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  • Essay / A review of Lost Names, a book by Richard E. Kim

    Love Conquers Hate In the book Lost [1] Names by Richard E. Kim, the ingenuity of Koreans born from experience strengthens the Edward Siedensticker's opinion that Lost Names is not a poem of hate, but a poem of love. The Koreans in Lost Names do not combat hatred of the Japanese with hatred toward the Japanese. The Korean people understood that fighting the violence and hatred of the Japanese would result in death and damage for both sides and would only increase their suffering. When Koreans realize the consequences of fighting hatred, they wisely choose to fight the Japanese with love. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay A wise man would know not to fight violence with violence. Back when the Koreans and Japanese had difficult relations; the Japanese held the Korean people hostage, increased Korean starvation, and forbade them from practicing their culture. Temporarily, the Korean people wanted revenge on the Japanese for causing great suffering to the people. The Koreans understood that in the long run, making the Japanese suffer would be pointless and a waste of time. The narrator and his father came to the conclusion that making peace with the Japanese and forgetting all their past misadventures would be beneficial for both Koreans and Japanese. The following passage supports my reasoning: “Please help us! Please help us! “, he said. [...] "Get up", says the narrator to the man and his wife, "My father would have saved you" (159). The narrator might not have wanted to let the man and his wife in if he thought about it for a few seconds. He took his time to really think about what to do. Being nicer to the Japanese may not benefit the narrator and his people now, but as times change, the narrator and his father know that peace would be best for their people. As the narrator knows what it would feel like to be treated unfairly by the Japanese, like when the narrator had his culture taken away and was constantly beaten by the Japanese; all because Koreans are seen as inferior in the eyes of the Japanese. The narrator's events make him understand why his father is kind to the Japanese while the Japanese are cruel to the Koreans. The narrator's realization implies that he learns to fight with love and not hatred in the passage. Second, Koreans changed their views on the Japanese because they knew what it felt like to be treated immorally. The following quote from Lost Names supports my assertion: “A young man armed with a shotgun rushes into the house from the west door shouting: A police man is coming, sir! My father said: Bring him. [...] We will give them to you, on condition that upon delivery of your receipt, we accept your conditions, says the narrator's father" (188). The passage reiterates the idea that the Korean people learn from the wise methods of the narrator's father. The narrator's father does not address the shameful Japanese and beat them for everything they have done to the Korean people. Instead, he politely asks for a receipt and compromises. The Koreans want to ruin the Japanese, but they learn that making peace would be the best option from the narrator's father. His father sets a good example for Koreans and Japanese through his respectful actions. The narrator learns from the father how to fight hatred with love, and they teach it to other Koreans. The insight of the Koreans makes Lost Names a love poem. Keep..