Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet Essay

Written by Jamie Ford, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet follows the life of Henry Lee, a young Chinese-American boy living in Seattle in the 1940’s during World War II, and his reflections on his youth later, in the 1980’s. The novel illustrates the theme that loyalty is important in times of hardship. Henry deals with both loyalty and the absence of it as he copes with his broken relationship with his father, his forbidden, but strong friendship with a Japanese girl, Keiko, and his awkward connection with his son. Henry’s father, a strict, war-obsessed man essentially dictates Henry’s life, distancing the two as Henry continues to oppose his father’s views. Because of his father’s controlling ways, there is little love to be lost between the father and son. This animosity between them can be seen when Henry is about to leave his apartment to retrieve the family photos of his Japanese friend Keiko. His father tells him that should Henry leave to help Keiko, he “[is] no longer part of this family” (Ford 185).

The two, both dealing with the loss of someone tremendously important and close to them, would be better off supporting each other, but instead they break away from their bond and deal with the pain alone. Since “[Henry] and Marty hadn’t talked much since the funeral,” (Ford 9), “it made the hole in Henry’s life that much larger,” (Ford 9). Not too many years after Ethel’s death, and after awkward and unfamiliar encounters between father and son, Marty introduces his father to Samantha, Marty’s fiancée. Henry is overjoyed that Marty wants to show him a part of his life, and the three start to uncover Henry’s past, bringing them all closer. Finally restoring their bond, Marty and Henry find that it’s easier to cope with their loss of Ethel than to ignore the grief like they had