Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and afters is a story that explores the experiences of Chinese and Nipponese Americans during World War II with both insight and compassion. The story begins in 1986 with heat content, an elderly Chinese-American man walking past the Panama hotel in Seattle, which has been boarded up since the war. Memorabilia deep down the basement of the hotel take hydrogen back to 1942 and his fifth grade true love, a beautiful Japanese girl named Keiko. total heat and Keiko are the only if Asiatics in their all white elementary school, to which they are scholarship surrenderg and do non feel a sense of belonging or acceptance within the prevailing culture.Because Henrys nationalistic become has a hatred for Japan, Henry keeps their friendship and his love a secret until all contact is lost when Keikos family is displace to an internment camp. Tension between Henrys fathers traditional Chinese values and Henrys American perspective is a key motion when fo rty historic period after meeting Keiko, Henry, now a widow sits in the basement of the condemned hotel, holding long lost items which take him back to his puerility memories, thoughts and feelings.Henry recalls his early days of macrocosm tormented by his peers, firearm wearing an I am Chinese button daily, as his father did not want anyone mistaken about Henrys nationality. He also recalls risks taken to befriend Keiko, and their combined love for Jazz music, as well as times spent before the inevit fit evacuation of her family and of a love lost. While reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, we learn that Henry shares his breeding story with his own son, in hopes of pr correctting the dysfunctional alliance that he had experient many years ago with his own father.This story teaches us to examine the point and think twice, so that we do not repeat injustices within our own families. Feelings Experienced from the Reading There were multiple emotions that were provok ed in reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Disheartenment and anger were feelings provoked when Henrys father enrolled his son into an all-white school. Henry was called derogatory names, pushed around and forced to do chores at school. Henrys father gave him a pin that said, I am Chinese and told Henry he needed to wear it constantly.Not only were kids at Henrys school making fun of him for wearing the pin but other Chinese kids would tease him on his way to school. Henrys father wanted Henry to be Americanized however, the pin labeling him Chinese and nutrition in a household where he was the only one who spoke face triggered a combination of anger and Disheartenmen. There was realization of what Henrys father was attempting to do but the anger was triggered from putting his son in a situation that he was bullied on a daily bases instead of sending him to a different school.When Keiko enrolled in the school Henry attended the readers felt simpleness since Henry was able to relate with Keiko and develop a friendship with her. Henry was no longer the only non-Caucasian student at the school. This allowed Henry to bond with some other student his age and relate to someone else that was dealing with similar situations. However, Henry and Keiko were assigned to serve in the cafeteria where it appeared that only kids who were in interrupt were sent. The readers were upset that even the teachers and school staff were singling Henry and Keiko out.One of the most heart wrenching scenarios was when the Japanese American families were forced to relocate to internment camps. Feelings of empathy and sadness for their displacement were verbalized by these readers for the families. The families had less than two days to gather only things they could carry and leave their homes. Henry promised Keiko he would keep her familys belongings they were not able to take with them that identified them as Japanese in a safe place in his house.Terror set into the rea ders when Henrys father found Keikos items and disowned Henry. As Henry struggled to find himself he connected more with Sheldon who played Jazz music in the streets. This gave the reader a sense of comfort that after losing Keiko and his father he was able to connect with someone who respected him and supported who Henry was. Mrs. Beatty who was the cafeteria cook asked Henry to help her in the internment camps to serve the concourse living there. This scenario brought hope to the reader that Mrs.Beatty understood and empathized with what Henry was feeling when Keiko was forced to leave. Each time Henry connected with Keiko at the internment camp it elicited joy that Henry did not allow the difference in him and Keiko to impact his feelings. It was disappointing to read Keiko never returned from the internment camp. Henrys decision to move on with Ethyl was shocking and somewhat disappointing. After being married and sharing a son, Ethyl passed away which was other gloomy experi ence in the book.It was a surprise when Henry chose to look for Keikos items that she left behind. Henrys reflection on his relationship with his son, Marty and the desire to improve it was heartwarming as was the relationship Henry developed with Samantha, Martys fiance. As the story came to an end and Henry was face to face again with Keiko it brought delight to the reader that after all these years and all the heart wrenching experience they were able to reconnect like they had never been apart.Reactive Behaviors from the ethnic Proficiency Continuum There are three points on the Cultural Proficiency Continuum that describe ethnic intolerance, which include cultural destructiveness, cultural incapacity, and cultural blindness (Corwin, 2010, p. 1). According to Cross, et. al. (1989), four barriers to cultural proficiency head for the hills an organization or individual to intolerance, including unawareness of the need to adapt, resistance to change, presumption of en callment, and systems of oppression (p. ). Ford (2009) provided many scenes that can illustrate both the three points on the continuum reflecting both the attitudes of cultural intolerance, as well as the four barriers to cultural proficiency in the novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. According to Cross, et. al. (1989), unawareness of the need to adapt is seen when wad do not think an organization needs to accommodate diversity, but instead feel as though members of non-dominant separates need to adapt to the organization (p. 1). few illustrations Ford provided of an unawareness of the need to adapt took place in Rainier Elementary School and the linked States government (Ford, 2009). The elementary school forced Henry and Keiko, the only students of color, to spend their lunch time serving all of the white students and cleaning the kitchen, and allowed them to be bullied mercilessly by classmates (Ford, 2009). universal Proclamation One, written by the United States president and the secretary of war, was distributed and executed (p. 124).It demanded immediate evacuation of all persons of Japanese ancestry (p. 124). This proclamation illustrates that the United States government was apparently unaware that it is vituperate to throw away people based on their status as members of a non-dominant group. According to Cross, et. al. (1989), resistance to change is seen when organization members stick to methods that do not work for people (p. 1). Ford (2009) provided illustrations of resistance to change within the following organizations Rhodes surgical incision Store (pp. 12-4), and Henrys family (pp. 125-9). Primarily, in Fords novel, Keiko was overjoyed to buy a special record for Henry, but the Rhodes Department Store clerk did not want to sell it to her as she appeared to be of Japanese heritage (p. 113-4). The clerk eventually begrudgingly sold the record to Henry when he showed her his, I am Chinese button (p. 114). The clerk showed a resistance to change in that she did not want to do business with people who appeared to be of Asian descent.Secondly, Ford (2009) described Henrys exchange with his family once Public Proclamation One was posted, in which his father stated, better them than us (p. 125). Henrys mother went on to explain the trouble the family could encounter if they attempted to help Japanese American families, and explained Henrys fathers background of war between China and Japan (p. 126-7). Taken together, the comments of the parents do not deny that it is wrong to force members of the non-dominant group to evacuate their homes and be imprisoned, but rather resist the idea that anything should be done about it at the current time.Ford weaves illustrations of another barrier to cultural proficiency, systems of oppression and privilege, through with(predicate)out the novel. Examples of this include the way that Keiko and Henry are singled out to serve in the cafeteria, the way that Henry is bullied by his class mates, and that those of Japanese ancestry are forced to go to concentration camps. A thematic element that ties many of these scenes together is that of the I am Chinese button.Henrys disdain for the button because of it hurtful meaning with his father who sends him mixed messages that he must be both Americanized, yet declare his Chinese ancestry through the wearing of the button is contrasted by his use of the button at times to gain privilege, such as when he was allowed to purchase the album at the store, dapple Keiko was not. Despite this small gain in privilege from wearing the button, it also served to foster oppression by his classmate, Chaz, who bullied him for his non-membership in the dominant culture, even ripping the pin off Henry (location 339 of 4683).The button can further be used to illustrate a final barrier to cultural proficiency entitlement. While Henry clearly hated the button, there were also times when he used it or attempted to use it to his advantage and to the advantage of Keiko and her family, whom he cared about. For example, when the police raided the confidential information hall that he and Keiko were at and arrested several Japanese couples in attendance, he used it to protect him and Keiko because there was a level of entitlement to civil rights that was inherent to being Chinese rather than Japanese (location 896 of 4683).Another clear sense of entitlement at the government level was documented by the taking away and selling of place that was owned by Japanese people. (location 1372 of 4683). Proactive Behaviors from the Cultural Proficiency Continuum The following three points on the left side of the Cultural Proficiency Continuum are proactive expressions, shaped by principals culture is a predominant force, people are served in varying degrees by the dominant culture, and people have individual and group identities. According to Cross et al, (1989) culture is a predominant force.It is the essence of the societal exist ence and cannot be over looked. In the book, Hotel on The Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Ford, 2009) Henry relates to other Chinese notables like Bruce Lee and His own son Brandon because he is of Chinese decent. Incidentally, the place was lonely because people did not talk to their neighbors ascribable to some cultural differences. The life of Henry was lonely like a grave this displays a cultural aspect of burying the dead which is not commons in the Chinese culture. According to Cross et al, (1989) people are served in varying degrees by the dominant culture.Ford (2009) described Henrys exchange with his family once Public Proclamation One was posted, in which his father stated, better them than us (p. 125). His father had participated in the war between the Chinese and the Japanese. The Americans helped the Japanese American families and this made Henrys father feel inferior to others due to the treatment such families had. Even in schools, the treatment of people was predominan tly dictated by the dominant culture and teachers turned a blind eye to mischief.In a edict people have individual and group identities that define their ways and behavior (Cross et al, 1989). A good example from the book is described when Henry follows a news lot to the hotel that seems to stand between life-times just like him. The news crew members form group while the camera-shy onlookers walked away to form a clear path have individual identities (Ford, 2009). Henry himself forms his own individual identity as a man in a place full of strangers (Ford, 2009).Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, evokes the feelings that are described in the title throughout the telling of the incredible story of one of the most conflicted and volatile times during American history (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Reading gathering Guides, 2013)The story is told from the point of view of a young Chinese boy and simultaneously from his observations and reflections year s later of the time period in which Henry witnessed and experienced the internment of Japanese Americans in his neighborhood and prejudices toward himself from being of Chinese heritage.The story elicits feelings of bitterness and sweetness Bitterness toward unfairness, injustice, discrimination and how the experience of fear can lead to irrational actions and the inhumane treatment of others, sweetness of innocence, understanding, kindness and sympathetic responses to those same conditions. The novel inherently addresses The Tools of Cultural Proficiency (Corwin, 2010) and demonstrates examples from the continuum of destruction, incapacity, blindness, precompetence, competence, and proficiency.The author covers these phases of cultural proficiency while the reader is at the same time experiencing the conflicting emotions of bitter and sweet, hope and disappointment, and witnessing acts of fear and courage. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet has a lasting postage stamp on the reader. While telling the lifelong personal story of Henry it incorporates many lessons that would be difficult to forget.The reader gains knowledge of the historical account of the Japanese Americans internment during World War II, the personal effects of discrimination on individuals and the greater culture, and insight as to examples of how kindness, empathy and knowledge can be powerful forces for society to use in overcoming the result of fear, judgment and discrimination.The social work profession can gain a better understanding of generational trauma that has had a lasting result of the survivors and family members of Japanese Americans that lived this experience as well as cultural proficiency vs. the effects of prejudice and discrimination can be gained by reading this novel. The most important take away from this book would be incorporating the knowledge gained regarding cultural competency and utilizing it in the field of social work as well as in developing personal rela tionships with others.