OP#5

1. I think the ending was a good one because Hideyo finally found Yoko and Ko, and Yoko is happy. It was also cool that Corpral Matsumara found Ko and Yoko and can help them when they need something. It was surprising when Yoko won the essay. I think the only problem that the Kawashima family has to resolve is what happen to their father.

2. I think the Kawshima family keeps their customs because they wanted to honor their heritage and ancestors just as if they were not being attacked. I think it serves a big role in their lives because if they would change their culture and ways it would dishonor what they live for. I would still observe the same beliefs as I have for all the years before that, for example I would still like sports, ice cream, I would still be Christian and practice my religious beliefs.

3. The character I admire and respect the most is Hideyo because, during the end of the story when he was about to die he somehow made it to the house and got saved. Then when he was about to cross the 8th parallel he just went with no bad thought of dying and he made it to Ko and Yoko, so I thought he was being very strong. Also when the Koreans attacked the warehouse he played dead when he could have died and he watched his friend die, and that was brave.

4.In this novel the countries that had power fought Japan and fought for Korea. They called it the cold war, because of the bombs. During some parts of the story the Kawshima family encountered the Koreans. During one part of the story the Koreans and the Kawashima family(not including Hideyo) meet and the Koreans are about to take them in, or kill them but the American bombers let a bomb lose and it kills the soldiers, so it saved the Kawashima family from dying. The reason why all of this happened is because their father was a Japanese official. I want to know, is there still a Korean Communits army against the Japanese?

5. In this story I found that humans can be very heartless and that war changes everything. I
think the theme(s) is to show what families went through during this time of the war and to also show the impact and devastation it has on lives. Ithink the other theme is that you should never give up and you can live through hard times.