Previous
The Panama Hotel (1986)
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Belonging, Bigotry, and Identity
Silence vs. Communication
Family Dynamics and Inheritance
Memory
Love and Self-Sacrifice
Summary
Analysis
Henry returns home and turns on the news to listen for information about the discovery at the hotel. Soon, Marty arrives for a visit. Marty is a college student studying chemistry, and Henry quietly resents the fact that he only seems to visit when he needs to do laundry or borrow money. Today, Marty presents Henry with a lai see (lucky-money) envelope containing his transcript and proudly tells his father that he will be graduating summa cum laude.
With the introduction of Marty’s character, the narration makes clear that Henry has a strained relationship with his son. Henry seems to crave more of an emotional connection with Marty—not just a transactional one, where Marty only visits when he needs something. However, as ensuing chapters will show, part of the reason Henry struggles to forge a deeper connection with his son is due to the toxic relationship Henry had with his own father. Though a small detail, the fact that Marty brings Henry a lai see envelope to share his good news foreshadows the fact that Henry and Marty will be able to improve their relationship. Henry and Marty’s communication is damaged, but Marty’s gift of the traditional Chinese envelope shows that he has a deep respect of his father.
Themes
Henry jokes that next time he sees Marty, the roles will be reversed and he will have to borrow money from his son. Marty tells his father that if he wants him to finish his college degree, he will “put him on scholarship.” Though he doesn’t say anything to Marty, the word scholarship triggers painful memories for Henry. He remembers dropping out of college because he “had a hard time fitting in,” and also thinks about his elementary school days and “the unkind glances of school-yard enemies,” which make “a harsh contrast to the smiling innocence of their yearbook pictures” in the yearbook Henry still has.
For the first time, the reader gets a glimpse at Henry’s difficult childhood. While the novel will delve into Henry’s school days as a young boy, it is noteworthy that this passage mentions Henry had trouble fitting in even when he was in college. The difficulty of finding acceptance and community as a nonwhite first-generation American is clearly not limited to one’s childhood. Though Henry has grown into a mostly well-adjusted and successful adult, quiet, painful moments like this one emphasize that his journey toward belonging is an ongoing one.
Themes
