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Chapter 59
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Sun is Also a Star, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Immigration and the American Dream
Passion vs. Reason
Interconnectedness and Destiny
Isolation vs. Connection
Summary
Analysis
Daniel imitates Min Soo and tells Natasha that Korean food is the best food. Daniel wonders if he'll still be able to get Natasha to fall in love with him, but reasons that he'll at least make her want to see him tomorrow. When they walk into the restaurant, the staff greets Daniel. Natasha asks him to order for her, and he rings the bell attached to the table. After he orders, Natasha remarks that the bell is genius and all restaurants should have one.
Even if Daniel is a second generation immigrant, he clearly still respects and enjoys his parents' culture. This suggests that he comfortably inhabits a space between cultures where he can experience and enjoy connections with both—unlike Charlie, for example, who unhappily tries to reject his Korean roots.
Themes
The complimentary side dish, panchan, arrives. Daniel braces himself to explain what it is, remembering a time a friend asked if it was dog, but Natasha doesn't ask. When the waitress hands Natasha chopsticks, Natasha asks for a fork. The waitress tells Daniel to teach his girlfriend to use chopsticks. Daniel explains that some people need things done their way, but Natasha insists that every culture does that.
Daniel's fear shows that he's not exempt from racism either, while the chopsticks debacle shows that Natasha is also at risk of experiencing judgment and prejudice. Note, too, that this happens all within an immigrant-owned restaurant, which suggests that even immigrant spaces aren't always safe.
Themes
The waitress arrives with seafood soup and two uncooked eggs. Daniel explains that it's called soon dubu, and Natasha mimics him when he cracks his egg into the soup. She takes a sip and deems it delicious, and then asks why Daniel calls himself Korean when he was born in America. He explains that people don't care where he's really from. He does sometimes tell people that he and his parents escaped from Kim Jong-un's torture chambers, but Natasha doesn't laugh. She asks why he does that, and Daniel insists that people will believe whatever they want.
When Daniel seems to imply that he can successfully make people believe his story about escaping from North Korea, it shows that he isn't above using people's misconceptions about the Korean peninsula as a whole for his own amusement, while also reinforcing that Americans aren't always interested in learning the truth about their immigrants or even fully allowing them to claim that they're American.
Themes
Natasha agrees that the way people think of Daniel sucks, and Daniel explains he's used to it: his parents think he's not Korean enough, and everyone else thinks he's not American enough. Natasha says that she thinks Daniel should tell the truth about where he's from. Daniel loves that it's so simple for her. Natasha explains that for her, it's easier because she's not from America. She recounts the first time she saw snow. She stood up to stare at it, and her classmates mocked her. Then, on her first spelling quiz, she spelled "favorite" as "favourite," which is the proper English spelling. She brought her dictionary to school the next day to get her missed points back.
Jamaica is a commonwealth country, which means it observes British spelling conventions. This shows yet another way that multiple different cultures connect, as the US was also a colony at one point but rejected British spellings in an effort to differentiate from their parent country. Natasha then had to occupy a space between three separate yet connected countries, illustrating how immigration doesn't just include two countries. It, in many cases, includes many.
Themes
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Natasha giggles, and Daniel thinks he loves watching her eat. He suggests they eat their now soft-boiled eggs together. They put the whole eggs in their mouths, and Daniel watches her eyes widen as the yolk pops. She seems to feel everything with her whole body, and he again wonders why such an obviously passionate person is so against passion.
Food is an art form, and the fact that Natasha once again clearly enjoys it makes it clear that she's not actually as cold and scientific as she wants Daniel to believe. This suggests that something has happened to turn her away from the arts.
Themes
