Choi, Sook N. Year of Impossible Goodbyes.
New York: Yearling, 1991. all. Print.
Summary:
Sookan, her Korean family,
and her friends have been suffering for a long time during World War II. While
their beautiful country has been occupied by the Japanese Empire in 1945,
Sookan's family is ordered to manufacture socks for Japanese soldiers and merchants.
Sookan discovers that the Japanese occupation and army have been very
destructive to her family; her grandmother was simply burnt alive. Her
grandfather was always there to remind his grandchildren about Korean history
and culture. Finally, World War II ends and the Japanese lose and surrender.
Sookan and her family are happy to be free, but they soon discover that the
Russians replaced the Japanese. The Russians start to preach Communism, and
Koreans are not better than they were before; they still have to labor as
slaves for food. Sookan's family pretends to love the Communist Party, while
they plan their escape to the South. Sookan's family tries to run away in the
night by paying a guide to help them cross the border to South Korea. Will they
reach their destination, or will they be caught?
Historical Setting:
Sookan's family lives in the Kirimni area in the city of Pyongyang
in Korea. Today, Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea. At the end of World War II, Korea was divided in half at the thirty-eighth
parallel of latitude, with the northern section going to Russia, and the
southern section being ruled by Koreans. Many people wanted to cross the
border, but were prevented by North Korean forces. Once the Russians bring Communism to North Korea, everyone must
act as though they love the Communist Party, or they will disappear overnight. In
the book, Sookan's family tries to show their support of Communism, so that no
one will harm them. Her grandfather's ancient
pine tree is the only pretty thing left in the yard which still carries any
hope or beauty. Captain Narita orders for the pine tree to be cut down to hurt her
grandfather.
MLA citation: "Year of Impossible Goodbyes Setting &
Symbolism." BookRags. BookRags, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Effect of Historical setting on
Character:
The general setting of the story
carries its grief and misery throughout most of the book. The reader feels anguish
and distress for the innocent girl and her family suffering the hardship of
war. The main effect on the characters is the struggle with the Japanese
military forces, since Sookan and her family are Korean; it's like a fight
between dictatorship and freedom. This conflict carries a suspense mood
throughout the story, as we follow Sookan and her family to their escape. On page
5, from lines 26 to 31 in "Year of Impossible Goodbyes", it says 'A big, ugly, wooden shack dominated the yard. It
had been there for as long as I could remember. Built under the orders of the
Japanese, it served as a factory to manufacture socks for the Japanese soldiers
and merchants. My mother was in charge of the factory and supervised the young
women who worked from early morning until late evenings on the old knitting
machines.' This proves that Korean characters in the novel have to work all day
to satisfy the necessities of the Japanese, and this wouldn't have happened if
World War II wasn't taking place in that time period. On page 47, from lines 11
to 34 in "Year of Impossible Goodbyes", Captain Narita was shouting at Sookan's, Sookan's mother,
Sookan's grandfather, and Haiwon (one of the girls that work in the sock
factory). Captain Narita and his two lieutenants were yelling because they
found out that they were having a small celebration for Haiwon's sixteenth
birthday. On this page Captain Narita says '"You are doing something on your
own? Did you forget that there is a war
going on and that we must do all we can to help the Imperial soldiers fight the
White Devils? Metal is not for your use. The soldiers need it for weapons. The
dishes must be sent to my office at once. When will you stupid Koreans
understand that you are our subjects and there is nothing we, the Imperial
police of the Heavenly race, do not know about your activities? There is
nothing we cannot do." The lieutenants took Haiwons birthday presents and
told Sookan and her family that they would be back to take the metal dishes and
they had better have them cleaned and prepared for pickup.' Reading this part
of the book made me annoyed because I realized how mean the Japanese were being
and they didn't even allow Koreans to own metal dishes. If there wasn't war no
one would say anything about anyone having metal dishes or enjoying a humble
party.
MLA
citation: "A Guide to Year of Impossible Goodbyes." Independent Reading. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Major character:
Sookan: Sookan is the main
character of "Year of Impossible Goodbyes." Sookan is about
ten years old at the beginning of the book, and she is a very good child, who
tries to be obedient and helpful to her family. Sookan loves learning about
Korean culture and history. Even though she might be a child, she grew up in
the difficult times of war, so she understands adult things, like hard work,
and hunger.
Author's characterization techniques:
In "Year of Impossible Goodbyes"
on pageeri2, Sookan's brothers' characters are clearly described by Sook N.
Choi when it says 'Grandfather, hoping that Korean people might experience the
exhilaration and beauty of spring again, had made sure my mother included the
word chun, or spring, in each of my brothers' names' I think it's a
smart tactic to do when an author carefully chooses a character's name to
represent something in the story and in this case that a special spring will
one day come. On page 57, Sook N. Choi uses a new method for characterization
where dialogue is taking place. 'Stop that! Stop it! Don't let the Japanese
have your soul. We can't let them make us crazy. This is exactly what they
want.' This was said by Sookan's mother to Sookan's aunt, after two young,
Japanese trained Korean police came into Sookan's family's yard to chop down
the pine tree, which was Sookan's family's precious treasure, and it was very
important to Sookan's Grandfather because he loved meditating under it.
MLA citation for page #2:
Choi, Sook Nyul. "Chapter
1." Year of Impossible Goodbyes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991. 2. Print.
MLA citation for page #57:
Point of view:
"Year of Impossible Goodbyes" is told from the first-person
point of view of Sookan, a ten-year-old Korean girl in 1945. Sookan has lived a
protected life, rarely leaving her family's home, but she becomes used to the
suffering of war. However, she tries to have an optimistic attitude and hopes things
are going to get better soon. As the book goes on, the reader feels more with the
pains this little girl, and identifies with her in her struggle for freedom and
safety.
Central Idea of the Book:
The central idea of "Year of Impossible Goodbyes"
is how Sookan and her family
endured the cruelties of the Japanese military occupying Korea. And while
Captain Narita does his best to destroy everything of value to Sookan's family,
he cannot break their spirit.
Theme:
The theme of the novel Year of Impossible Goodbyes is
"hopes for the future". Although "Year of Impossible
Goodbyes" is a very sad, gloomy book, it still carries a message of hope
for the future, and it shows that even the worst circumstances can still turn
out well. In the first pages of the long adventure, when characters were still
being introduced, it says that Sookan's Mother gave each of her sons a name
that also has the Korean word for "spring" in it, because she had hope
that Korea will have a metaphorical spring, and in the end of the book, all of
her sons end up together and free. Even though the Japanese have denied them many
human rights, like being able to plant a flower garden, Sookan's family keeps
old packets of seeds for flowers, and this shows that they still have hope for
the future, and that everything will be better again when the war is over.
Reflection:
Year of Impossible Goodbyes is one of the most interesting
books I have ever read. This novel is filled with adventure. I really enjoyed reading
it because I could imagine how Sookan and her family would have felt, trying to
escape from the Communist party, and how they planned their escape to the
South. I would definitely recommend this book to all my classmates and everyone
who is a fan of historical fiction novels. The reason I think Year of
Impossible Goodbyes is a fascinating and intriguing book is because it has
detailed explanations of what was happening in World War II. I think this book important
to think and talk about because it says many things about World War II, which was a very
important time in history. Year of Impossible Goodbyes also includes
moving moments that make tears role down your cheeks, like when they would
clarify how the Japanese were treating the Koreans. And these are some of the
reasons I would rate this book 10/10!
Vocabulary:
Ajar: slightly open
Skein: length of thread wound in a loose coil
Quota: a fixed number of things or people
Pensive: engaged in, or reflecting deep or serious thought
Residue: What is left over or remains, remainder
Consoled: Comforted after grief or disappointment
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