A Gesture Life

Hata has carefully curated a life of gestures for himself, depending wholly on his reputation and image. Sunny accuses him of making a “whole life out of gestures and politeness” (95), while Captain Ono tells Hata that he depends “too much upon generous fate and gesture. There is no internal possession, no embodiment” (266). Taking the title of the text into consideration, what do these descriptions tell you about Hata’s internal condition? What effect does such a nature have on Hata’s relationships? What does it mean to live a life of gestures?

What does the black flag symbolize to Hata? Does it serve as a warning of something terrible to come, or is it simply a reminder of his own failures?

During World War II, the Japanese colonized Korea and considered the Koreans to be an inferior race. Given that Hata was born a Korean and the lengths to which he goes to completely assimilate first to Japanese culture and then to American society, how does this historical moment play out in forming his inferiority complex? Is the historical moment to blame for his obsession with identity erasure and desire for complete assimilation? What psychological implications does the pressure to conform have on Hata?