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Chapter 23
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Girl with Seven Names, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Oppression, Human Rights, and North Korea
Identity and Nationality
Family
Kindness
Summary
Analysis
In Koreatown, Hyeonseo sees a sign in the window of a restaurant advertising for waitresses. She goes inside and tells the woman at the cash register that her name is Jang Soon-hyang, and she is looking for work. The woman gives Hyeonseo a job for 50 yuan a month, which is about $40 dollars in the United States. Hyeonseo’s Mandarin is still poor, however, and it takes her awhile to get the hang of waitressing. Her customers suspect she is North Korea, but her employer never catches on, and Hyeonseo slowly falls into a routine. The other waitresses she lives with are kind, and Hyeonseo is soon promoted to the cash register and given a small raise.
Each day that Hyeonseo goes to her job and is seen in public, she risks being exposed as a North Korean, which again proves that the oppression doesn’t end just because one defects. The meager pay of the job further reflects this oppression, as Hyeonseo can never hope to get ahead on such a salary. The kindness of her employer and roommates, however, suggests that there really is kindness in the world, despite how awful it can seem at times.
Themes
