So far in Native Speaker, I have mixed feelings for the main protagonist, Henry Park. When I read about his mother, father, and son dying, obviously I felt pity, anguish, sorrow, and any other possible depressing mood. I’m sure that everyone who has read this book can sympathize with this protagonist. Some of his actions are uncalled for though. One example of a time his actions were a little too much was when he was talking to his father about how bad of a husband he was and any other criticisms he could think. “In truth, Lelia’s own eventual list was probably just karmic justice for what I made him endure those final nights, which was my berating him for the way he had conducted his life with my mother, and then his housekeeper, and his businesses and beliefs, to speak once and for all the less than holy versions of who he was” (49). Although this is how Henry truly felt, I don’t think it was necessary to say all these things to a dying man, not to mention his father.
I can connect a lot with the narrator of this novel. Not only am I a Korean American like he is, but also I understand a lot of the family situations he goes through, especially his feelings towards Asian stereotypes and how he feels about Korean parents.
“I was to inherit them, the legacy unfurling before me this way: you worked from before sunrise to the dead of night. You were never unkind in your dealings, but then you were not generous. Your family was your life, though you rarely saw them. You kept close handsome sums of cash in small denominations. You were steadily cornering the market in self-pride. You drove a Chevy and then a Caddy and then a Benz. You never missed a mortgage payment or a day of church. You prayed furiously until you wept. You considered the only unseen forces to be those of capitalism and the love of Jesus Christ” (47).
This whole paragraph has statements that a typical Asian lives by; I am no exception. My father and my mother both work really hard to earn money for the family, but my brothers and I hardly see them except on their day off or when they return at around 10 at night. Of course, I am used to it by now, but I understand where Henry is coming from, especially the part where he talks about how he comes home to an empty house sometimes. Although he has it worst than me, I think this connection I have with the narrator helps me to better understand what the author is trying to get at in terms of emotions and understanding.
As I was reading through a chapter, I noticed a little aphorism that was briefly stated, but was strongly placed in my mind. A minor character named Dennis Hoagland stated, “no matter how smart you are, no one is smart enough to see the whole world. There’s always a picture too big to see… someone is always bigger than you. If they want, they’ll shut you up. They’ll bring you down” (46). I think this statement was a very simple way of describing how life is now. There are people in this world who believe they know everything because they are intellectuals to a high degree. Even if someone was the most intelligent person in the nation, no one is smart enough to know everything that goes on in this world. No one can predict accurately and precisely what will happen 100 years from now. No one will know if someone close to a person will die tomorrow or 50 years from now. I think this statement can also be a theme; no matter how smart you are, you will never know everything. There will always be someone higher than you or smarter than you or more athletic than you. In Henry’s case, he would have never known when his mother, father, or son would die. I think he is regretting everything so much that he is just stuck in one place. In fact, he might be moving backwards, constantly reminding himself of the past that is already over with. He needs to move on with life and try to at least fix things with his wife who is still alive, but ready to leave him.