The topic of communication is of great importance in this story, particularly when we really start to compare the young Henry Lee with the adult Henry Lee.
Talking openly with ones parents is often difficult for most teens, even under the best of circumstances, and the young Henry is no different.
Write about what you've come to understand about Henry's challenges in communicating with his parents. Yes, there is definitely a language barrier, but it goes deeper than that. Write about what you know to be true for Henry. What are your thoughts? What are your questions?
And what about Keiko? Her relationship with her parents is different than Henry's relationship with is parents, but Keiko has her own public struggles with communication. What do you understand to be true about her challenges with communication?
What I know to be true about Henry and his struggles with communication is that Henry's parents want him to completely stop speaking to them (they only speak Cantonese) so he can focus on English and his "scholarshipping". My thoughts are, "That must take a lot to tell your child never to talk to them again" and "I wonder if they thought about how this affects Henry". My question is "Why can't he speak Cantonese AND English?". You usually talk about learning a language, not losing one.
ReplyDeleteIt does not really say much yet about Keiko and her struggles with communication. I would have to assume that it is harder for them because they're Japanese and when America is at war with them, it might be hard for her parents to explain why they would say racial comments etc.
rs suprise838
Things that I have found about the communication between Henry and his parents is very sad. The fact that he really cant communicate with his parents must be horrible. I think that the communication barrier in Young Henry's life really effected Adult Henry's life. Because Henry really didn't communicate with his parents caused Adult Henry to also have bad communication with his son.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the fact that Keiko is unable to speak Japanese must be hard. With her living in Japan Town with people who speak Japanese and probably only Japanese would be really difficult. She probably wouldn't be able to communicate with most people. I would defiantly struggle with that.
LK Bertha98
Henry’s parents only spoke a little English and Henry didn’t know much of Chinese so they rarely talked at all. I thought it just made it even more difficult for Henry’s childhood. Keiko relationship with her parents is almost the opposite of Henry’s. Keiko struggles at communication in school not because she’s dumb mostly because no one really gets to know her. Everyone just assumes that she bad and mean because she’s Japanese.
ReplyDeleteKnsplash
I have come to understand that Henry's parents don't listen to his thoughts. Not just because they don't want him to speak Cantonese, they just tell him what to do and he cant do anything about it. I wonder if Henry ever confronts this problem and tells his parents whats on his mind. Keiko, on the other hand, can communicate better with her parents, but has trouble in public because of her race.
ReplyDeletelfguns7
I know that Henry has many challenges when it comes to communicating with his parents. I think this is because Henry and his parents have so many differences so it is hard to pick a subject that they can both participate in.
ReplyDeleteIn comparison Keiko and her parents are more open with her. I think this is because they share more quailities in common so they can relate to each other easier. I think that what Keiko really needed was a friend to talk to at that point in her life, and Henry was there for her. I believe that Henry and Keiko can talk to each other in a way that they can't with anybody else because they both have to face many issues in their everyday life. I believe that this plays a big part in why their friendship is so stong.
-ampettyfer
We learned that Henry has problems communicating with his parents because his parents make him speak English even though his parents only speak Cantonese and can't understand any English. I think they make him do this because they want him to be only American, like he should be ashamed that he's Chinese. I think Keiko has a different relationship with her parents because she's second generation so her parents were born in America too and they know what it's like to be Japanese in America. I think Keiko's public communication problem is that she isn't able to say that she is second generation American before they judge and make fun of her.
ReplyDeleteabgolfer
Henry does have many problems communicating with his parents. One reason is Henry could never tell his father about his trips to the Japan town. Nor can Henry tell his father that one of his best friends, Keiko, is Japanese. Henry can't tell his father about this because his father does not like Japanese people because the Japanese army bombed his home town. I think Keiko's parents would be more accepting of her friendship with Henry, as long as her parents aren't like Henry's father.
ReplyDeleteahnighthawk
I understood that Henry"s life is really difficult, it is not like a "normal" kids life. Henry is always either doing chores, when other kids are listening to the radio. Now since Henry met Keiko he can't tell his parents because his parents will yell at him for being with a Japanese person. And Keiko has many challenges with speaking too, since she is Japanese it is harder for her to talk to people because many people don't like or talk to Japanese and since she is going to a "white" school she is even more lonely, but since she has Henry that makes it better than being alone.
ReplyDeletemsgemini11
I think that Henry's commuication,or lack of communication, most likely started with the fact that he and his parents didn't even understand the same launguage- but it grew much larger than that. I think that after he and his parents stopped talking, if they tryed to talk to each other agian, they had nothing to say anymore. This was probably beacuse Henry had become very indepenedent. I can tell that he was independent because in the chapters we have read so far it barely even mentions Henry's parents much, making them seem almost unimportant in Henry's life as a child. Maybe he and his parents are just very different from each other? Maybe they just find no real need to talk to each other,or possibly no real way to? I'm not quite sure yet.
ReplyDeleteI think that Keiko is very shy when she first meets Henry, and also embarrassed once he realizes that she is Japanese. That is probably one of her issues with communication, she probably doesn't really try to talk to anyone new beacuse she is afriad that they will judge her because she is Japanese. Keiko may be just shy, but I think she may just be worried about what people will say about her if she tries to talk to them. She seemed very comfortable though, when she was around Henry after they became friends.
~CH.Lafandala
Henry's challenge of communicating with his parents is mainly about him being uncomfortable and not wanting his parents to know some of his intermost thoughts and secrets. Henry being shy enough doesn't help him communicate any better.
ReplyDeleteKeiko's relationship with her parents is different because she trusts her parents very musch and tells them most everything. But her public struggles surprisingly the same but many wouldn't think that. Keiko is very strong and when she has something on her mind she sticks to it. She can't talk much but when she does she protects others and herself.
*lrmusic*
What I have come to understand about Henry's challenges in communicating with his parents is that they are proud of him because he can speak English, regardless of what exactly it is that he is saying, which puts a big dent in Henry's self esteem because that shows that his parents really dont care. When I first began reading this book, i noticed the tension between Henry and his parents, and I think another difficulty in communication is that their difference in beliefs are a barrier, because Henry's parents have no desire to speak to the Japense, let alone be around them, but Henry on the other hand, is falling head-over-heels for one, so it is hard to hide his feelings for Keiko, who is Japenese, from his parents. I have a friend who has difficulty communicating with her parents, and she tells me how hard on her it is and how much stress it puts on her, whether or not she will say something wrong, or accidentally bring something up, so I think Henry is in a very difficult and tricky situation. I understand that because of Keiko's race, she is not talked to, let alone listened to by others of the different race, because she is classified as the, " enemy", so people never seem to give respect or the time of day to even speak her mind.
ReplyDeletelclorenzo5
Henry has trouble communicating with his parents because his parents don't understand English and also Henry wants to be friends with Keiko and his dad just doesn't like Japanese. Keiko's life is different because she can talk to her parents but her social struggle is worse because most people don't like the Japanese.
ReplyDeleteeliamnumberfour
Henry's challenges are hard not just because of the fact that he speaks English but also because of the fact that he spends most of his time at school and other places around chinatown. For Keiko it is different because she is Japanese and is atomaticly expected to speak Japanese not english but instead of speaking Japanes she speaks only English while her parents speak mainly Japanese and English. bsdemonking
ReplyDeleteHenry has a lot of problems communicating with his parents. One problem is how Henry speaks English and his mom and dad only speak Cantonese. If Henry and his parents do talk, it is not in depth at all. I think that hurts Henry because that just proves that his parents don't really care which makes Henry a very independent kid. That also affects Adult Henry's life later on.
ReplyDeleteKeiko and her parents are very close and she can trust them. Keiko's struggle is talking to other Japanese people because she only speaks English. Since she lives in Japan Town she is probably shy because she can't talk to many other Japanese people.
lcpink30
I agree that Henry's communication issues with his parents go much deper than the language barrier. His father hates the Japanese with a passion, and while loyalty to your country is a good thing, not trusting anyone from one country because you ever quarrelled with some people from said country is taking it too far. There are probably plenty of people in that country who side with you in the debate, and honestly, Henry's father should give some of the Japanese a chance, like Henry. And that is only one thing they disagree on! As for Keiko, it must be difficult living in Japantown and only knowing how to say, "I don't understand." And both have rocky public relations as best, simply because of their heritage.
ReplyDeletemjaphrodite20
I think that his father's hatred for the Japanese goes a little to far. Also, the communication problems must be very difficult. I mean, to have your parent restrict you from using the Cantonese language in your own house must be very hard to live with.
ReplyDeleteAs for Keiko, it must be hard to only know "i don't understand" in Japanese, while both your native language and heritage is Japanese! They both have very difficult communication problems, and I would like to see how this affects their lives as the story climaxes.
GG The Emu42
Henry's communication challenges with his family are one, his parents dont even want him to talk to him, and two his parents dont even speak the same language with him. Kieko on the other hand does not have this problem, her parents speak english and japanese so she can speak in englishh to them, but she does not understand japanese and she lives in Japantown so she has a language barrier like Henry, but hers is with citizens and not her parents.
ReplyDeletejkricosauve
By comparison, my dad had the opposite problem as Henry. My dad, who was full Chinese, wasn't allowed to speak English at home. My grandmother wanted him to retain the language, so forbid him from speaking English at home, even though he went to public school. It was a contradiction that drove him crazy, and also made it hard when it came to friends, because he could never have any friends over if they didn't speak Chinese.
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