Hotel on the Corner -- 3 sets of discussion questions

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (Discussion Questions issued by publisher)   1. Father-son relationships are a crucial theme in the novel. Talk about some of these relationships and how they are shaped by culture and time. For example, how is the relationship between Henry and his father different from that between Henry and Marty? What accounts for the differences? 2. Why doesn't Henry's father want him to speak Cantonese at home? How does this square with his desire to send Henry back to China for school? Isn't he sending his son a mixed message? 3. If you were Henry, would you be able to forgive your father? Does Henry's father deserve forgiveness? 4. From the beginning of the novel, Henry wears the "I am Chinese" button given to him by his father. What is the significance of this button and its message, and how has Henry's understanding of that message changed by the end of the novel? 5. Why does Henry provide an inaccurate translation when he serves as the go-between in the business negotiations between his father and Mr. Preston? Is he wrong to betray his father's trust in this way? 6. The US has been called a nation of immigrants. In what ways do the families of Keiko and Henry illustrate different aspects of the American immigrant experience? 7. What is the bond between Henry and Sheldon, and how is it strengthened by jazz music? 8. If a novel could have a soundtrack, this one would be jazz. What is it about this indigenous form of American music that makes it an especially appropriate choice? 9. Henry's mother comes from a culture in which wives are subservient to their husbands. Given this background, do you think she could have done more to help Henry in his struggles against his father? Is her loyalty to her husband a betrayal of her son? 10. Compare Marty's relationship with Samantha to Henry's relationship with Keiko. What other examples can you find in the novel of love that is forbidden or that crosses boundaries of one kind or another? 11. What struggles did your own ancestors have as immigrants to America, and to what extent did they incorporate aspects of their cultural heritage into their new identities as Americans? 12. Does Henry give up on Keiko too easily? What else could he have done to find her? 13. What about Keiko? Why didn't she make more of an effort to see Henry once she was released from the camp? 14. Do you think Ethel might have known what was happening with Henry's letters? 15. The novel ends with Henry and Keiko meeting again after more than forty years. Jump ahead a year and imagine what has happened to them in that time. Is there any evidence in the novel for this outcome? 16. What sacrifices do the characters in the novel make in pursuit of their dreams for themselves and for others? Do you think any characters sacrifice too much, or for the wrong reasons? Consider the sacrifices Mr. Okabe makes, for example, and those of Mr. Lee. Both fathers are acting for the sake of their children, yet the results are quite different. Why? 17. Was the US government right or wrong to "relocate" Japanese-Americans and other citizens and residents who had emigrated from countries the US was fighting in WWII? Was some kind of action necessary following Pearl Harbor? Could the government have done more to safeguard civil rights while protecting national security? 18. Should the men and women of Japanese ancestry rounded up by the US during the war have protested more actively against the loss of their property and liberty? Remember that most were eager to demonstrate their loyalty to the US. What would you have done in their place? What’s to prevent something like this from ever happening again?     Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford Book Club Discussion Questions   1. Why do you think Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet was told in flashbacks? What perspective can an older Henry give? 2. Father-son relationships are a crucial theme in the novel. For example, how is the relationship between Henry and his father different from that between Henry and Marty? How is it the same? 3. Why doesn't Henry's father want him to speak Cantonese at home? How does this square with the “"I am Chinese button? Or with the father’'s desire to send Henry back to China for school? 4. If you were Henry, could you forgive your father? 5. Characterize Mrs. Beatty. Did she surprise you? What does this suggest about the assumptions that often guide our judgments of people? 6. What sacrifices do the characters in the novel make in pursuit of their dreams for themselves and for others? Do you think any characters sacrifice too much, or for the wrong reasons? Consider the sacrifices Mr. Okabe makes, for example, and those of Mr. Lee. Both fathers are acting for the sake of their children, yet the results are quite different. Why? 7. Talk about Sheldon’'s role and that of jazz throughout the story. How are they important? 8. Henry's mother comes from a culture in which wives are subservient to their husbands. Given this background, could she have done more to help Henry in his struggles against his father? Is her loyalty to her husband a betrayal of her son? 9. Does Henry give up on Keiko too easily? What else could he have done to find her? What about Keiko? Why didn't she make more of an effort to see Henry once she was released from the camp? 10. Do you think Ethel might have known what was happening with Henry's letters? 11. The book ends with Henry and Keiko meeting again after more than forty years. What do you think happened after the end of the novel? 12. Should the men and women of Japanese ancestry rounded up by the US during the war have protested more actively against the loss of their property and liberty? Remember that most were eager to demonstrate their loyalty to the US. What would you have done in their place? What’'s to prevent something like this from ever happening again?     Discussion Questions for Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet   1. What are the examples of prejudice in the novel? 2. What are the sources of these various prejudices? That is, in the victim / victimizer relationship, what does the victimizer want, or what is s/he afraid of? 3. Compare and contrast Henry’s and Keiko’s fathers. Carefully consider the ways in which they are alike and the ways in which they are different. 4. Characterize Mrs. Beatty. Did she surprise you? What does this suggest about the assumptions that often guide our judgments of people? 5. What does Sheldon contribute to the story? In what ways does he demonstrate that he is a very wise man? 6. What are the ways in which Henry is similar to his own father? Consider his relationship with Marty. 7. Elie Wiesel a noble laureate and Holocaust survivor once said that “the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference.” How is this quotation represented in the novel The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet? 8. In the novel, fear motivates the government to turn its back on its own citizens and violate their fundament rights. What groups in America today have suffered discrimination based on fear? Has our government responded differently this time around? 9. The strength of a democratic society is based not on the concept of majority rule, but rather how well a society protects the rights of the minority opinion. How does this characteristic relate to the novel? 10. This has been called a story of hope. Do you agree or disagree with this claim? Why / not?