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Lessons from Pachinko

The most important lesson I examined in Pachinko is what the characters believed they owe each other, and how it impacted how they treated others. Isak seemed to be driven by aiding others in need and standing behind those convictions. Isak married Sunja out of her need to be married due to pregnancy. Isak did not act necessarily out of love, but out of duty. Then, even when it meant years of suffering in prison, Isak stood behind his moral and ideological convictions because he saw the value of standing behind what you believe in. 

Hansu secretly cares for the family throughout most of the novel. It is hard to decipher how much of this care is driven by duty, guilt for not marrying/being able to marry Sunja, or selfish want to be part of the family without actually committing himself to the family. Nonetheless, I think it is hard to argue that none of Hansu's actions were out of duty to support his child. Hansu—to some extent—believed he had a duty to care for Noa, and that led him to guarantee some level of safety, security, and financial gain for Sunja and Noa.

Most impactfully was how connected the family was, which influenced how far they would go for each other. There were generations of the family that lived together, which made them even closer. Therefore, they cared a lot for each other and would go very far to help their family. They believed family was one of the most important aspects of life, and that is seen by how close they were.

Comments

  1. John SawyerMarch 20, 2023 at 12:19 PM

    Hi Noah, I agree with what you said about Isak's motives to marry Sunja. He did not love her as much as he loved serving God and carrying out duties he believed to be in accordance to the Bible. He still loved Sunja, but it was clear his love for God was far greater. When thinking about Hansu, I always switched back and forth between selfish, and genuine motives. I did not fully consider the level of guilt he may have felt for Sunja for putting her in the position she ended up in. Of course, it can be hard to see him capable of feeling guilt after he took advantage of Sunja in such a wrong way.

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  2. Gema Sanchez GamezMarch 20, 2023 at 9:12 PM

    Hi Noah! I really agree with your analysis of how duty impacts family relationships in Pachinko. It really made me question the reasonability of my expectations for the father figures in this novel. Although Hansu is a difficult character to warm up to in terms of his antiquated views about blood and family, I think that regardless of his motivations, he did an amazing job of providing for his family. Sometimes I think it's best to compartmentalize people's actions and motivations if they are ultimately helping others.

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