"Homecoming"--Lost Names

"Homecoming" takes place during 1938. The family has just moved from Manchuria to live with the father's family so that they can help out on their orchard. The boy is going into second grade at the new school. The school is run by the Japanese and is very strict and orderly. I found it very odd that the male teacher, boy students, and members of the Japanese army all wear the same style of pants. The girls have different uniforms. Their culture is very different from our own. In the morning, they have a military-style routine. The girls and boys are separated, and the Japanese students are on the other side of the building. It seems to be very segregated. The boy states that a couple of years later the Japanese even go so far as to build a separate school for Japanese students. Each morning, the students must face east and bow to the Japanese Emperor in Tokyo. I think this irritates a lot of the Korean families, but no one says anything about it.

I thought it was kind of strange that the boy's teacher was Korean because I did not think that the Japanese would hire "outsiders" to teach at the school. In the beginning of the class, he has to sing his favorite song to conclude his introduction (a tradition for new students in the class). He sang "Danny Boy," but none of the students knew what he was singing because they did not speak English. I thought it was especially odd that the entire school did not have class so that they could go see a movie about the Japanese army. I also thought it was pretty ridiculous that the students had to pay for their own tickets, especially since many of them are poor. Although, I have learned that the boy and his family are pretty wealthy because they have a tile roof, which most families can not afford to have. Two bigger boys in his class invited him to go swimming with them after the movie. At first I thought that they were going to be a bad influence, but later I learned that they were not.

While the class was outside for a break (kind of like our recess??), a student from his class told a Japanese teacher that he sang a foreign song. The teacher and the student came in, and the teacher began speaking to him in Japanese. I felt very bad for him because he didn't even understand what the teacher was saying. When he nodded his head "no" to say that he didn't understand, they accused him of lying. The teacher began beating him. He then punched the student who told on him in the stomach. His teacher came in and beat up the Japanese teacher. I was really surprised by this whole episode. I could not believe that a teacher could beat up a student without getting in any form of trouble at all. If his teacher hadn't stepped in, who knows how far the teacher would have gone. I have heard of teachers punishing kids with paddles and stuff, but I have never heard of them beating them up. His teacher then takes him to a Chinese restaurant, and then he takes him home.

While he is at his house, fourteen boys came to visit him. One of which was Pumpkin, the boy who invited him swimming earlier. I do not know if Pumpkin is significant or not, but he seems like he is because so far he is the only person in the stories that I have read who has a name. I was really surprised that fourteen boys came to visit him. I did not think that he would make any friends on the first day, let alone fourteen. I think punching the other student helped increase his popularity. They invite him swimming, but his mother says he cannot go because he needs to heal.

Later that night, he eats with his father and grandfather, which apparently is a treat. He also gets to drink two cups of wine. It seems to be their custom to drink out of each other's cup and then fill it for them, and then pass it around. I thought this was kind of strange, but maybe it is just kind of like showing their hospitality. While they are eating, his teacher comes. He is covered in bruises, and he is swollen. He was questioned by the Japanese army. He asks if he can leave with the boy's uncle, a member of the Manchurian army. When his uncle comes, he leaves with him, but he is captured by the Soviets, accused of being a Japanese spy, and killed.

The night of the fight, before he goes to bed, his mother tells him that Pumpkin ran to jump into the river first. He hit his head on a rock, and the other boys could not find him. Later they found him dead. I was really surprised at this turn of events. It seemed like the two people that he had started to form a bond with were killed. I wonder if he blames himself for his teacher's death? I know I probably would. Yet for some reason, he is still excited about going to school. I wonder if he will later change his mind, or if he will always like school?