Native Speaker, by Chang-Rae Lee, is a captivating novel which touches upon issues such as race, loyalty, assimilation, immigration, politics, interracial marriage, and identity. Lelia describes Henry as: “illegal alien/ emotional alien” (Lee 5) because he does not show emotions the way she expects him to. It is interesting that she uses the term alien to describe his emotional states, as it shows how insensitive he can appear. Perhaps, that is one of the things that made his relationship with Lelia challenging. His parents are even stricter (especially his father is merciless in the sense that he points out Henry’s flaws every chance he gets), just like Ichiro’s mother and Lucy’s mother, as if to appear strong and invincible. The fact that,
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This forever is my burden to bear.” (Lee 297) He hates the fact that he has to be a traitor just to make a living. He even compares betraying Kwang to betraying his own parents: “With John Kwang I wrote exemplary reports but couldn’t accept the idea that Hoagland would be combing through them… An exposure of a different order, as if I were offering a private fact about my father or mother to a complete stranger in one of our stores.” (Lee137) Since Kwang trusts Henry and sees him as one of his kind, Henry feels guilty for abusing Kwang’s confidence in him. It is also strange that Dennis would choose Henry to work with Kwang, knowing what they share in common will only make the job that much harder for Henry, especially after seeing how involved he was with the psychiatrist – Luzan. But since Dennis believes that “…to be a true spy of identity … you must be a spy of the culture” (Lee 192), he wants to take advantage of Kwang and Henry’s automatic bond to get the job …show more content…
Although he is a Korean-American, his hope is inclusive of every race – humanity. For Kwang, it is not so much about politics or gaining power, but giving the people what they deserve and improving living standards. He claims: “’It’s the party of jobs and safe streets and education. These are the issues. Are you for them or against them? . . . every politician in this city wants the same things. And the people know very well any one politician can only do so much.’” (Lee 181) It is odd that Kwang, a very composed, clever, calm and poised character gets out of control and becomes violent and irresponsible towards the end. Considering Mitt’s death (a happy Korean American boy who is different from the rest and who is too young to understand the complications of racial identities), Kwang’s breakdown might show that the America people dream of having – land of freedom, equal opportunities, and unity – is perhaps a mere
This forever is my burden to bear.” (Lee 297) He hates the fact that he has to be a traitor just to make a living. He even compares betraying Kwang to betraying his own parents: “With John Kwang I wrote exemplary reports but couldn’t accept the idea that Hoagland would be combing through them… An exposure of a different order, as if I were offering a private fact about my father or mother to a complete stranger in one of our stores.” (Lee137) Since Kwang trusts Henry and sees him as one of his kind, Henry feels guilty for abusing Kwang’s confidence in him. It is also strange that Dennis would choose Henry to work with Kwang, knowing what they share in common will only make the job that much harder for Henry, especially after seeing how involved he was with the psychiatrist – Luzan. But since Dennis believes that “…to be a true spy of identity … you must be a spy of the culture” (Lee 192), he wants to take advantage of Kwang and Henry’s automatic bond to get the job …show more content…
Although he is a Korean-American, his hope is inclusive of every race – humanity. For Kwang, it is not so much about politics or gaining power, but giving the people what they deserve and improving living standards. He claims: “’It’s the party of jobs and safe streets and education. These are the issues. Are you for them or against them? . . . every politician in this city wants the same things. And the people know very well any one politician can only do so much.’” (Lee 181) It is odd that Kwang, a very composed, clever, calm and poised character gets out of control and becomes violent and irresponsible towards the end. Considering Mitt’s death (a happy Korean American boy who is different from the rest and who is too young to understand the complications of racial identities), Kwang’s breakdown might show that the America people dream of having – land of freedom, equal opportunities, and unity – is perhaps a mere