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John Kwang
Eduardo is a young Latino man who works for John Kwang. When Henry first meets him, he’s told that Eduardo is a college student studying political science and helping Kwang’s organization when he’s not studying. He strikes Henry as a very devoted volunteer, though he also looks older than his purported age of 23. Kwang, for his part, is very fond of Eduardo and lets him handle the “money club” (or ggeh) that he has established to help financially empower his constituents. After discovering that Eduardo is actually a spy, though, Kwang hires a Korean gang to handle the situation, and the gang bombs the Kwang headquarters while Eduardo is working late one night. Eduardo dies in the blast, attracting controversy and media attention to Kwang’s entire political operation. At first, Henry doesn’t know why Eduardo was killed and fears that his own company, Glimmer & Company, had something to do with it. But Kwang eventually tells him the truth while drinking one night, and Henry realizes that Eduardo must have been working for Glimmer & Company, too—perhaps to make sure Henry didn’t mess up the Kwang assignment.
Eduardo Quotes in Native Speaker
The Native Speaker quotes below are all either spoken by Eduardo or refer to Eduardo. 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:
).
Chapter 16
Quotes
And I think she’s saying it perfectly, just like she should. When you’re too careful you can’t say anything. You can’t imagine the play of the words in your head. You can’t hear them, and they all sound like they belong to somebody else.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19
Quotes
He is no longer moving in his customary way. He looks old and weary, like he’s standing still. He decides to make a brief appearance for the media in the foyer of the ruined offices (against the repeated warnings of Janice, who hates the shot—all that shadowy wreckage and defeat), and with the barrage of questions and arc lights and auto winders he actually falters. Perhaps for the first time in his public life he mumbles, his voice cracks, and even an accent sneaks through.
“[…] He worked for me for nothing, the same as you. For nothing, except for what I might show him about our life, what is possible for people like us. I thought this is what he wanted. Was I crazy? I would have given him anything in my power. But he was betraying us, Henry. Betraying everything we were doing. […] I loved him, Henry, I grieve for him, but he was disloyal, the most terrible thing, a traitor.”
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Eduardo Quotes in Native Speaker
The Native Speaker quotes below are all either spoken by Eduardo or refer to Eduardo. 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:
).
Chapter 16
Quotes
And I think she’s saying it perfectly, just like she should. When you’re too careful you can’t say anything. You can’t imagine the play of the words in your head. You can’t hear them, and they all sound like they belong to somebody else.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19
Quotes
He is no longer moving in his customary way. He looks old and weary, like he’s standing still. He decides to make a brief appearance for the media in the foyer of the ruined offices (against the repeated warnings of Janice, who hates the shot—all that shadowy wreckage and defeat), and with the barrage of questions and arc lights and auto winders he actually falters. Perhaps for the first time in his public life he mumbles, his voice cracks, and even an accent sneaks through.
“[…] He worked for me for nothing, the same as you. For nothing, except for what I might show him about our life, what is possible for people like us. I thought this is what he wanted. Was I crazy? I would have given him anything in my power. But he was betraying us, Henry. Betraying everything we were doing. […] I loved him, Henry, I grieve for him, but he was disloyal, the most terrible thing, a traitor.”
