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The end of C&I reflection

  If you asked me at the beginning of this school year if I considered myself to be globally educated, I would have said no. If you asked me that same question now, I would probably still say no but with slightly more hesitation. When I saw I was autoregistered in a class about literature of the world, I was a little disappointed. I am a stem person, through and through. I thought I would be so bored. However, after completing this course I have realized the immense importance of global cultural education. And not only in the current day, but the ways in which the past influences the present. In terms of what surprised me, I am shocked at how much I learned and how much the lessons in the various books stuck with me. If you told me Home Fire would affect me as much as it did, I would not believe you. Though I do not remember relating intensely to any one character, the perspectives from so many different walks of life allowed me to appreciate those around me more deeply and sincere...
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Pachinko

  Pachinko was a very important book. Not only did it touch on gender roles and the role of women in Asian society, it ended in a way that solidified the fact that Korean lives did not miraculously get easier one day. To end the book on that note would have been an unsubstantiated claim about Korean life. Now, I will admit that I hated the ending when I first read it. But hearing other’s thoughts on it in class made me realize the significance of the ending. Pretty everything in Pachinko is purposeful. From the historical references to the connection (or lack thereof) to biblical characters, Lee hand-picked each word in her book, and it yielded an impactful finished product. Death was also a major theme in the book. It kind of showed how, no matter how rich you are or how hard you work, everyone dies in the end. The distinction Lee made between the different deaths is how the deceased person is remembered. Isak’s grave gets visited frequently. He is loved by his family, and they ce...
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Yumi

  Yumi seems to be the most unlucky girl in the world. She has a horrible childhood, and is forced to flee with her sister. Then, her sister dies in her sleep. Then, she has to become a seamstress despite her only dream being to go to America. Then, she has two miscarriages. And lastly, she dies tragically while saving her son. She seemed to do everything right, and try so hard, only to be let down at every turn. This could correlate to the Korean struggle. In almost every case, no matter how hard a Korean at the time tried, there was no room for social mobility. Essentially, a Korean in Japan was cursed from the beginning, like Yumi. However, where Yumi differs from the average Korean is that she does not feel the need to be Japanese. The narrator, when speaking Yumi’s thoughts, says, “ But she could not imagine clinging to Japan, which was like a beloved stepmother who refused to love you," (295). Yumi recognizes the obsession many Koreans understandably have with Japan. However...
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Akiko

  Akiko is a strange character. I still cannot decide if I like her or not. Though she outwardly criticizes the segregation of peoples (as seen in her discussion in the college class about the book), it is always difficult to see the side of the aggressor as she does not seem to do much for the Korean community aside from talk. She is from a rich, Japanese family, and probably has never known hardship. The other point I thought of was the fact that we do not really see her interact with Koreans who are not educated and well-spoken. Who knows if she would be so eager to associate with someone from the “lesser” race if they did not speak Japanese, or could not attend college like she and Noa do. We also see her selfish nature as she injects herself into lunch with Hansu. This was simply an action done without thought, as there would have been no consequence to her had it gone badly. She seems like the type of person to only think deeply concerning matters that relate to her directly....
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Gender in Pachinko

  In the novel, there are characters that seem to have defined gender roles, and there are some that blur the lines. For example, Kyunghee seems to portray a typical woman. She is extremely loyal to her husband, and respects him almost to a fault. She is also described as beautiful. Without the introduction of Sunja, she may have never had the courage to ask for anything. For example, she had the lovely idea of constructing a kimchi business. She is able to partially achieve this dream, but she would not have been able to do it without the encouragement from Sunja. She seems to be smart, but just enough to be a good wife. In a parallel sense, Yoseb is very ‘manly’. He has a strange addiction to tradition, and we see him slip into anger when he senses he is losing control. These are traits typically associated with a man. Then there are characters like Sunja. She is never described as pretty, in fact she is described as quite the opposite. She explores her sexuality with Hansu, but ...
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Korean vs Japanese Culture

  In certain places in the novel, there is a strong sense that Korean culture is inferior to Japanese culture. Oftentimes, aspects of the Koreans in the book are described as dirty or outdated (specifically referencing the clothes). There also were mentions of the hygiene of Koreans being worse than the Japanese. The ghetto where the family lives in Osaka is also described as being disgusting. However, there is a conflicting sense that the Korean culture demands more respect. For the most part, the Koreans are described as hardworking and reverential, where the Japanese are described as deceitful and survivalist. In the beginning of the novel, the phrase “with both hands” is used many times. This is when the characters are in Korea. This phrase seems to die out, as it is not used for many decades. But, as Noa accepts a gift of comic books from Hansu, Lee writes, “Noa accepted them with both hands, the way his mother had taught him. The writing was in Korean,” (211). This single phr...
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Hansu vs Isak

  Hansu and Isak both have relationships with Sunja in the novel. However,  in both cases they seem to be “forced”. Maybe forced is not the right word but there is some circumstance that unfairly balances the power dynamic in both relationships. Hansu begins by eyeing Sunja from afar. She originally rejects him, which oddly compels him more (whatever happened to no means no). We sense that Sunja is flattered by his persistence, but this does not rationalize the way that we see Hansu treat Sunja. He begins by telling her to call him brother, which not only has an incestuous connotation, to also further perpetuates the power dynamic; she now seems him as superior. Hansu furthers this by talking about his life of grandeur, enchanting Sunja into thinking about a life so different from hers. She is drawn to the energy. The relationship between Sunja and Hansu is very one-sided. For the most part, they meet on his terms, where he does most of the talking. When they have sex, it seem...
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