Henry’s “I Am Chinese” Button Symbol in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

The “I Am Chinese” button that Henry’s father insists on wearing represents how complex and fluid identity is. Over the course of the novel, the button (or one like it) is worn by Henry, the racist school bully Chaz Preston, Henry’s father, Henry’s mother, and (indirectly) Keiko. At one point, Henry’s father even tries to force him to wear a similar button that says, “I’m An American.” The button is a tangible identity label, but over the course of the novel Henry learns firsthand how complex identity really is, and how much pain results from trying to oversimplify what it means to belong to a certain group. The button also speaks to how strained Henry’s relationship is with his father. Oversimplified identity is being forced on Henry on a societal level—he knows this well enough from people like Chaz who call him a “Jap” at school. But ultimately it is Henry’s father who forces him to wear the button, and thus Henry’s relationship to the button itself (which he wears as protection and takes off in disgust at various points at the novel) comes to symbolize his relationship to his father. Ultimately, Henry breaks free of his father, but it’s as painful as the moment when Henry gets the pin of the button jammed into the flesh of his hand.

Henry’s “I Am Chinese” Button Quotes in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet quotes below all refer to the symbol of Henry’s “I Am Chinese” Button. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Belonging, Bigotry, and Identity Theme Icon

“‘I am Chinese,’” Chaz read out loud. “It don’t make no difference to me, shrimp, you still don’t celebrate Christmas, do you?”

[…]

“Ho, ho, ho,” Henry replied. […] We do celebrate Christmas, along with Cheun Jit, the lunar new year. But no, Pearl Harbor Day is not a festive occasion.

Related Characters: Henry Lee (speaker), Chaz Preston (speaker)

Related Symbols: Henry’s “I Am Chinese” Button

Page Number and Citation: 18

Explanation and Analysis:

“I can be Chinese too,” she teased him, pointing at Henry’s button. “Hou noi mou gin.” It meant “How are you today, beautiful?” in Cantonese.

“Where did you learn that?”

[…] “I looked it up at the library.”

“Oai deki te ureshii desu,” Henry returned.

For an awkward moment, they just looked at each other, beaming, not knowing what to say, or in which language to say it.

Related Characters: Henry Lee (speaker), Keiko Okabe (speaker)

Related Symbols: Henry’s “I Am Chinese” Button

Page Number and Citation: 121

Explanation and Analysis:

Henry’s “I Am Chinese” Button Symbol Timeline in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

The timeline below shows where the symbol Henry’s “I Am Chinese” Button appears in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...to improve his English. On this day at breakfast, Henry’s father has just pinned a button reading “I Am Chinese” on his son’s school shirt. Henry, confused, asks: “If I’m not... (full context)

Sheldon comments on Henry’s “I Am Chinese” button, saying: “That’s a darn good idea, what with Pearl Harbor and all.” Henry grumblingly explains... (full context)

...you Japs don’t salute American flags, do you?” In response, Henry silently points to his button, which Chaz reads aloud. “It don’t make no difference to me, shrimp,” he says. “You... (full context)

...he goes he shoves Henry to the ground and rips off his “I Am Chinese” button, pinning it to his own shirt. (full context)

...Henry insists Keiko is just a friend. He points to the new “I Am Chinese” button his father made him to replace the one Chaz stole. “My parents would kill me... (full context)

...an agent confronts Henry and Keiko, but Henry frantically points to the “I Am Chinese” button he is still wearing. Oscar and Sheldon also come to the children’s defense. When Keiko... (full context)

...Henry apologizes for bringing her to the club, and sees Keiko look down at his button. “You are Chinese, aren’t you, Henry?” Henry is unsure how to respond, but nods anyway.... (full context)

...Henry continues with his “mixed translation,” he notices Chaz flashing him the “I Am Chinese” button he stole from him, along with “a bucktoothed grin” that none of the adults notices. (full context)

...photos and asks Henry, “Where is home exactly?” Henry points to his “I Am Chinese” button, and says that a friend asked him to hold the photos for her. The officer... (full context)

...you—besides, my husband is off fighting…” Henry steps forward and puts his “I Am Chinese” button on the counter. “I’ll buy it,” he says. (full context)

Reluctantly, the woman sells Henry the record. Henry pockets his button, and leads Keiko out of the store; he thinks that “the joy of her surprise”... (full context)

...Henry should go home, too, he says. “Your family’s going to be just as worried. Button or no button.” Henry and Keiko say “a wordless goodbye” and then “each [run] in... (full context)

...Japanese families in their city. Henry’s father insists that Henry wear his “I Am Chinese” button “on the outside” of his clothes “where everyone can see it.” Henry’s mother and father... (full context)

...his own parents: “Why hadn’t anyone ever explained it that way? Instead he got a button and was forced to speak his American.” (full context)

...and points to Henry; he touches his own chest and feels his “I Am Chinese” button against his fingers. (full context)

...a few other Chinese people in the crowd, all of whom wear “I Am Chinese” buttons that match his own. Henry touches his button and thinks, “This is what gold feels... (full context)

...going back to screaming at the children and crying mothers walking by.” Spotting the old button Chaz stole from him, and that he still wears, Henry jumps off the mailbox and... (full context)

...beaten, but he looks down triumphantly at his hand, into which his “I Am Chinese” button his stuck partway. He says to Sheldon “in his best English”: “Never felt better.” (full context)

Just then, Henry hears Keiko’s voice. Henry gives Keiko the button he’s recovered from Chaz. “Wear this,” he says, “and they’ll let you walk out of... (full context)

Keiko takes Henry’s hand, and asks to keep the button he gave her anyway, pinning it inside her diary. She tells Henry that she and... (full context)

...playing for everyone.” After a while, Henry leaves, returning to Chinatown. He takes off his button and puts it in his pocket, stopping to buy his mother a starfire lily on... (full context)

...in Japanese, “look[ing] brightly hopeful, then disappointed” when Henry points to his “I Am Chinese” button. Still, Henry hopes the prisoners will talk about him to each other, and that Keiko... (full context)

...take the Greyhound bus together. Henry is planning to give Keiko his “I Am Chinese” button and try to sneak her out of Camp Minidoka with him. Henry and Sheldon make... (full context)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Jamie Ford

Henry’s “I Am Chinese” Button Symbol Analysis

Henry’s “I Am Chinese” Button Quotes in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Henry’s “I Am Chinese” Button Symbol Timeline in Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet